QBARS - v5n3 Minutes of Meeting of American Rhododendron Society, Portland, Oregon, May 17, 1951

Minutes of Meeting of A.R.S., Portland, Oregon, May 17, 1951
by Mrs. Ruth M. Hansen, Secretary

The May meeting was called to order by the President, Mr. C. I. Sersanous, in the Auditorium of the Journal Building at 8:15 P.M. The minutes of the April meeting were read and approved.

Mr. Sersanous welcomed the fine attendance of the members to this May meeting which is also the Annual meeting for the Society. He further congratulated the members for bringing in such a fine exhibit of rhododendrons to the informal show. The new members who were present from the Portland area were introduced. Mr. Neil Baldwin, Mr. James Garrick, Mr. Leith Abbott and Mr. Leo Leuz. Mr. and Mrs. Kerrigan of Oakland, Calif., and Mr. and Mrs. Schaffer of Olympia, Wash., were given the honors of members coming from the greatest distance.

The newly elected Society Treasurer, Mr. Bruce Yergen was killed in an automobile accident two weeks ago. The Society has lost a fine member, a true friend and a very good worker. We will all feel this great loss.

Mr. Sersanous announced the second of the Journal Shows to be held in this building on May 21st to the 24th. He requested that an exhibit be entered for the A.R.S.

Quite sometime ago it was decided that the Society should do something about the identification of the large R. Triflorum planting located at 6th and Broadway here in Portland. This planting was made some twenty years ago by the Park Department, and as no one knows the exact identification of the various Triflorums used it was felt that in the interest of rhododendrons, an attempt should be made to classify the plants. Our Secretary took it upon herself to cut specimens from this group and send them by air mail to the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, for identification. The Secretary was then asked to read a letter just received from Dr. J. McQueen Cowan, Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, Scotland, in which he made identification of the Triflorum specimens sent to him.

President Sersanous has considered for some time the possibility of giving some recognition to our own native rhododendron, R. macrophyllum . As this shrub will be in full bloom about the middle of June on the slopes of Mt. Hood. Mr. Sersanous has suggested a picnic at that time to be held on Mt. Hood. With the unanimous raising of hands from the floor we will proceed with the picnic idea and trust that the weather will be in accord.

The installation of the new officers then took place. As Mr. Sersanous had been re-elected he called forth the other officers and Directors to whom he gave the oath of office. Those elected were Mr. Robert Bovee, Vice-President, Mrs. Ruth M. Hansen, re-elected Secretary. The new Directors were Mr. Russell Gainer, Mr. Wales Wood and Mr. Everett Farwell. Mr. Geo. Grace, Mr. John Henny and Mr. Brian Mulligan were re-elected.

Mr. Sersanous read the Financial Report from the Annual Audit as of April 30th. As this report will be printed in full, it will be deleted from the minutes.

During the past year we have had two important projects started: the Nomenclature and Awards Committee; second, the Test Gardens-one in Seattle, one in Philadelphia and the third one here in Portland. Mr. Sersanous particularly wanted to thank Dr. Clarke and Mr. Rudolph Henny for promoting this work. Mr. John Bacher was thanked for his untiring efforts in the planting, the use of his truck and his willingness to always help.

Planting in the Portland Test Garden will start again in the Fall, and it is hoped that a large number of plants will be entered. After our Dedication Ceremony of May 5th, the Portland Park Bureau decided to put an attendant in this Garden who will devote his full time to the maintenance and care of the rhododendrons. Our Test Garden is now open from nine o'clock in the morning till five o'clock in the afternoon.

Another important question which will have to be decided is the Nationalizing of the A.R.S. Since the first article appeared in the April Bulletin we have received several encouraging letters, mainly from members in the East.

A few minutes were then devoted to Questions and Answers.

Question: When is the right time to put on fertilizer?

Ans.: As the buds begin to swell and the plant begins to come into flower.

Question: When should organic fertilizer be applied?

Ans.: In September, October or November use as a mulch. The plant will absorb this organic food and build a reserve of power which will reward in larger flowers.

The rest of the meeting was devoted to an explanation of each truss entered in our informal exhibit.

Meeting adjourned.

NEW OFFICERS And BOARD OF DIRECTORS

President: C. I. SERSANOUS

Vice-President: ROBERT BOVEE

Secretary-Treasurer: MRS. RUTH M. HANSEN

Editor ARS Bulletin: RUDOLPH HENNY

Board Of Directors
Dr. Royal Gick	Russell Gainer
George Grace	Everett Farwell, Jr.
Howard J. Slonecker	J. Harold Clark, Ph.D.
Wales Wood	Brian Mulligan
John Henny	John G. Bacher
B. F. Lancaster	Sumner W. Williams