The first Flower Spark, held in 1939, was a handful of booths with jaunty green and white striped awnings lining the Pilgrim steps. It is said that Mrs. Roosevelt was the first First Lady to attend Flower Spark. She was interested in seeing the wares brought to the "Market" by local farmer's wives. Mrs. Woodrow Wilson acted as a cashier selling fruits and vegetable at one Spark. Eight "First Ladies" have opened or attended Flower Spark. They are: Eleanor Roosevelt, Edith Wilson, Bess Truman, Mamie Eisenhower, Pat Nixon, Lady Bird Johnson, Jackie Kennedy and Barbara Bush.
Violet Thoron , a AHG long-serving Board member, remembers her Mother-in-law’s description of the history of the beginning of Flower Spark: “In 1932, Mrs. Thoron, Senior, spent the winter in Rome. She often went to the Spanish Steps in Rome where flower sellers gathered to sell their blossoms. She suggested that the Cathedral South Steps, the Pilgrim Steps, would also lend themselves as a place to stage a flower sale to benefit the Cathedral grounds. In 1939, the first All Hallows Guild Flower Spark was indeed held on the Pilgrim Steps.” Credit Suzanne Miller, All Hallows Herald, 2008.
Learn more about Flower Spark's History Here or take a look at a Pictorial History of Flower Spark’s First 75 Years