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05/23/2018 08:30 AM“We are not known so much by what we keep, but by what we share.”
This inspiring quote is the motto of the Connecticut chapter of the General Federation of Women’s Club–and it’s also a rather fitting description of Dee Mulqueen’s decades of service and commitment to the Madison community.
Right now, Dee is busy putting the final plans in place for the Women’s Club of Madison’s annual Gardens by the Sea event on Sunday, June 3. As co-chair of the organizing committee, she is relieved to see that spring has finally sprung.
“We have seven locations this year, from small patio gardens to large gardens with fruit trees. They are all in Madison with most south of the Post Road, including one on the water and one that’s a summer home for a family from London,” she says.
“Mother Nature has not been very good to us this year with the spring so late, but we’re feeling more confident as the weather gets warmer,” she adds. “All of a sudden, the plants and flowers are coming out.”
Gardens by the Sea has been annual club fundraiser for about 20 years and right after one tour ends, that planning for the next year’s event begins.
“Our club members recommend impressive gardens they see and we scout the gardens out in spring so we know what they’ll look like. Then we knock on doors and fortunately we find some people that are very happy to be involved. They need time to prepare their gardens—some do the work themselves and some have gardeners—but it’s a lot of work, so we appreciate it,” Dee says.
Two decades later and enthusiasm for the tour is as strong as ever, with about 500 garden lovers coming to last year’s event. Attendees are a mix of Madison and shoreline locals, summer residents, and visitors including some passionate gardeners who travel the U.S. every spring on an informal garden tour circuit.
“It’s a lovely day and no one knows what gardens are in the tour until they get their secret treasure map on the day,” Dee says. “For gardeners, it’s inspirational and the people who come say they get so many ideas.”
All proceeds from this year’s Gardens by the Sea event will benefit the club’s chosen special project: The beautification of the Surf Club.
Planting the Seeds of Community Service
Hailing from New Jersey, Dee worked in credit management and small business accounting before moving to Connecticut to raise her son in Madison more than 30 years ago. She joined the Madison Newcomers Club and later served as club president.
“Back then we had 160 members and we had to meet in the First Congregational Church because there was nowhere else in town with enough space for us all,” she says. “I always said, ‘I’m not a club person,’ but then I signed up and now, here I am!”
Dee soon joined her husband Tom in business as owners of Hammonasset Package Store on the Boston Post Road.
“I started out doing the accounting and now I also work in the store. We’re in a good location so we’re very busy in the summer. We have lots of regulars and we know their life stories. I love the contact with the people and getting to know our customers.
“I work with my husband 24-7 and so far, so good!” Dee adds with a smile.
As local business owners, Dee says she and Tom have made a conscious effort to support the town and give back to the community.
“We’ve been very successful in the business and that allows us to give to everything in this town. We donate all the soda for the Nite at Hand, we support the Concerts on the Green and the town fireworks, we give to the VFW and the American Legion, both in Madison and Clinton,” she says.
Dee is an active volunteer with Labs4Rescue and the Madison Food Pantry, as well as a past volunteer with the American Red Cross. She joined the Women’s Club of Madison in 2003 and has served in various roles including president from 2008 to 2010.
“I was looking for a new civic organization to be involved with, so I joined the Women’s Club because everything that we raise, we give back to the community,” she says. “There are lots of nice people in the club and I’ve found some great friendships. We are all banded together with the common goal of giving back, and we make our work look like fun.
As well as heading the Garden by the Sea event, Dee is chair of the club’s Veterans’ Committee.
“Every year, we work with the American Legion or the veteran’s hospital to find a Connecticut veteran’s family in need and we support them for the holidays. They make a list and we collect gift cards, toys, clothes, and we make the delivery as a club. We’ve been doing this for eight years and it’s the most feel-good program we do,” she says.
For the past three years, club members have also collected toiletries and household essentials to send to an orphanage in Nepal, and for many years, the club has donated scholarships to graduating Madison students.
The evidence of the Madison Women’s Club fundraising efforts can be seen all over town: the thermal imaging night glasses for the Madison Fire Department, a library at the Madison Senior Center, a medical golf cart at Daniel Hand High School, and heating at Meigs Point Nature Center are just a few dream projects that the club made a reality.
Most of the club’s 50 members are Madison residents, but interested women from neighboring towns are welcome. In recent years, some other shoreline towns have seen civic organizations and clubs fold due to dwindling numbers. Dee and her fellow members are determined that the Women’s Club of Madison will continue to thrive and meet its mission of community service.
“Without any civic organizations in town, you don’t get the extra things,” she says. “The town can’t cover everything the community needs, so when we give something to the Fire Department, it’s one less thing they need, or when we do the veteran’s holiday project, that’s one more family that gets help. It’s all about giving back to the community.”
The Gardens by the Sea is on Sunday, June 3 from noon to 4 p.m. The cost is $20 in advance; tickets are available at R.J. Julia Booksellers, 768 Boston Post Road, Madison; Walker Loden, 788 Boston Post Road, Madison; Hammonasset Package Store, 1333 Boston Post Road, Madison; Madison Flower Shop & Garden Center, 376 Durham Road; bellaPerlina, 673 Boston Post Road, Madison; Country Shop, 684 Boston Post Road, Madison; Village Greene Gardens, 800 Boston Post Road, Guilford; and Flutterby, 55 Whitfield Street, Guilford. The cost on the day of the tour is $25; tickets will be available at Madison Visitors Center, 12 School Street. For more information, call 203-245-8459.