Emmaus Garden Club Enjoys Annual Covered Dish Social

Delicious sandwiches, salads and homemade desserts blanketed a table in the fellowship hall of recently, as the members of the Emmaus Garden Club gathered for their monthly meeting and covered dish social.

In addition to the tasty lunch, a member plant exchange and gently used container silent-auction were held.

The Emmaus Garden Club, founded in January 1936 by Eva (Backenstoe) Butz, became a member of the National and Pennsylvania Federation of Garden Clubs in 1949.

Membership in 2011 is still going strong with 67 members from local towns including Macungie and Emmaus. Monthly meetings are held at Faith Presbyterian Church on South 2nd Street in Emmaus.

As part of the club's mission, they raise funds throughout the year in order to award scholarship money to a deserving local student.

This year, the Emmaus Garden Club was excited to offer this scholarship to Chris Dordal. He plans to attend Lehigh County Community College in the fall. Dordal will receive $1500 from the Emmaus Garden Club toward his educational expenses.

Dordal plans to travel to Ecuador in January 2012 to assist in agricultural development. He will be working on establishing organic gardens that use fewer chemicals compared to current agricultural techniques in Ecuador.

"We're trying to create more sustainable communities, a healthier way of living. Using these gardens, they're also growing healthier crops which also improve the nutritional value," Dordal explained.

Anyone interested in joining the Emmaus Garden Club can contact Sandra Miklos at smiklos@enter.net.