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Sault Area Garden Club Minutes
October 20, 2008

We met in the church undercroft Monday evening for our regular meeting which was called to order by President Nancy Fenlon. 21 members attended.

Minutes were read by Karen Cook, with a motion to accept made by Phyllis Bigelow. Dorothy Dansdill seconded, and the members approved by a show of hands.

The treasurer’s report was read and shows a balance of $1252.44.

It was decided to collect annual dues at our meeting after resumption in April 2009. As mentioned before, we will not have meetings in January, February, and March.

Connie brought a guest-Judy Bawks from Muskegon, Mi, and she was welcomed to the meeting by President Nancy and members.

Kate Marshall told the group that member Linda Carrick was attacked by a dog while helping at a Detroit area animal shelter. She received quick and competent plastic surgery and is recovering. (As I write this on October 24, Linda is now home, has had her stitches removed, and is doing better.)

Nancy made another plea for someone to step up and assume the President’s position next year. Since it is a shorter year and many things are already planned, she hopes someone will take the position.

Bev Youngs was the featured speaker and she did a wonderful job with her topic of Bee Keeping. She brought a frame ( super) to show us where the bees lay down wax and it smelled, wonderfully, still of honey. She said you can begin with about $250 worth of starter kit materials, but it is not an inexpensive hobby. She mentioned how you buy a “shoebox” of bees in either a 3 or 5 pound package. The queen arrives in her own separate box, and she showed us that, during which time Bev donned a sparkly tiara and spoke about the queens’s purpose and activities. I think we would all agree that Bev made her talk both extremely informative, memorable, and terribly funny! I knew nothing about bee keeping before that talk, but I now can remember clearly what she said as it was all so engaging. Somehow we’ll always associate worker bees (drones) buzzing off to their own bee bar to look for a suitable mate. She mentioned that if the queen isn’t happy, she will take half the bees in her hive with her and fly to a nearby branch or hollow tree, and this is why people see swarms of bees now and then. After that interesting talk, some of us may be interested in bee keeping.

New sheets to sign up for refreshments and raffle prizes were passed around.

Tonight’s raffle prizes were donated by Jeanne Cooper and Kate Marshall. Also, Diane McDonald contributed a painted window.
The impressive refreshments were provided by Selden, Jeanne, Nancy, and Bev supplied cake made from her own honey.

We are reminded that November is bazaar season. An announcement for the Methodist Church bazaar was passed around, and Dorothy reminded us of St. James’ annual bazaar-for which workers and donations are still needed.

Phyllis Bigelow, secretary