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MISSOULA IRIS SOCIETY POTLUCK MEETING
SATURDAY, October 5, 2024
6:30 PM
(Note the time is ½ hour later)
LOCATION: 830 South Avenue West, Immanuel Lutheran Church
Directions for the October Meeting at Immanuel Lutheran Church:
Coming from the south on Brooks Street:
Turn east, right, onto South Avenue at the stop light by the fair grounds, go past the fair grounds, and the church is just across from Sentinel High School. Parking is behind the church on Sussex. Turn left onto Bow Street from South Avenue and go one block to Sussex, turn left and the church is the second church on the left. Go to the parking lot at the rear of the church. Use the church entrance from the parking lot on Sussex.
Coming from the North, East or West:
Turn off Brooks onto Stephens Avenue, go past CVS and Walgreens on either side of Stephens.
Turn left on Central at the Missoula Manor. Go one block and turn right onto Holburn Street. Proceed one block to Sussex and there is the church and its parking lot. It is the first church on the west end. Use the church entrance from the parking lot on Sussex.
Take the elevator to the Parish Hall. Someone will be at the door to welcome you!
Call Betty Ann at 406.370.1696 if you have questions or get lost.
PROGRAM: Group Discussion! How was your iris year and your plans for next year?
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2025 NATIONAL CONVENTION OF THE AMERICAN IRIS SOCIETY
JUNE 3RD - 7TH, 2025
Hosted by THE BIG SKY IRIS CLUB
BILLINGS, MT
It is time to save the date! We need to start thinking seriously about attending the national convention in Billings, MT. The national convention has never been in Montana. It is going to be a fantastic convention due to the very hard work of the Big Sky Iris Club. You can go to their website, bigskyirisclub.com, for more information.
NOMINATION OF OFFICERS:
It is time once again for nominations of officers. Current officers Betty Ann Gustafson, President, Anne Bowman, Vice President, and Mitch Hall, Secretary are willing to seek another term.
Swede Gustafson, current Treasurer, would very much like to retire from the treasurer's position. He has been treasurer for at least 30 years. He will train the new treasurer. Bronwen Harris has expressed interest in the treasurer's position. At the October meeting nominations will be taken from the floor for each position and a vote on the officers for 2025 will be taken.
HOLIDAY PARTY: In December we do not have a meeting. However, we have usually had a holiday party which consists of a turkey dinner potluck and a fun gift exchange in the form of gift stealing, with participation being optional. We normally have the party the first or second Saturday or Sunday of December. We will need a host to accommodate our holiday party event. Be thinking if you would like a holiday gathering once again and if you would like to be the host.
TREASURER'S REPORT:
September, 2024
Checking Account Balance: $2,305.91
Savings Account: $5,240.80
-$3,000.00 withdrawn to apply to the certificate of deposit
Balance: $2,240.80
Certificate of Deposit: $3,184.85 on September 16, 2024, $35.71 interest earned
Certificate of Deposit renewed for 3 months at 4.5% interest. Increased by $3,000.00 from the savings account. Balance: $6,184.85
Expenses: Purchase of new rhizomes for the fort garden, presidential rhizomes, and soil amendments, Judy Blunt: $386.17
Purchase of additional soil amendments by Judy Blunt: $151.24
Purchase of new soil and wall blocks for the Swan Bed renovation to a larger bed, Big Mound Bed renovations, and Median Bed renovations by Judy Blunt: $281.31
Missoula Tree Preservation, removal of broken branches during late June windstorm: $225.00
More soil for Swan Bed – Marchies: $38.40
Soil amendments for 2018 Bed: $65.94
Paul Ronaldo Sprinklers for repair to west side of 2018 Bed: $110.00
Soil Amendment for Median Swan Bed purchased by Swede Gustafson: $110.00
Postage and printing costs for sending membership list and newsletters to members who do not have email: $66.57
A special thank you to Judy Blunt who through her diligence makes our iris garden immaculate and beautiful for all!
See you at the meeting!
FORT RENOVATIONS AND SUMMER PROJECTS
On September 11th, 2024, Gary and Katie Steen installed the fourth and final rose arbor at the Missoula Iris Society Garden, the crowning touch to a month filled with sawdust and thorns. As many were aware, the four rose arbors were starting to show their age, getting wobbly and having trouble supporting the weight of the trailing rose bushes. Then came the July 24th windstorm that wreaked havoc across most of Missoula. The storm did enough damage to the arbors to make them unsafe to keep in place. The day after the storm, the structures were reinforced and propped up temporarily. Then Swede and Betty Ann Gustafson, Judy Blunt and Gary and Katie Steen met to determine what it would take to get the arbors replaced before winter.
Gary Steen took this on, applying remarkable craftsmanship and skill to the project. He researched prebuilt arbors and found none that would work. With MIS blessing, he custom designed the arbors, tailoring them to fit existing foundation spacing and to be as robust as possible. Gathering the materials he needed, he set to work in his shop.
While the Steens did the shop work, Swede and Judy tackled the rose bushes, sawing out old trunks and trimming out around 4 pickup loads of canes to be hauled to the composters. As each arbor neared completion at the Steen residence, Judy and Swede sped to the Fort to dismantle the old arbor and tie up the remaining canes in preparation for the installation. Each arbor was assembled on site, and secured to the cement pillars with bolts and steel brackets. When the dust settled, Judy reattached the rose canes to their new homes. Eventually the canes will be ‘trained’ to climb the new arbors naturally, and some of the current twine bindings won’t be needed. The new arbors and trimmed rose bushes really do look beautiful together! If you haven’t been to the Fort Garden in a while, go take a look.
The attractive new arbor design took Gary about five hours to finalize. Each arbor took about twelve man hours to build and another four hours to install. They are made of stout rough-sawn cedar which resulted in much sturdier structures. Material costs were $175 for each arbor. The Missoula Iris Society extends a huge thank you to Swede Gustafson, Judy Blunt, Gary and Katie Steen for stepping up and seeing this project to completion.
Other Fort Garden renovations began early last spring, when Swede Gustafson and Judy Blunt added one layer of cement blocks to the outer edge of the 2018 Garden. The lower beds have been faltering for some years, and we decided to work in a few inches of rich soil to augment the old. Swede completed the south bed in May, digging out the iris, tilling with good soil and replanting. In late July, Judy dug out and replanted the west and north beds.
The Swan Bed also saw a major overhaul. In August Swede and Judy, with the help of Gary Steen, dismantled the east wall of the bed and extended it about 2 ½ feet to the east. The wider Swan Bed now closely resembles the new Dykes Bed, and the slight tip toward the east [following the land contour] allows the bed to catch water from the sprinklers. Judy hand-watered several dry spots through the summer. Swede has been looking into how renovations over the past few years have changed the sprinkler system’s effectiveness. Some adjustments will be necessary.
Respectfully submitted by Katie Steen and Judy Blunt
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