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Members:
Here is the
newsletter for November. Looks like winter has descended upon us. Tis
the season, I guess. Get ready for the holidays now, rah, rah!
Pete Addeo,
Webmaster
Missoula Iris Society
http://www.missoulairis.com
DATE & TIME:
SATURDAY,
NOVEMBER 7TH, 6:30 pm.
Meeting and Potluck dinner begins at 6:30 p.m
PLACE:
Home of Leona Wyckoff, 5360
Goodan Lane, Call 721-3426 for further information.
PROGRAM:
None
reported to us.
"FYI" NEWS
AGENDA ITEMS:
We aren't sure, but usually the November meeting includes presentation
of the slate of officers for 2010, selection of an audit committee, and
presentation of the budget for 2010.
CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Ron Dunn has moved to Hunter's Glen
Christmas Party: Billie Gray will host the Christmas Party again
this year on Saturday, December 12th beginning at 4:00 p.m. Come early if
you wish. Billie will prepare the turkey and asks that you call her and
leave a message about what you are bringing.
Don't forget to start shopping for the perfect garden related Christmas
gift. For new members, following is the criteria for the gift exchange.
It's a lot of fun
CHRISTMAS PARTY GIFT EXCHANGE:
Everyone brings a wrapped gift (up to $12.00 value) and we put all the
gifts in the center of the room and then pick numbers to see who goes
first. The #1 person gets to pick any gift from the pile. The gift is
opened for all to see. Then the #2 person in line can pick the gift that
#1 picked or pick from the stack and the same goes for each one
thereafter. If you pick one of the opened gifts, then that person now
can pick someone else’s gift or from the stack. The limit is 3 times for
any one gift to own. There is a lot of heavy duty trading between
everyone and the laughs just keep coming. It is a great end to a
wonderful year with our friends and members.
It's Their
Birthday!!....Let's Give 'Em a Cheer!!!
Happy day to Donna
Dowell - November 3rd, Steve Hesla – November 6th, and Eleanor Utech –
November 21st. Happy Birthday to each of you.
OCTOBER 2009
TREASURERS REPORT as
of October 22, 2009.
Pursuant from a
review of my checkbook register on October 13, a mathematical error of
plus 10 cents was detected in the month of August. This error increases
the reported balance to $3,969.00 from $3,680.90 which then affects the
Sept 23 balance by the same error to give a corrected balance to
$3,840.25. Thus here is the October report.
CHECKING ACCOUNT:
Sept 23 balance $3840.25 , income is $29.00, and the expenses were
$279.22 leaving an October 22 balance of $3,590.03. The income was
from sale of 50 plant markers for $20.00 and Judy Blunt membership for
$9.00. Expenses paid for the past month were $83.20 to Marchies Nursery
to buy soil to plant the new irises; $72.09 to Billie Gray for Fort
Garden materials to plant these irises; $83.75 to Betty Ann Gustafson
for sunshine gifts to Donna Dowell and for Rosemary Baier's memorial
service and family; $40.18 to Alverta Symes for card file materials.;
total expenses paid $279.22.
SAVINGS ACCOUNT: Sept report income was $5,606.86. At the end of
Sept an interest income of $2.08 was credited to our account leaving a
balance of $5,608.94.
It time for the membership to discuss and create a budget for 2010. I
will have some numbers to present at the meeting. I will begin
collecting dues for 2010 at the November meeting. The value is $9.00
unless it is changed at the November meeting. It is my desire to have
ALL members paid up by the February 2010 meeting because the annual iris
show schedule has to be turned in by the end of February . The show
schedule committee always does a dancing act trying to find out how
many members are paid, especially the AIS members, for the report the
need to submit. In order to facilitate this process, I will send out a
notice in December to all people on the current membership list who did
not pay at the November or December meetings. Trust you will all pay up
early.
Swede Gustafson, Treasurer
IN MEMORIAM
Members of the iris society were saddened to learn of the passing of
Rosemary Baier a long time member of the society. Following is the
obituary from The Missoulian:
Rosemary 'Pumpkin' Luedecke Baier
MISSOULA - Rosemary 'Pumpkin' Luedecke Baier of Missoula passed away
Monday, Oct. 5, 2009, after a long struggle with breast and ovarian
cancer. She died at her home surrounded by her family and neighbors.
Rosie just hosted her 68th birthday on Sept. 5 and her 44th wedding
anniversary on Sept. 25.
Rosemary was born in Hamilton to Frank and Helen Luedecke where she
lived on Dutch Hill and attended school in Corvallis. Soon after
graduation she moved to Missoula where she met Kenneth Baier. They
married in 1964 and the couple has resided in East Missoula most of
their married life.
When remembering Rosie, most people will remember her great entertaining
and her love of the holidays and family traditions. She was the best
witch on Halloween and had a Halloween village with more than 65 houses
and a Halloween tree better than most of our Christmas trees. Rosie was
also enthusiastic about Christmas. She decorated her house with 7 theme
trees, her favorite being her "travel tree". Rosie placed ornaments on
her trees she collected from her many trips and life adventures, from
Paris to Alaska and down to Panama where she and Ken recently cruised
through the canal. Cruising sparked an interest in ballroom dancing and
she and Ken spent many hours dancing. Rosie vacationed in Mexico and was
even once seen parasailing.
Rosemary owned and operated the Flower Haus in Lolo for many years where
she enjoyed floral arranging and chatting with her customers. After her
reoccurrence of cancer, she sold the store to retire. However, her love
for people and flowers caused her to return part time at Caras Nursery
where she worked up until this summer. She recently had many thoughts
for her friends whom are now setting up for the Christmas season.
Rosemary always lived her life to the fullest and was happy to share her
love with anyone accepting.
Rosemary was preceded in death by her parents Frank L. and Helen L.
Luedecke; her brother David L. Luedecke; and her brother-in-law Gordon
Buckallew. She is survived by her husband Kenneth W. Baier; her daughter
Kelly Etzel and husband Rob; her son Stacey Baier, two sisters, Barbara
Buckallew and Martha Nielsen; six grandchildren and six
great-granchildren.
The family suggests that memorials be made in Rosemary's name to
Partners in Home Care; 2687 Palmer St, Suite F, Missoula, MT 59808.
Condolences may be left for the family at www.dalyleachchapel.com.
Excerpts from a feature story in The Missoulian on October 19, 2009:
EAST MISSOULA - Come All Hallows Eve, the monsters will not meet on
Montana Avenue, as they have in years gone by. And the spindly dead
branches of the Halloween Tree will not be decked in orange and black.
And the worms, the wriggly treats doled out to tricksters, well, this
year a 20-pound bucket will have to do, instead of the usual 35-pounder.
Because Pumpkin is gone.
"It's hard to imagine Halloween without her," said husband Ken Baier.
"She was the best witch you've ever seen - green face and everything."
Rosemary Luedecke Baier - "Pumpkin" to friends and family - died Oct.
5, not a month short of her
very favorite
holiday. It was a month after her 68th birthday and a week after her
44th anniversary and far, far too soon by any measure.
"To me," Ken said, "there were girls, and there were broads, and there
were women, and there were ladies. And she was a lady. Definitely a
lady."
Elegant and graceful, but tough enough that life's rough edges didn't
leave many marks. Generous and giving, but brooking no nonsense. Known
for flowers and beauty, and most of all for living life large. "She
never did anything halfway," laughed daughter Kelly Etzel. "If she was
going to do it, she was going to do it grand."
That explains, perhaps, those 13 life-sized monsters that lurked in her
yard every autumn. And the Halloween Tree, dry branches hung with
ornaments from far and wide. And "Creepy Hollow," the Halloween village
- a sepulchral twist on the snow-covered village under the Christmas
tree - with 65 gloomy houses populated by small and somber people.
"She loved it," Ken said. "one year, we had 450 trick-or-treaters."
That equals about 40 pounds of gummy worms.
Pumpkin was born Sept. 5, 1941, down in Hamilton, to a dad who worked
the woods and a mom who kept the kids. She was the oldest of four, and
there wasn't much money.
"I don't suppose it was what you'd call the easy life," Ken said. "But
it was happy."
She graduated from high school, "piddled around a little bit," married
young, had a daughter, divorced, took a job tending bar. That's where
Ken met her. He was shy, she was not, and they married a month after
they met. She brought a daughter and together they had a son, "and she
started us traveling right off the bat."
All through the region, up to Alaska, down into Mexico, out into the
Caribbean, to Panama and Paris, and points beyond. Wherever she went,
Ken said, she took her sharp wit, her quick comebacks, her never-ending
search for something more and better.
She was the kind of person, said friend Mary Murphy, who saw the glass
as half-full, but who "knew there was more to life than having a half
glass. She wanted a full glass, all the time." From her backyard iris
gardens to the Louvre, Rosie sought beauty the way hungry people seek
nourishment. She brought back from her travels hundreds of holiday
ornaments, and soon she and Ken needed a second Christmas tree to hold
the delicate, glass blown memories. Then a third and a fourth.
"We have seven Christmas trees now," Ken said, including one he hangs
upside-down from the ceiling, "just because."
If Pumpkin had been decorating for the sake of decorating, Murphy said,
the monsters and baubles might have gone over the top, somewhere into
the not-so-rarified realm of kitsch.
But she didn't do that, Murphy said, because for her the holidays had
deeper roots.
"She loved family more than anyone I've ever know." daughter Kelly said.
The decorations were for holidays, and holidays were for gathering, and
gathering was for family, and so all that pomp was, in the end, just a
way to get the kids to come around and be together.
Rosie was a sewer, and a crotchetier, and a knitter, and a grower of
wonderful flowers. A master garden judge, owner of Lolo's Flower Haus,
shower of Afghan hounds. A business woman, a laugher, a
spur-of-the-moment para sailor. Cooker of fine meals, collector of fine
friends, center of girls' day out. Loved cowboy theater and mystery
novels and fine art.
She was convinced she could do anything, and taught her kids the same.
They caller her "the giving tree."
When it came to cake (and often it did), she ate the frosting first.
When a grandson called her Pumpkin, she wore the name 30 years and more
with pride. When niece Julie Patterson saw a pricey prom dress in the
store window, Rosie took a look, made some notes, sewed her a replica.
When cancer treatment claimed her hair, she went bald, because bald was
honest-but she was pleased when it all grew back.
Outgoing, active, game for what's next. Fun and fearless, accepting but
hopeful. Extravagant, with the emphasis on extra.
When she knew the cancer had her, she'd tell her daughter, "I'm not
worried about dying; I'm worried about living. I have to live the best I
can."
Minutes: October 3,
2009
The meeting, held in
the home of Swede and Betty Ann Gustafson, was called to order by
President Ron Dowell. Both the September 12th minutes and
treasurer’s report were accepted as printed in the October 2009 Falls
and Standards with the following corrections:
Treasurer’s Report – Under Checking Account “expenses” was corrected to
read $141.25 and under “expenses paid” the total paid was corrected to
read $141.25
Minutes
– The misspelling of Ed Verplancke’s name was corrected.
Old Business
Fort Gardens:
Billie Gray, chair, reported that, with the help of the youth required
to do community service, the top dressing of the beds with pea gravel
has been completed. With the kids’ help the new Dykes bed just west of
the Big Bed has been dug out and filled with top soil. Another bed on
the north side that starts at the kiosk and includes the bristle cone
pine has been dug out and filled with soil. Edging needs to be
installed around both of these new beds. After the edging in, iris will
be planted. The iris will most likely be planted in the spring.
A work party to
ready the beds for winter will be called for mid to late October. An
e-mail will be sent out to alert our members.
The secretary, Zona
Lindemann, was asked to send a letter of thanks to the youth thanking
them for all their help.
Card Party:
Gary Clark agreed to hold the next meeting if it could be held on a
Wednesday or Thursday evening. The larger number of people could
participate on a Thursday evening. The next meeting was set for
Thursday, October 15th at 6:00 p.m. Bob Symes would clear
this date with Gary and alert the participants if this was not an
available meeting date. Currently there are over 300 plastic jackets
cut and ready to be filled.
Nominating Committee:
Bob and Alverta Symes and Ron Dowell volunteered to serve on the
nominating committee. Swede Gustafson agreed to continue as the
treasurer. Jim Sadler said he was willing to stand as secretary.
Shed:
The trim and painting of the trim are not completed but should be before
the end of October.
Sunshine:
Elinor Utech is back in her own living quarters. She has been diagnosed
with colon cancer and has begun chemo. Rosemary Baier is not doing well
and is confined to a hospital bed and wheelchair.* Hospice has been
called in. It was suggested that Ken could use some casseroles or
microwave meals while he is caring for Rosemary.
Presidential Rhizome:
Two rhizomes were drawn this month because there was no drawing last
month. The winners are as follows:
September: Billie Gray
October: Jim Sadler
Bob Symes moved that
the meeting be adjourned. Ed Verplancke seconded the motion and the
meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully
submitted,
Zona
Lindemann, Secretary
*Rosemary died
Monday, October 5, 2009.
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