by Wesley Harris
Few flowers define the Southern landscape as clearly as the camellia.
Blooming in the quiet months when most of the garden lies bare, the camellia stands apart—its glossy green leaves framing blooms of white, pink, and deep red that seem almost too perfect to be real. Each flower unfolds with a kind of deliberate grace, layered petals arranged with a precision that has fascinated gardeners for generations.
In contrast to the many flowers that fade quickly in the heat, the camellia thrives in the cool of winter and early spring, bringing color when it is least expected. Its blooms do not simply wilt—they fall whole, dropping intact from the plant as if placed gently on the ground. For many, that alone sets it apart.
Across the South, camellias have long been a point of pride, carefully cultivated and shared among neighbors. Cuttings are passed from yard to yard, names are remembered, and certain plants become tied to families and places just as much as homes and traditions.
Interest in camellias—particularly among men—had been building in Ruston for years. As early as 1947, a meeting of the Cosmos Club, a Ruston women’s organization, included a presentation noting the growing appeal of the camellia among male enthusiasts. The speaker noted the camellia was becoming something of a “men’s flower,” pointing out more men’s clubs than women’s clubs had attended a recent convention of the Louisiana Camellia Society.
By 1950, that interest had begun to take organized form. Ruston had established a men’s camellia club with Hollis Hearne serving as president. That same year, Stewart Hunt of Ruston received a blue ribbon for a camellia he entered in a show hosted by the Shreveport Men’s Camellia Club, evidence local growers were already participating in a broader network of enthusiasts across the region.
By the 1950s, camellias had become a visible part of Ruston’s landscape. Thriving in the shade of the towering oak trees surrounding many of the city’s homes, they were well suited to the local environment. Vendors such as Driggers Nursery on Cooktown Road, Ridgdill Nursery on Highway 80 east of town, and Townsend’s Garden Center offered camellias for sale to homeowners eager to add the prized blooms to their yards. Camellias were not inexpensive, often costing more than other popular greenery of the time, such as azaleas, pyracantha, and Buford holly, making them something of an investment.
Men’s camellia clubs were not unique to Ruston. Similar organizations had taken root in cities such as Shreveport, New Orleans, and Bogalusa, reflecting a broader statewide enthusiasm for the flower.
By 1961, however, interest in the Ruston club had apparently waned. That March, Hollis Hearne issued a call for men interested in forming—or perhaps reviving—a camellia club to gather at city hall. The response marked a second renaissance of the club as the Ruston Men’s Camellia Society. Hearne was again elected president, with Nick Medica serving as vice president and Charles H. Edwards, Jr. as secretary-treasurer.
The club moved quickly from organization to activity.
By December of that same year, the Ruston group hosted the Louisiana Camellia Society. According to Louisiana Tech professor John G. Wright, the society’s board of directors met in Ruston on December 8 at Lincoln Courts, followed by a supper attended by state officers, directors, past presidents, and local members.
That evening an open meeting was held at the Louisiana Tech Little Theater. The program featured a panel discussion composed of camellia experts from the state board, with Nick Medica, now president, representing the Ruston club. The purpose of the gathering, Wright noted, was to stimulate further interest in the growing of camellias.
Visitors from Alexandria, Shreveport, Monroe, El Dorado, and other surrounding areas attended, underscoring both the popularity of the camellia and Ruston’s place within that wider network of enthusiasts.
The club remained active for years afterward. By 1977, it was hosting its 18th annual camellia show, with Lincoln Bank sponsoring the event at the Ruston Civic Center for several years. The show invited the public to view exhibits and share in the beauty of blooms grown by local members.
Hollis Hearne, who had led the club’s revival in 1961, was still listed among its members. Others associated with the show included Dudley Cowan, serving as president, along with Pat Pierce, Dr. Wallace Herbert, Skip Daugherty, and Roy Ezell.
By 1980, membership in the club had dwindled to around ten men. A brief resurgence came in 1987, when the Monroe camellia club disbanded and several of its members joined the Ruston group. But by 1990, with long-time members aging or passing away and little interest in the hobby among younger generations, the club gradually faded from view.
Such events reflected more than an interest in gardening. They spoke to a time when community life was built around shared interests, and when even a flower could bring people together for fellowship, learning, and friendly competition.
Though the club itself has disappeared, its legacy remains. Camellias still bloom in yards across Ruston and Lincoln Parish, quiet reminders of a time when the arrival of winter flowers was enough to draw a community together.
In Ruston, as in much of the South, the camellia was more than a flower.
It was something worth gathering for.
