Mill Creek Towne Garden Club | 50 years of Community Service
Dear Neighbors,
In 2018, the Mill Creek Towne Garden Club (MCTGC) will celebrate its 50th year anniversary. The MCTGC was established in 1968. The main focus of the MCTGC has been maintaining the Mill Creek Towne entrance at Miller Fall Road and Muncaster Mill Road and the entrance at Roslyn Avenue and Redland Road, where the brick wall with the Mill Creek Towne sign stands. The MCTGC realized that this upkeep to our entrances was vital to preserving the quality and property values of Mill Creek Towne. While the county owns the property at those entrances, it does not maintain them. Until about five years ago, the median strip on Roslyn Avenue was also maintained by the MCTGC, because the county did not initially take care of this. The MCTGC continues to monitor the median strip. Because neither Shady Grove Road nor Midcounty Highway existed in 1968, the MCTGC does not maintain either of these. ProHome Services, located in Mill Creek Towne, does the planting and upkeep at the intersection of Mill Run Drive and Shady Grove Road. The county does not allow any work at Midcounty Highway because of safety issues.
In 1968, the club was young as were most of the members. During the ensuing years, the MCTGC members weeded, mulched, planted, pruned and performed whatever task was necessary to keep the entrances looking good. Because Mill Creek Towne has not had a civic association for many years, MCTGC has also served in this capacity. One of the pillars at the Miller Fall entrance has been hit twice by a car. Because it was a hit and run, there was no one to take responsibility for repairing the pillar. The MCTGC stepped in and made arrangements and paid for the repairs. At the Roslyn entrance, the MCTGC hired a mason to repoint the front wall. Each entrance has two concrete pineapple ornaments that sit on the side walls, and these have had to be replaced. There are many other examples of how the MCTGC has served the community.
Over the years, the MCTGC has been self-sustaining by organizing fundraisers. We produced a cook book and prepared three community directories. Our main fundraiser was a poinsettia sale. Unfortunately, this was phased out two years ago because of declining orders.
We have eight meetings a year, and we usually have informative programs that range from how to deal with deer and other animals in your yard to growing orchids. Community members are always invited to join us, and we welcome new members and new ideas.
The MCTGC will continue to maintain the entrances to Mill Creek Towne, but we do have expenses in doing this. Each year, some paid help is needed at the entrances with the maintenance, planting and mulching. We also have to supply the plants and mulch. Every few years, we have to replenish stones and other repair items to maintain proper drainage at the Miller Fall entrance. Replacing shrubs and other plant items at both entrances is always necessary.
You can assist in the effort to keep our neighborhood looking nice and our property values up, by attending our meetings and programs, and by your contribution. This can be done online with a credit card or PayPal payment at:
https://www.mctgardenclub.org/donations/
or by sending checks payable to the “Mill Creek Towne Garden Club” to:
Betty Laffan MCTGC Treasurer 7612 Warbler Lane Derwood, MD 20855
Please watch for more pictures and information about the neighborhood and MCTGC’s fifty years of service. Perhaps you’ll recognize a neighbor or family member from way back when. Thank you for being a good neighbor. We appreciate your continued support of the MCTGC.
Happy Thanksgiving!
The members of the Mill Creek Towne Garden Club