Author: webmaster

Dear Members,

You are to be congratulated, and many, many bows to our beloved Hazel Herring. A telephone call from Ambler has confirmed that they have received from Margaret Latham, the payment due on the Ambler Greenhouse Project for this year.

From Linda Lowe and Dean James Hilty, calls and letters thanking us for updating us on the progress on the project. It has just been given repaired sidewalks, a new electrical system and other necessary repairs. As Dean Hilty said in his letter. “Things are moving ahead”. That is a little pun on the “Head-House”, I suspect.

In the meantime, thank you for your many enthusiastic and helpful letters. I love hearing from you and of course, your ideas are being sought. The New York Farm and Garden newsletter, with articles by

Betty Monahan and Audrey Ehrler and information about our projects are grand. Davene Brown, the editor, does a wonderful, exciting job and an article about the history of aprons will bring back so many lovely memories to those of us in my age bracket. If making a new aprons, maybe “bee pockets”?

Pennsylvania Division’s newsletter was equally important and charming, with a delightful poem by Gertrude Heath about “The Bee” accompanied by a black and white bee and blossom drawing. Of note, the Fall General Meeting in October will have Kevin Parsons, on “Bees”.

Other bee news. The Whitney Laboratory in Marineland, Florida, is conducting extensive research on the bee situation: more and more crops have failed because of bee disasters. The University of Florida will be taking part.

I will be attending the Ambler Board this coming week and will check our project first hand; I have just returned from Savannah, Georgia where alarm over the bee situation is widespread. An article in the Detroit News, just sent to me by Jean De Decker, specifically mentions the Best Honey Farm, Lansing, which trucks bees to South Georgia and other states, helping to pollinate our food supply.

Jean Getty reports that one beekeeper in her area simply lost bees to a bear. She also sent an article by Bob Henke in The Post Star, about Propolis. Propolis is made by honeybees from tree sap, and is used to seal up holes in the hive’s living quarter. The article ends with the statement that some people will pay more for “bee glue” than for honey. Violin makers use this honey-glue and it seems to treat Herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 and some parasitic infections; it’s no wonder that we need honeybees.

Again my thanks to all of you and to Kay Engelhart for printing our News from National.

Faith Tiberio
September 2008

 

Other News ~ The Website, www.wnfga.org is nearing completion of the updates approved by members in January and June of this year. This is a great way to share WNF&GA with all you know – send them to the Website for history, education and scholarship, current happenings, awards, recognition, membership and be sure to click on the blog for the latest information from the President and watch there also for updates on the coming annual meeting.

Also on the website you’ll find information, and registration forms for the two Grants awarded by WNF&GA: The Hazel Herring Civic Improvement Grant and the Marla Diamond Master Gardener Grant. These are valuable grants to apply for – share the information with your branch.

Reminder also that you can contact the Divine Chocolate company for fundraising packets – this company supports Fair Trade Companies in Ghana. As members of the international community, we also share this dedication – fair trade. Contact phone: 202-332-8913 or info@divinechocolateusa.com

NEWS FROM NATIONAL!
News, thoughts, comments and reminders from WNF&GA
First and foremost, we must keep the historic greenhouse site at Ambler in mind and heart. Hazel Herring has been struggling mightily to keep us on schedule.

Then we come to our “Bee Project”. Everyone now is aware of the danger of losing the bees, and the bee’s important contribution which it can make to our country and to our food supply.

As I mentioned in Kay Engelhart’s valuable “News to the National” this President will personally give prizes in the following categories:

1. The branch that had done the most to publicize (and most newspapers are eager for bee stories) and promote help for the bees locally. This can be programs, working with the local bee-keepers, working with 4H clubs or other farm groups, and with schools. The prize is $500.00.

2. There is a second place prize of $300.00

3. There is a third place prize of $100.00

4. Two $50.00 prizes for the member who contributes the best recipe using honey and another for best flower arrangement (photos to be submitted) using flowers that bees visit.

5. For every member keeping bees, there will be a pin.

We should mention a few of the recent articles on bees and honey. Martha Stewart’s, Living Magazine with articles about bee’s skeps for garden, china of “whimsy and elegance”, honey cakes, flower vases and more.

Food and Wine magazine, featuring Honey-tomato bruschetta, and more; the Wall Street Journal dated July 11, 2008 with a cautionary article. Almost every day, you will find somewhere, information on our bees, and I was so pleased to receive your many letters supporting this project.

At our June meeting, the prizes will be awarded and submissions should be made by April 15, 2009, to me. They will be forwarded to a committee of three, headed by Dr. John Peterson, of Cal-Poly.

On other matters, Sylvia Anderson is preparing her Participation in Country Women of the World, representing us very ably.

Also, I do want to mention how practical and enjoyable it is to use the canvas shopping bags made by one of the branches and are available at Ambler. And of course it’s good for the environment.
Notice from the Editor and Coordinator of Promotion and Growth, Kathy Beveridge:

The magazine could use additional branch and division news, especially activity related to bees and vegetable gardening or local food production. Please send text and any images you’d like to share electronically (images in jpeg format, 300 dpi) via e-mail to Kathy Beveridge at kathleen.beveridge@comcast.net by August 27th.

Branch and division presidents, please recommend a local liaison for our national promotion and growth efforts. This will be a time limited involvement requiring only minimal time. Please send names and contact information by September 30 to kathleen.beveridge@comcast.net.

August 2008

NEWS FROM NATIONAL!
News, thoughts, comments and reminders from WNF&GA

It was “over the river and thru the woods” of Pennsylvania to “grandmother’s house” – our special WNF&G home in Ambler. And once there, where we all began, what a fine time. Philip Albright, Chairman of Visitors, put out the red carpet for us, along with Dean Jim Hilty, for a warm reception at Bright Hall on the Ambler campus. A tour and pre-dedication followed at our very own “greenhouse”.

The greenhouse is really the “headhouse” of the former ancient greenhouse which had become an unsafe hazard; luckily, the headhouse is the original, historic space which is both roomy, sound and safe and will serve our purpose well, where we can have our WNF&G history, books and treasurers displayed in a useful Visitor’s Center.

 Hazel Herring and her committee have worked like honeybees – buzzing here and there to accomplish comb-solid funds for our first payment on our pledge. Many great new ideas were put forth to raise funds for our final 2009 payment. We are so grateful to Hazel, “our Queen Bee” on this project as well as all of you worker-bees.

We are grateful too, to the Keystone Branch – those good looking, flower and herb loving young women who did so many things for us. Think of making all those welcome baskets, table arrangements, tour and speakers. It’s a shame that all of you reading this couldn’t have been there to experience the pure joy, excitement and exhilaration, which filled the air everywhere.

Then there was the one and only Jenny Rose Carey, whose tours, arboretum (at Ambler), home at Northfields dinner and garden constituted an evening straight from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”.

Longwood and Morris Arboretum left us all entranced, as did Michael Tooley. He charmed us with his very personal account of Gertrude Jekyll and our own Mrs. E. Francis King. Tumultuous applause rang thru our meeting hall and members hope to have a return visit from him.

Our business meeting included good reports from officers, Division Presidents and chairmen, all carefully timed at two minutes by a vigilant Aileen LaBret. We did, importantly, vote to make our website up to the minute with Susan Hunt’s supervision and we voted a $2 dues increase, the first in a long time. Our bills were exceeding our income.

No report could be complete without praising those involved with the ‘almost magic’ bus transportation. It meant so much to the meeting’s success and we understand that Sue Vette kept everyone content with fun games. Her hard work is appreciated by all of us. We were sorry to hear of Julie Siefker’s tornado devastation, which prevented her from being with us.

Mary Bertolini performed magic too – those hard work miracles saved the day several times and are ongoing. Her patient husband provided smiling, good-hearted support. You are all aware of the brilliance and beauty of our magazine as Kathy Beveridge continues to improve content and presentation. Kathy has infused the magazine with her quiet skill and intent. We must help her in every way we can and carry on the good work of our Founders in 1914.

We finished the business of the Ambler meeting with a fine address by our out-going President, Marla Diamond. She has done so much for this beloved organization of ours, with little fan-fare and big success.

After Marla’s remarks, Barbara Hochstettler installed the new officers by cleverly pairing each office with an herb. The audience smiled at seeing Margaret Latham as E&C Treasurer, receiving a potted “mint”.

Faith Tiberio spoke of her ‘faith’ in WNF&G, and her ‘hopes’ of our ‘charity’ to the project of our Ambler home base “greenhouse”, i.e. “Headhouse”.

Plans are underway for the 2009 meeting in New England, and all those needing to communicate by e-mail, can reach me at our office under the number of my nephew, Ed Huppi at e.huppi@century-tywood.com or my new secretary, Andrea Crossman at FKTO@century-tywood.com

Yours In WNF&G –
Faith
June 2008

Note: If you are in need of the current listing of National Officers, Coordinators and Chairmen for your directory please contact Kay at kengelhart@hotmail.com – reference WNFGA Directory in the subject line please.