The Darling Dahlias and the Eleven O'Clock Lady

The Darling Dahlias and the Eleven O'Clock Lady

Susan Wittig Albert




The Darling Dahlias Clubhouse and Gardens

302 Camellia Street

Darling, Alabama

Dear Reader,

We’ve all been pretty much up in the air with all the recent happenings in town, most of them connected, one way or another, with Camp Briarwood, the new Civilian Conservation Corps camp out beyond Briar’s Swamp. In fact, there’s been so much going on lately—so many threats to the peace and welfare of our dear little Darling—that some of us Dahlias are beginning to worry. And after what happened to Rona Jean Hancock, we are even more concerned.

So when Mrs. Albert dropped in at the clubhouse the other afternoon to tell us that she had decided to write another book about our town, we weren’t sure what to think. We’ve always imagined Darling as a beautiful place where mostly good things happen. After all, the people who live here are mostly very good, or at least above average. There are exceptions, of course. But when our Darling citizens do something bad, it’s usually a mistake or an accident or (at worst) a case of bad judgment.

Lately, though, it seems that the outside world has been pushing awfully hard to get into our dear little town, like that proverbial camel who keeps pushing his nose under the tent, and the threat has begun to worry some. Of course, when the camel brings jobs and boosts business (like Camp Briarwood, our local CCC camp), folks don’t complain too much. But there are those who would just as soon that the camel went back where he came from and left us alone, while others argue that if Darling is going to have any future, our town is going to have to wake up and join the modern world. It’s a puzzle—or a conundrum, as Miss Rogers says. (She’s a librarian and very fond of big words.)

Well, enough of that. When Mrs. Albert asked us to recommend a title for her book, it was our club president, Miss Elizabeth Lacy, who came up with the winning suggestion: The Eleven O’clock Lady. This is the name of Liz’s favorite spring wildflower, so called because the starry white blossoms don’t open until the sun shines directly on them and wakes them up. Miss Rogers wanted to insist that this little plant be called by its nine-syllable botanical name: Ornithogalum umbellatum. But Mrs. Albert pointed out that if the book were called The Darling Dahlias and the Ornithogalum Umbellatum, probably nobody would read it. When she put it that way, even Miss Rogers (who, as a librarian, always encourages everyone to read) had to agree. As to how The Eleven O’clock Lady fits what happened here in Darling—well, you’ll just have to read it and see. We hope you will.

And we also hope you will remember our club motto, which Aunt Hetty Little has embroidered with a beautiful vase of sunflowers for our club wall: We keep our faces to the sun so we can’t see the shadows. It’s how we manage to stay (mostly) cheerful during these depressing times. We recommend the practice. Maybe it will work for you, too.

Sincerely yours,

The Darling Dahlias





The Darling Dahlias Club Roster, Summer 1934


CLUB OFFICERS

Elizabeth Lacy, club president. Secretary to Mr. Benton Moseley, attorney-at-law, and garden columnist for the Darling Dispatch.

Ophelia Snow, club vice president and secretary. Holds two jobs: at the Darling Dispatch and as liaison officer in the quartermaster’s office at Camp Briarwood, the new CCC camp. Wife of Darling’s mayor, Jed Snow.

Verna Tidwell, club treasurer. Cypress County treasurer and probate clerk. A widow, Verna lives with her beloved Scottie, Clyde.

Myra May Mosswell, club communications secretary. Co-owner of the Darling Telephone Exchange and the Darling Diner. Lives with Violet Sims and Violet’s little girl, Cupcake, in the flat over the diner.

CLUB MEMBERS