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While McKeesport's noisy neighbors to the north were celebrating the 75th anniversary of sandwiches with fries and cole slaw on top, Our Fair City was hosting something a bit more genteel.

On Saturday, members of the Garden Club of McKeesport celebrated their organization's Diamond Jubilee with their biennial flower show.

Hosted at the McKeesport Heritage Center's grand banquet hall in Renziehausen Park, all of the club's 45 members were expected to enter the competition, which was a sanctioned event judged by other members of the National Garden Clubs, Inc.

Entries range from simple specimens of flowering plants and shrubs to table arrangements and home-decorating displays.

The Garden Club of McKeesport is not McKeesport's only organization for horticulturalists --- others include the Home Gardeners' Guild and the YWCA Garden Club --- but it's probably the best known.

Founded Aug. 17, 1933, by a group of the city's most prominent and elite women, the Garden Club is a more egalitarian organization these days, says Jane Miller, its current president.

"We have some pretty dedicated members," says Miller, of North Huntingdon Township. Though many of the club's members are from McKeesport and its suburbs, others come from as far away as Greentree and Moon Township.

The club's primary activity includes cultivation of the city's arboretum in Renziehausen Park, which is maintained in cooperation with the Pittsburgh Rose Society.

Located next to the Heritage Center, the facility covers more than three acres, including 1,800 roses, beds of perennials, a goldfish pond and water feature, a herb garden and butterfly garden, and a gazebo that's popular for weddings and other events.

"We're already booked for some months next year," Miller says.

Dubbed the "Jewel of McKeesport" by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the city's arboretum is one of only 123 in the United States certified by the American Rose Society and is the second-largest in Pennsylvania, after only Hershey Gardens in Hershey, Pa.

The arboretum is open seven days a week from 8 a.m. until dark. Admission is free.

Educational events, many held in cooperation with other enthusiasts in western Pennsylvania, are also hosted at the Garden Club's building.

During the first five years of the club's existence, Miller says, members met at the Penn-McKee Hotel or in each others' homes.

But in 1938, the city invited the club to create the arboretum at Renzie Park. The club got a permanent headquarters building in 1983. A two-story ranch-style building above the gardens hosts space for members to work and a gift shop.

Members gather every Wednesday, rain or shine, to tend the flower beds or work on pressed flower arrangements, wreaths, and other crafts for the club's gift shop.

Regular monthly meetings are held on the third Monday of the month at 11 a.m., and the club also hosts four teas during the summer months.

"We work right up until December," Miller says. "There's a lot of work to getting the garden ready for the winter."

The club then goes on hiatus before resuming activities in April.

"I find my peace in the garden, I really do," says Mary Jane Hickman of White Oak, a member of the club for the past eight years.

She calls working in the garden a great "stress reliever. If I have something that's really bothering me, that's where I go," she says. "I come in early on Wednesday morning, with the birds singing, and go to work."

Like many other social and hobby clubs these days, the Garden Club has a hard time getting new people to join. Many of the current members are retired, and some are in their late 80s. But the Garden Club welcomes prospective members, Hickman says; they should plan to attend a few work sessions to get to know the other volunteers.

Younger enthusiasts are very welcome, she says. The Garden Club has a lot to offer younger gardeners --- men and women alike, Hickman says. Besides fellowship and encouragement, the club hosts educational programs throughout the year in conjunction with experts from around the region and state.

"We're always learning new things," she says.

. . .

The Garden Club of McKeesport will host an open house on Sunday, Sept. 15. Watch the club's website for details.

The club is located at the corner of Tulip and Arboretum drives in Renziehausen Park, one block from Eden Park Boulevard, near city Fire Station No. 2 and Penn State Greater Allegheny Campus.

To inquire about renting the arboretum for an event, call Grace Krepps at (412) 751-8656. For other details about the club, call (412) 672-1050.