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Believe it
or not, but it is fruits and vegetables that began the first
Rose Show. Mrs. W. M. Harris, founder of the garden clubs, and
other garden club members entered into the Macon State Fair
a cart that displayed fruits and vegetables. They won the first
place prize of $25.00. They wanted to stage a flower show, preferable
a rose show. Local storeowner, Mr. Neel gave his permission
to stage the show in his department store, Neel's, thus in 1921
the first rose show was held and has been going strong every
since. The last time the Rose Show was staged in the downtown
area was in 1924. It was such a hit, that soon the garden club
ladies were looking for other places to have the show. Some
of the locations that have been home to the Rose Show are, a
car dealership, a tobacco warehouse, an airplane hanger, and
gymnasium at a veteran's hospital, with the most recent being
at the local fairgrounds. Coming back downtown is like "coming
home" for the show. Back during the Rose Show heyday, the
surrounding plantations staged large displays. Some displays
included, a large waterwheel that worked, a bed and a horse
made from roses to name just a few. Not wanting to be left out,
the local icehouse froze rose bouquets in solid ice and they
were displayed during the show. All of this was done and the
show was held for only one day! The show has only been cancelled
once, and that was in 1954. Due to a hard freeze that killed
all the new budding roses, it was decided to cancel the Rose
Show. Since then, the show has seen only a few years when the
roses were not in large abundance due to weather conditions,
but has never been cancelled again. The theme for the show is
Where Roses Reign.... A Walk Down Memory Lane. This year's show
will feature in a large tent on the corner of Washington and
Crawford Streets not only the roses, but rose designs, general
horticulture and youth horticulture entries. The Thomasville
Garden Club members are creating wonderful designs in the businesses
located in down the brick paved Broad Street in Historic Downtown
Thomasville. |
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