'We should all be like Ann'

By Deborah Rose

Ann Stone can be described as a nature whisperer.

At 82, the New Milford resident is devoted to the natural world, is a longtime member of the Garden Club of New Milford, and is known to gently talk to pumpkins and flowers.

On Oct. 16, Stone was recognized with the Lillian M. Rathbun Award, the highest individual award presented by the Federated Garden Club of Connecticut.

“It’s her 50th anniversary with the local garden club – and she has done everything with the club,” said Kathi Barringer, president of the Garden Club of New Milford. “There’s nothing she hasn’t done. She’s never stood on the sidelines.”

The president said she and club members “felt it was the right time to submit (Ann’s) name for this honor,” especially given her “impressive resume.”

Stone joined the garden club in 1974 and has since served on every committee – several more than once – and held every office, except treasurer and secretary.

“I’m a terrible speller,” she quipped. “I can spell all kinds of medical words, but don’t ask me how to spell 'which.'”

She has served as club president six and a half times and organized the club’s annual plant sale approximately 20 times.

“This honor is wonderful,” Stone said of the award presented to her at the Federation’s annual meeting at the Aqua Turf.

“I just can’t express how grateful I feel for Kathi for putting my name forward,” she said. This is over the top.”

Fellow longtime member Sally Milligan described Stone as “a valuable member of the garden club.”

“I can’t overstate how valuable she has been,” Milligan stated. “Fifty years. All the hours she has put into the Green (and its gardens), and the leadership…she’s done everything.”

“She is  a phenomenal worker and wonderful person to work with,” Milligan summed up.

Stone developed an appreciation for gardening from her mother, an avid organic gardener. 

She moved to New Milford when she married in 1964 and 10 years later found herself joining the garden club and working alongside some respected and key community figures, each of whom taught Stone unique skills and valuable life lessons.

Helen Marie Pillotson “instilled in me a love of nature and taught me that you don’t waste things….you use everything you get, and you don’t disrespect nature.”

Lennie Lillis, owner of the former Lennie’s Flower Shop in town, helped Stone learn the art of flower arranging and the importance of thanking others for what they do.

Alice McCallister, an attorney and one of the founders of Weantinoge Heritage Land Trust, taught Stone about nonprofit organizations and others lent their expertise in other areas, such as how to grow roses, prune shrubs, and work with people.

“It was a wonderful learning experience,” Stone said of all she learned from fellow members.

WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT?

Since its founding in 1923, the garden club has been an active nonprofit organization serving and contributing to the beautification of the community.

Members plant trees, landscape public areas, design gardens, offer workshops and exhibit, and fund projects.

“I love it all,” Stone said of the club’s activities. She cited teaching students how to do flower arranging, interacting with the public at plant sales, and trying new plants in the garden as among her favorite pastimes.

While the club’s mission is to “stimulate interest in gardens and gardening, encourage conservation of natural resources, promote civic improvement, and study and enjoy the artistic use of plants,” Stone acknowledged the club offers much more than that.

She cited the strong friendships formed over the years.

“Everybody is slightly different and you have to accept the differences – the good points along with the bad points,” the member of the town’s Bee City Committee said.

“And you have to be tolerant of people who are different than yourself….and appreciate them for who they are and what talents they have,” she added.

In more recent years, Stone has found deep appreciation for the friendships formed, which helped her face some health challenges.

“I got over 50 letters from people in the club,” Stone said, noting each message was important to her.

“The main thing that has held me (with the club) is the friendship and the caring our members have for each other,” Stone acknowledged.

The number of cards is no surprise to Barringer who highlighted the acts of kindness, encouragement, and support Stone has for those around her 24-7.

“She’s very supportive, and the goodwill of that really means a lot to everybody,” the president said.

No matter the role a fellow member has – leading a workshop, making an arrangement for an event, or organizing a fundraiser – Stone is the first to acknowledge their role and will always follow up with “a thoughtful gesture,” albeit a phone call or visit.

“She’s a steadfast member,” Barringer said, who also praised Stone’s ability to remind members about the club’s history.

“I’m a forward-looking person, and she gently reminds me there’s a reason for (our) history. And sometimes it reminds me to slow down and look at picture big of things.”

SPECIAL CONNECTIONS

Stone cares deeply for everything she touches, especially when it comes to gardening.

So, when she and a stranger crossed paths and bonded a few months back at the All Wars Memorial on the south end of the Green, she made sure to add something special to the garden surrounding the monument.

She and the young man struck up a conversation. He was there to honor his friend, who had died in Afghanistan. It was the anniversary of his birth.

“The two of us were standing there talking about the monument and the beautification and all of the sudden a sun shower came and put what looked like tear drops on the monument,” Stone related. “We just stared at it and couldn’t talk because it was so breathtaking.”

A week later, the same gentleman spotted Stone downtown. He stopped his truck, rolled down his window an handed her a $100. He asked that she add something to the garden in honor of his late friend. 

“I went out and now we have poppy plants there,” Stone said.

Decades ago Stone came upon a Cardinal sitting in the Historical Garden located on the New Milford Historical Society & Museum property. The garden is maintained by the club.

“He was just sitting there and said to me, ‘This is the most peaceful garden I’ve ever sat in,’” Stone recalled. 

He then added, “You don’t have any Forget-Me-Nots.”

Stone said she “tried and tried” to add them to the garden, but the plants “like to have their feet wet and that garden is too dry.”

Experiences like these – meeting the public as they enjoy the areas beautified by the club, stick with Stone.

“Those things are really so special,” she said. “The people you get involved with, the people you see, the people you don’t even know you’re affecting."

BEYOND GARDENING

Stone may be celebrating her 50th year as a member of the garden club, but she is also celebrating her 50th year as a member of New Milford Community Ambulance.

When she joined in April of 1974, she became the first woman to join the organization and later became the first woman to serve on its board of directors.

Over the years, she has seen it all, and even once used her own radio to call in for the ambulance for herself.

“I picked up my radio, identified myself and said, ‘We’ve got a possible back injury,’” Stone said, recalling a late 1980s accident that threw her 15 feet, causing her to land on her back and break her L1 vertebra, the topmost bone in the lower back.

Stone healed as best as she could from the injury and has not let any residual effects impact her ability to continue to do the things she enjoys. She did, however, resign from active duty following the injury.

In addition to her commitment to volunteerism with the garden club and ambulance, Stone had a lengthy career at New Milford Hospital, where she was an EEG, EKG and EP tech.

Milligan described Stone as integral in the community.

“She’s an asset, and she’s tireless and cares about her community,” she said. “We should all be like Ann.”

Courtesy of Garden Club of New Milford social media/Ann Stone, right, was honored as a 50-year member of the Garden Club of New Milford in June 2024. She is shown above with Kathi Barringer, club president.

Courtesy of Garden Club of New Milford social media/Ann Stone has been an integral part of the community since she moved to New Milford in the 1960s.

Courtesy of Garden Club of New Milford/Ann Stone is a familiar face in the community.

Courtesy of Garden Club of New Milford/In 2024, Ann Stone marks her 50th year as a member of the Garden Club of New Milford and New Milford Community Ambulance.