Abbreviation WNF&GA President Molly Hammerle | Formation 1914 | |
Founder Louisa Boyd Yeomans King Type Non-profit organization Region East North Central States, Northeastern United States | ||
The Woman's National Farm & Garden Association (WNF&GA) is an American non-profit organization dedicated to promoting agriculture and horticulture. Membership is open to men and women; chapters are active in the Northeastern United States and the East North Central States.
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History
The WNF&GA was founded in 1914, as the Women's National Agricultural and Horticultural Association. The name was changed to Woman's National Farm & Garden Association in 1916. The founders included Jane Bowne Haines, Louisa King, Elizabeth Price Martin, Elizabeth Leighton Lee, and Hilda Loines. King served as its first president from 1914 to 1920.
During World War I, WNF&GA joined other groups in organizing the Woman's Land Army of America: women agricultural volunteers replaced men called into military service. The temporary workers were known as "farmerettes."
The organization was an early promoter of horticultural therapy, describing the investigations of Elizabeth Hall in an article in its magazine in 1925. In 1952, Alice Wessels Burlingame initiated a workshop that led to a nine-year study, published as Therapy Through Horticulture. In 1984, WNF&GA established a scholarship in Burlingame's name for undergraduate students in the field of horticultural therapy.
Membership and Organization
The organization consists of various branches in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts, plus members at large. The Michigan and New York branches comprise divisions for their respective states. The current president is Molly Hammerle.
Recognition
The Ambler Arboretum of Temple University has named its visitors center in honor of the Woman's National Farm & Garden Association. The Ambler campus was the site of the Pennsylvania School of Horticulture for Women (PSHW), founded in 1911, as well as the founding site of the Women's National Farm and Garden Association (WNF&GA) in 1914. Artifacts from the School and the WNF&GA are on display in the Hilda Justice building at the Temple Ambler campus.
Publications
WNF&GA publishes Farm & Garden twice yearly. The magazine is a continuation of the organization's Bulletin and Quarterly, published in the early years of the organization.