THE SENIOR MEN'S CLUB OF NEW CANAAN
Minutes of the Regular Meeting of May 24, 2002
President Bob Witt opened the meeting with 131 members present. Membership is 500 with 32 on the waiting list.
Announcements: Ken DeGroot introduced new member Otis Carroll. Bob Witt thanked Chick Lyttle and Dave Branch for doing KP duty keeping the thirsty membership supplied with coffee.
Activities: Bowling is over until next September. Racquetball had three this morning. Tennis is finally in full swing, but be sure to have a permit; otherwise, you'll be paying $4 to play. Trailblazers, 4Fs, golf, and bridge continue as described by chairmen.
Couth: Former president Lee Hindenach put on a new hat and gave us the schedule. 6/19 is Goodspeed, the bus will leave at 10:00 A.M. 7/27 is the CT Jazz Festival, 8/15 the Port Jefferson Ferry and Sagamore Hills, 9/19 Belmont, 10/9 (Oklahoma) and 11/9 (West Point) are sold out, and December is the GE Building and NBC studios.
Jester: Substitute humorist Lorry Koch told about two Nuns on the road performing a miracle with a chamber pot, and then gave an account of how unfortunate a golf game becomes when one of the players has a heart attack.
Speaker: Vice President Bob Shafter introduced fellow member George Valchar, gardener "extraordinare," who gave a wonderful speech and slide show of his own garden here in New Canaan. Mr. Valchar has gardened all around the world, but said that each place has its own characteristics and problems. His biggest problem here was clearing out an abundance of vegetation and poison ivy. In starting a garden, George uses a number of principles. Preserve existing plants; pay attention to the far corners of the garden, not just those areas near the house; have clear pathways between sections; have some surprise plants; give the garden a sense of space. Try to rotate plants and to preserve the existing flora as much as possible. In his slide show Mr. Valchar brought up many interesting facts such as how important skunk cabbage is: it's the earliest blooming plant in the garden and is pollinated by wood rats, squirrels, and crows. Mountain Laurel was originally only white but now comes in many colors. Azaleas are really a form of Rhododendron and actually make up 20% of that species. His slides showed his rose garden, plants from Afghanistan, Winterberry, and Pieris, which is deer proof. He has found that the only way to stop deer is to use white plastic netting, which can be bought commercially. Sprays are generally ineffective. One spray he does like is "Round up" which is very effective for killing poison ivy. George's presentation was very interesting and informative, and we certainly left the hall with greener thumbs than when we entered.
Eric Musa, Secretary