GBU members use Give Back Group program to benefit the Greenock Log House.

GBU member Marilyn Backus of Pitcairn, PA, decided to use two passions–gardening and history–to organize a Give Back Group fundraiser to benefit the Elizabeth Township Historical Society (ETHS).

As a member of the Garden Club Federation of Pennsylvania and local convention chair, Marilyn helped organize the statewide convention held in Pittsburgh in April 2023. The convention drew more than 300 gardeners and conservationists.

Wearing another hat as an ETHS board member, Marilyn saw this event as a unique opportunity to raise funds for the ETHS Greenock Log House restoration project. Marilyn maintains the perennial gardens of the two-story, white oak log home that dates to 1790 and supports events to encourage appreciation of and participation in local history.

Marilyn, along with GBU social members Debbie Popp Gilbert and Linda Bennett, organized a home and garden tour of the historic site. The convention’s publicity, online articles and publications generated interest, and many attendees took a bus tour to the site. There, docents in period costumes shared insights and knowledge about the home’s construction and the sustainable lifestyle of its early inhabitants. House tour visitors donated $633, which GBU matched, doubling the funds raised by Marilyn, Debbie and Linda to a total of $1,266 for ETHS.

These Give Back Group funds will help preserve and restore the 230-year-old building, create dynamic and interpretive historic experiences, develop period perennial gardens and teach sustainable living practices of early settlers.