2006 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE

Vallie Henderson

Born in 1907, Vallie Lewis Henderson loved Raleigh, the city of her birth. An avid gardener, she was passionate about beautifying her surroundings, her neighborhood, her city, and her state.

Henderson moved to what is now downtown’s Historic Oakwood community in 1935, where she made her home for 60 years. In 1950, she founded the Oakwood Garden Club with the sole purpose of improving a neighborhood that had been in decline during the war years. She helped a number of other neighborhoods across the city organize garden clubs.

In the early 1970’s when Oakwood seemed destined for urban renewal, she successfully organized opposition to a proposed freeway which would have cut right through her neighborhood. She was instrumental in forming the Society for the Preservation of Historic Oakwood to help protect this architectural treasure. The neighborhood was eventually listed as a national historic district in the National Register of Historic Places, and in 1974 the city designated Oakwood as it first local historic district. Henderson made countless informal contributions to Oakwood, often helping prospective residents find the perfect house and greeting newcomers with dinners.

When the Sears Roebuck Foundation announced a national program to encourage the revitalization of older neighborhoods through a program call HANDS (Home and Neighborhood Development Sponsors), Henderson used the opportunity to involve the City, rally other garden clubs, and bring together additional sponsors to support her beautification and conservation efforts. Over the years HANDS projects have included beautifying parks and major city street entrances, as well as special projects identified and supported by the mayor and city council. In 1989, Henderson received the highest honor of Keep America Beautiful, Inc. when she was awarded the Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson award for promoting a cleaner, greener neighborhood.

Henderson graduated from high school in 1924 and worked as a bookkeeper in a dentist’s office for 60 years. She married Archie Forbes Henderson, Jr. in 1938. The ceremony was held in her Oakwood home. During her long life she was active with the Raleigh Little Theatre, North Carolina Dental Society, Raleigh Safety Council, and the YWCA. She was a fixture at the annual Raleigh Home, Garden, and Flower Show. When asked to pick a favorite flower, Henderson declined saying that to name one would be taking away from one to give to another. In addition to her garden club passion, Henderson was a community leader in clean up and recycling programs.

The efforts of Vallie Lewis Henderson to beautify her hometown were significant, and Raleigh continues to benefit in many ways from her many years of devoted community service. Today, the Oakwood Garden Club lovingly maintains the Vallie Lewis Henderson Park, located at the corner of Oakwood Avenue and Linden Street.

Henderson passed away on December 21, 1998 and is buried in Raleigh’s historic Oakwood Cemetery.
 

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For more information, please write:

Raleigh Hall of Fame
PO Box 6128, Raleigh, NC 27628-6128

Or email information@raleighhalloffame.org or call (919) 787-9617.