The Beautification of Sea Girt was a continual effort. Henry Yard and Harvey Blackey built greenhouses at the Sea Girt Farm in 1895 and Mary Blackey, the first Postmistress in town, maintained flowerbeds at the entrance to town until the 1910s.
1910s entrance to town
In every generation after Mary, particularly after storms, there were bursts of energy to beautify Sea Girt.
1920s: Nora Stubbs did extensive landscaping around the Stockton hotel, and the Civic Association spruced up the town for the arrival of the Governor each summer
1938: The WPA trimmed underbrush and beautified the town before council stopped them for not using local labor.
1945: After the 1944 hurricane, the Community club volunteers helped clean up.
1955: Mayor Doyle organized the first Beautification Committee with Mrs Clyde Stephens as President
1956: Kitty Berg, the President of the Garden Club encouraged neighbors to plant friendship gardens to share their extra plants with their less green-thumbed neighbors
1963: After a hurricane destroyed the 1920s pavilion, Norma Howard, Alex Hawes and the Holly Club planted dune grass and cleaned up town, and planted in common areas.
The Beautification Committee was re-energized again in 1988 by Nancy MacInnes and a few gardening neighbors who planted spaces when a budget crisis limited public spending. The effort grew, and in 1995, they had expanded membership widely throughout town with business memberships and residents. Some simply paid dues to participate, while many others gave their time. They held small fundraisers, and the Muellers were generous with donating plants.
Neighbors competed for best garden
The Beautification Committee’s impact reached a crescendo in 1997. It was perhaps the most beautiful Sea Girt ever was. marigolds, begonias, sunflowers and daisies were everywhere. The Holly Club held talks at the lighthouse on designing your garden, and their junior members, the “Perfect Planters,” planned gardens for the school and their own homes.
Sea Girt Flowers
Twenty-two separate areas were planted around town with flowers. Every easement and public space was filled, and residents spruced up their yards so as not to look shabby by comparison. For Christmas, Spring, and Summer, the Railroad Plaza and downtown were decorated by the group. A new sign, “Where the Cedars Meet the Sea”, was dedicated at the entrance to town. It was to honor the memory of Eve Gilbert, an interior designer who had taught many of the women the art of arranging flowers and gardens in her 20 years in Sea Girt, before she passed away in 1994. It was a nice pairing with Fritz Mueller’s “Smile You’re in Sea Girt”.
Judith Jonea Ambrosini dedicated one of the flower boxes to the 1997 Beautification Committee
The highlight of 1997 was a Tea fundraiser held on the porches and the lawn of the Beacon House. It was a swan song for Ginny and Ernie Westphal, who were preparing to retire from the management of the B&B after two generations and over 70 years of family ownership. Cheryl Tocket and Julia Flanagan co-chaired the tea. It was the third of four teas held on the porches.
Tables were set with linen for 80. Mini-topiary were made by Georgia Kaminski for each table out of garden flowers. Beautiful women in their best summer dresses poured over the lawn while a violinist played classical music.
Most wore hats, and Ginny Zientek won a hat box filled with gifts for her “Most beautiful and creative hat”, a wide-brimmed wavy model which was tastefully decorated with ferns and delicate flowers from her garden.
The menu was classic ‘90s tea fare with mini-quiches, croissant sandwiches, mesclun salad, and of course, chocolate, madelines, and tea. The food was carefully prepared by Harriett Yauch, Mary Backus, Shirley Bushey, Eileen Devlin, Mary Ellen Golden, Jane Gross, Maureen Rodgers, Jackie Sermeus, Ginny Thompson, and Grace Taylor.
Judith Jones Ambrosini, a very active member of the Committee and a writer for the Coast Star Newspaper, covered the event. Her description of the Tea painted a portrait of words which was as delightful for her readers as the sunny, breezy August afternoon. She wove quotes from famous authors while giving credit to her friends on the Committee for the successful event. "If you are cold, tea will warm you. If you are too heated, it will cool you. If you are depressed, it will cheer you. If you are excited, it will calm you." - William Gladstone
They repeated the tea one last time n 1998, as the Westphal’s turned the houses over to Candy Kadamik. The Beautification Committee continued, rechristened P.L.A.N.T. Committee, for “People Love A Nice Town”, named by contest at the elementary school, by winner Eliza Jeliff. The Committee continued for 12 more years, beautifying town, installing sprinklers to water flowers and starting the planting of flower boxes at the beach. By 2011, most of the volunteers had retired, moved on or passed away, and Judith and Cathy Branch folded the group into the Holly Club in 2011.