The Camellia City's oldest garden club still in existence is helping visitors discover the beauty of Greenville's historic downtown district.

On Thursday, March 14, many of the Pride of Greenville Garden Club's members gathered at the intersection of Fort Dale Road and College Street to see a brand new sign go up

one the club designed and had constructed in an effort to promote tourism in the Camellia City.

Juanita Carter, a well-known local artist and long-time garden club member, made preliminary sketches for the design of the sign. It features an eye-catching red camellia in its right-hand corner with an arrow directing traffic to flow to the left to discover the riches of historic Greenville.

"If you haven't lived here all your life, it's pretty easy to end up going in the wrong direction…we hope this new sign will be a help to all the visitors coming into our city," noted Pride of Greenville Co-President Nancy Jones.

Founded in 1947, the club has participated in a number of community events throughout the years including Christmas lighting contests, holiday houses, Christmas lighting ceremonies, flower shows, wayside park beautification, city parks projects and beautification awards. Today the Pride of Greenville Garden Club sponsors the annual fall flower show and poster contest at the Butler County Fair.

The club has been continuously active for an impressive 55 years and one of its charter members, Ada Clair Cheatham Solomons, is still active with the organization. It is the only club still active in the Greenville Federation of Garden Clubs, which presents prize monies to winners of the annual flower show at the Butler County Fair.

The club, which meets monthly in various members' homes, met most recently in the home of Caroline Ryan. Club members also regularly attend district and state meetings and serve as show judges on the local, district and state levels.

Currently the club is planning a trip on April 11 to historic Selma for a luncheon and tour of the gardens of one of the city's oldest homes.