Instructor: Dr. Holly Woltz is a retired small animal Veterinarian and a community activist. Her community involvement has included: ACS Relay for Life, GEM for High School girls, Paws for Cancer Walk, Board member of SC State Board of Veterinary Medicine and Aiken Symphony; features author for the Aiken Standard and various Aiken magazines; and President of Friends of Hopelands Gardens and Rye Patch. Description: The City of Aiken began in 1835 with the Charleston to Hamburg railroad. It provided an escape from the summer heat and diseases for low country Carolinians and a place to enjoy horses, golf, tennis, teas, and elaborate dinners for wealthy Winter Colony “Yankees.” C. Charles and Hope Iselin designed and built Hopelands on 10 acres in 1897. Rye Patch, 14 acres, became the winter home of Mr. and Mrs. Edmund (Dorothy Knox Goodyear) Rogers in 1938. Both properties now belong to the City of Aiken, where their natural settings are a popular site for children, weddings, and visitors seeking the quiet and serenity of the gardens. The properties’ care, development and preservation are guided by the Friends of Hopelands and Rye Patch.