Most of us have had experience with a book club or reading group, but do you know of any reading group that has lasted for nearly a century? There was one in New Rochelle – the Avon Bard Club! It was founded in 1908 as a study group devoted to the works of William Shakespeare. The club's name combines the name of Shakespeare's birthplace – Stratford-upon-Avon, England – with his title as "The Bard" – a masterful lyric poet. For decades the Avon Bard Club of New Rochelle provided a guided course of study to the poetry and plays of William Shakespeare in regular meetings of serious readers.
Besides the intensive of study of Shakespeare, the club created a public garden with the intention of planting all the herbs and flowers mentioned in Shakespeare's plays and poetry. The idea was conceived by Jessie Beers, the wife of William Beers of the New Rochelle appellate court, who was inspired by a visit to the Elizabethan gardens of Stratford-upon-Avon. With the cooperation of New Rochelle city officials, the club opened the garden in Davenport Park at Long Island Sound in April 1937 and cared for its maintenance for many years. In 1966, the Federated Garden Clubs of New York recognized the club with a special citation for the beautification of public parks.
The New Rochelle Public Library holds the records of the Avon Bard Club among its many archival collections. The records include study guides to Shakespeare's plays and several original essays – a fascinating glimpse of how Shakespeare was studied in New Rochelle from 1908 to 1996. One document in the collection lists all the book titles ever inspired by William Shakespeare – over 500!
Shakespeare's birthday is April 23rd. The great essayist Samuel Johnson claimed that his plays "may be considered a Map of Life" and that a person "that has read Shakespeare with attention will perhaps find little new in the crowded world – his repuation is therefore safe, till Human Nature shall be changed." Inspiring words about The Bard!
April 20, 2020 / David Rose / New Rochelle Library Archives
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