Today the Dallas Arboretum Women’s Council’s 2020 Mad Hatter’s Tea was to take place at the Arboretum. The weather would have been simply ideal for the annual fundraiser for the 3.3-acre A Woman’s Garden, but COVID-19 trumped all the efforts for it to take place.
As disappointed as Council President Venise Stuart and 2020 Mad Hatter’s Tea Chair Patti Flowers were, they decided to take the opportunity to provide a look back at the Arboretum, the Council and the Tea. It was made possible thanks to 2004 Mad Hatter’s Tea Chair Connie Carreker‘s having a video was produced featuring the Heritage Ladies (Ebby Halliday Acers, Doris Anton, Patricia Cowlishaw, Nell Denman, Faye Gould, Mimi Lay Hodges, Margaret McDermott, Liz Minyard, Virginia Nick and Mary Nell Rogers), who were the driving forces of today’s Arboretum. It’s a treasure to see some women, who are no longer with us, recalling those early days when a bamboo wall separated the Arboretum’s Camp and DeGolyer estates and a machete was used to hack the way to one of the houses for meetings.
Why, when Carole Ann Brown chaired the very first Tea in 1989, it was in the Camp House gardens and despite tickets going for a mere $35, the event “earned $10,000.”
So, before taking that walk around the neighborhood, check out this remarkable video. It will make you want to head over to the Arboretum, but you’ll just have to wait until the Arboretum reopens. In the meantime, why not join the Women’s Council, make a donation for A Woman’s Garden and/or become a volunteer?
* Photo provided by the Women's Council of the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden