NEWSLETTER NEWSLETTER
Gardeners of Somerset Valley
Wegarden.org
September 2002 Editor: Mitch Greenbaum
908-231-8338
CONTESTS AND TASTING ARE THE THEMES OF OUR FIRST
MEETING SINCE THE SUMMER BREAK
NEXT MEETING: Wednesday, September 18, 7:30 PM,
At the North Branch Reformed Church
In our welcome back meeting from the long hot summer, we will be having our first ever dahlia and our annual sunflower contests. Dahlia bulbs given out at the April Charter Night Dinner will be judged on bloom size and attractiveness. Sunflowers, as done previously will be evaluated by size alone. A prestigious ribbon and a year・s worth of bragging rights are the rewards for the winners.
The second part of our evening is an informal tasting. Members and guests are asked to bring in one of their late season tomatoes or any other unique or notable vegetable or fruit. The display and tasting of these items will take place as part of an extended coffee break. This also gives everyone a chance to catch up on the trials and tribulations of this very difficult summer.
THE SUMMER PICNIC at George Osterman・s home was another great success. Dottie・s husband Steve did a spectacular job manning the grill and everyone brought wonderful ．fresh from the garden・ side dishes and desserts. The fish in the pond didn・t disappoint either as trophy sized bass were being pulled out all day on both fly and traditional fishing gear. Like almost every day in the middle of the summer, it was HOT, but George・s shaded backyard and the good food and company kept everyone relatively cool.
SUMMER TIDINGS
- Ray Hawkins broke his thumb earlier in the summer while rollerblading down at the shore. Normally a heavy favorite to win the sunflower contest, it remains to be seen if this setback will have any impact on his chances. Ray has reported that the injury is healing so well that he plans to harvest grapes at Unionville Vineyards on September 28.
- Dottie Wright kept extra busy this summer opening her home to two foreign exchange students- a high school student from Ireland and a college student from Croatia.
- Roger Pyle suffered a stroke while visiting family in Vermont. He and Barbara did make it to the picnic and we were happy to see him out and about so soon.
- Some of the members may not have learned the sad news that one of our longtime members, Russ Hollingsworth, passed away on June 16. Russ was a past President and editor but most importantly he was like a moral compass for the club, initiating the scholarship program and then pushing for the expansion to two students. He introduced us to the wonderful services offered at the PeopleCare Center in Bridgewater. I am confident that all the friends he touched during his long affiliation with GOSV will continue his good works.
- George Osterman heads out to Albuquerque, New Mexico on September 17 to attend a weeklong Air Force convention for flyers that took part in the China-India-Burma campaign during WWII.
- Frank Wortman celebrated a milestone 80th birthday. An avid hiker, we wish you many more years of trekking all those NJ-NY-PA trails you love so dearly.
- Fred and Alice Swan were disappointed with their Dr. Carolyn Male white cherry tomatoes. They were larger, more pinkish in color, and in their opinion didn・t taste as good as in the past. In general, I felt all tomatoes were lacking this year, and this can be a subject of discussion at the meeting.
THE TOPIC for the upcoming October meeting will be botanical drawing. A talk on those luscious, healthful blueberries is scheduled for November. Dottie Wright has some information about the Chrysanthemum Show being held the weekend of October 19 & 20 at the Frelinghuysen Arboretum and will try to organize a group visit. We have quite a few new members and hope to see you at one of these autumn programs.
THANK YOU Frank Wortman for a decade of outstanding service to the GOSV as news editor. Your informative, down to earth writing style perfectly reflected the mood and spirit of the club, and you will be greatly missed in this key communication role.