Why is the carnation is our logo?

Why is the carnation our logo for the  Westborough Garden Club?

“In the mid-20^th century, Westborough carnations were famous all over the country and even in the Caribbean, and about 10,000 to 18,000 flowers a day were shipped out by railway Express.  They were grown by the two major greenhouses – Brigham’s Plants and Flowers and MacGuffog’s Greenhouses, located near Route 9 and Lyman Street.  Paul Brigham raised carnations in six greenhouses on Lyman Street, at the site of  the former Westborough Conservatories.

Archiblald MacGuffog, who learned to cultivate carnations in England, built his business along Route 9 and became the second largest grower of carnations in New England.

Sylvia MacGuffog Valencia took over her father’s business and was named by the Carnation Growers of America to design and supervise the flowers at John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Balls. Many of the 50,000 carnations used at the Inaugural came from Westborough Greenhouses.”

Published by Caroline Santospago, Past President 1994-1996, in the 1998 Westborough Garden Club Yearbook.