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PHOENIX BONSAI SOCIETY : CLUB HISTORY HIGHLIGHTS, PART II |
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1998 -- The Matsuri display in February was followed the next week with a one
and a third page article in the "Desert Nesting" section of the Tribune
newspaper. One b&w and
four color photos illustrated the article featuring Max Miller and briefly
covering all aspects of our art. Robert Baran also contributed to
the article [Feb. 28, pp. 1, 4] by Jeri Livesay (who would become a club
member a couple of years hence.) The summer workshop again featured
John Naka protegé Ben Oki as our visiting teacher. The new
season yearbook cover was purple. On November 1, Leroy Fujii died
suddenly shortly after his demonstration on the last day of the club's
display for the Arizona State Fair. A standing-room-only assemblage
of those he touched gathered later that week to bid him farewell.
Other club members leaving us this year included: co-founding member Alice
Feffer (January), Edna's sister Frances Takemoto (March), and new member
Ann Hunter (March).
1999 -- A memorial calendar was published in January containing pictures of Leroy's trees. The club had February displays for both Chinese Week (Chinese Cultural Center, 44th Street, just south of the 202 Freeway) and Matsuri. At the end of April/early May, the Tucson Bonsai Society hosted the American Bonsai Society's Symposium "Diversity in the Desert," with assistance from Phoenix. Six of Leroy's best trees were among those exhibited. The Phoenix club got an Internet World Wide Web site as the latest forum by which it could meet its objectives. Several of the pictures from the memorial calendar were republished on the web site as "Leroy's Trees, Parts I" and "II". Ernest Hasan, in the club since 1993, was elected president. The Huntington Botanical Gardens in Pasadena accepted the donation of Leroy's large (four-man) olive, which had also stood at the entrance to the ABS Symposium. The curator of the Huntington's Bonsai Collection, and club friend, Ben Oki conducted the workshops in Phoenix, now held in late October instead of August. The new season yearbook cover was green. A photo of Max Miller's superb creosote bonsai finally made it to the cover of the American Bonsai Society's Bonsai Journal (Fall 1999). The tree was selected by Chase Rosade at the Symposium in Tucson to receive the Rosade Bonsai Studio's Design Award. Also to be seen in that issue was the BCI President's Award-winning elephant's food bonsai of Doug and Gail Acker (pg. 115). The club had a display at the Horticultural Exhibition Building of the Arizona State Fair, concluding with a demonstration by Max Miller and Bill Mooney. A trip to the Laughlin area was held to gather permit California junipers and other stock. John Naka created Goshin II at the Golden State Bonsai Federation's convention in Anaheim in November. Several Phoenix and Tucson members were in attendance and were participants in the many workshops led by Naka-san's key student-masters. Members leaving us this year included Gail Acker (March) and John Kinoshita (September).
2000 -- In January, Cindy Read from California presented a lecture/demo on making saikei. The display at Matsuri took place in February. That month a second club was formed in the Valley, Bonsai of Scottsdale. Phoenix member Fairlee Winfield was the founder and became the club's first president. Meetings were the first and third Saturday of the month at the Scottsdale Senior Center, and that club's first show was held in early April. Mike Hagadorn from Crataegus Containers in Oracle, AZ presented an excellent lecture on the start to finish of pots. Jim Claycomb and Bill Mooney conducted a short seminar as part of the VGC Spring Festival, "The Art and Philosophy of Bonsai." The Phoenix club acquired its own domain name for the Internet: www.phoenixbonsai.com. Rosarian Ken Jones gave a lecture on local fertilizing requirements. The club participated in the Berridge Nursery "Art in the Garden" in late April. Max Miller was elected Valley Garden Center President and Bill Mooney became its Treasurer. For the first time in memory, no summer get-togethers were held after the End of Year Party. In late June the club picked up a donation of 101 trees from the Mesquite Valley Growers nursery in Tucson, mostly junipers. The new season yearbook cover was bright yellow. Ben Oki conducted the early October workshops in Scottdale as a joint offering of the Phoenix and Scottsdale clubs. The club had a display at the Arizona State Fair, concluding with a demonstration by president Ernest Hasan and Robert Baran. In early December, another Laughlin area dig was held and members in Phoenix had a small show of trees as part of a local Neighborhood Open House south of the Garden Center. 2001 -- Mary and Peter Bloomer of Flagstaff gave an excellent slide presentation on suiseki in January. The following month, the club displayed 45 trees, one suiseki, and one Chinese Scholar Stone during the weekend of the Chinese Week festival at the Chinese Cultural Center. Fred Carpenter gave a brief interview to one of the local TV stations regarding our hobby. Near month end our Matsuri display was presented. In early April, long-time Tucson Bonsai Society member Areta Johnson passed away. An article featuring interviews with George Cole and Robert Gustafson was published in the May 2 issue of the West Valley News ( "bonsai, satisfaction is bigger than the trees" by Beth Kristin Ott, pg. A3 ). It included two b&w photos, one of Robert trimming a tree. A member since at least 1988, Jim Claycomb was elected club president. Enthusiasts from Scottsdale, Phoenix, Tucson, Mesa, and Flagstaff met in late July to discuss the possible formation of an Arizona Bonsai Federation. (The idea turned out to be premature.) The new season yearbook cover was light blue. The club participated in the Berridge Nurseries Fall Show & Demo in September. Ben Oki conducted joint workshops for Scottsdale and Phoenix the following month. The Arizona State Fair again saw a Phoenix Bonsai Society display, Oct. 11-28. A December demonstration was put on at the Chinese Senior Citizens Center. 2002 -- Chinese Week and Matsuri displays again were presented. A Matsuri-timed article featuring Elsie Andrade was published in the Feb. 22 issue of the Arizona Republic ( "Small rewards, Patience pays off in perfect bonsai" by Janie Magruder, pg. E1-E2. Color photo of Elsie admiring her 40-year-old olive and two b&w photos. ). (The city tied its 1970 record with 28 days of temperatures 110°F+.) September 21 had a demonstration for the Fall Festival at Berridge Nurseries. The new season yearbook cover was red. (Jim Baker of Baker's Nursery continued his long-time friendship with and sponsorship of the club. So indebted to Baker are the country's 500 master gardeners that in October the group's first scholarship was established in his name ( "Nursery owner quietly nurtures" by Janie Magruder, The Arizona Republic, June 25, 2003, pp. E1, E8 ). The club had a display with demo at the Arizona State Fair. November 16 and 17 we had the Ben Oki Workshop and Show at Baker Nursery. (Phoenix for this year tied 1956 as the driest year on record with only 2.82" of precipitation.) 2003 -- Chinese Week and Matsuri displays were presented. In late March we held a one-day Bonsai Seminar at Berridge Nursery. A member since at least the year 2000, Mike Apostolos was elected club president. Also in May, member Mark Sharples passed away. At month's end the club participated in a desert dig just past Globe, AZ. (The city's highest low temperature record was set on July 15: 96°F.) In September a Silent Auction was held of the trees and pots from and in the memory of Mark Sharples. The club had a display with a demo at the Arizona State Fair from Oct. 9-26. A little late this year, in November the new season yearbook cover was white with black spiral binding and slick paper inside. (Previous years' bindings had been what is termed "perfect," with two staples.) The standard 32 pages were now followed by eight pages of b&w photos of representative club trees and displays from our website. November 22 and 23 we had the annual Ben Oki Workshop and Show at Baker Nursery. 2004 -- A Mini-Matsuri was held on Jan. 24 at the City of Phoenix Japanese Garden at the Deck Park. Chinese Week and Matsuri displays were presented in February. The Inaugural Gathering of BIG (Bonsai In the Garden) was held on March 6 at the home of Fred and Edie Carpenter with a potluck brunch and collection viewing. The Phoenix and Scottsdale clubs participated on April 24 in the Berridge Nurseries' Art in the Garden Show & Display. On May 19, our honorary teacher, Grandmaster John Yoshio Naka, passed away. Doug Acker was quoted along with the Phoenix Bonsai Society['s web site] as a source for information on our sensei's life in the Los Angeles Times' obituary. The club had a display with demo at the Arizona State Fair from Oct. 7-24. The new season yearbook cover was dark green, again with spiral binding. November 13 and 14 we had the Ben Oki Workshop and Show at Baker Nursery. 2005 -- Chinese Week and Matsuri displays were presented. PBS founding member Edward "Bud" Jacobson passed away on March 4th (a memorial service would be held in April at the Phoenix Art Museum) and Richard "Dick" Selkirk also died this month. Our multi-color club logo replaced the black-on-orange version background on the club menu page of our website. In late March we held a one-day Bonsai Seminar at Berridge Nursery. In May, Marcia Colliat, a member since at least 1994, was elected club president. (Tucson tied its 1987 record with 39 days of temperatures 100°F+.) The Phoenix club had a display with a demo at the Arizona State Fair from Oct. 14 to Nov. 6 (closed on Mondays). The new season yearbook cover was medium/dark blue with spiral binding. For the first time ever, NO pasted-up paper draft was used: the final electronic draft of the yearbook was downloaded to the printer's computer and produced therefrom. November 19-20 saw another wonderful workshop headed by Ben Oki. 2006 -- A smaller-than-usual 2-day Chinese Week display was presented at the end of January, as well as the usual large Matsuri one a month later. Roy Nagatoshi conducted a late April workshop. After a few years of work by several club members, the IRS finally granted our society 501(c)(3) status in May. The Golden State Bonsai Federation voted to allow clubs from adjacent, bordering states to join, and PBS promptly took the steps to join the GSBF. Over the summer Max Miller presented a series of Beginner bonsai classes at the main Phoenix library. (On July 21 the official recorded high was 118°F.) Doug Acker died at the end of September, and a memorial service was held at the VGC. The club had a display with a demo at the Arizona State Fair from Oct. 13 to Nov. 5 (closed on Mondays). Ben Oki conducted two workshops and the club had a display at Baker's Nursery on November 18-19. The new season's yearbook cover was red, and this edition was dedicated to the memory of Doug Acker. Joining us as a sponsor this year was Kim's Bonsai Nursery in Phelan, CA. 2007 -- The Chinese Week and Matsuri displays were presented in February. We had two tables at Berridge Nursery for their annual Art in the Garden event in April. In May, Ken Roberts, a member since 2004, was elected president. In June Mike Magee, Kerry Boehmer, Max Miller, and Jamie Sims constructed a new stand used to display the large bonsai trees at Baker's Nursery. These large trees were styled by Leroy Fujii and Doug Acker. Mr. Baker's large pistachio was also in the grouping. The club yearbook was vetted by an editorial board during the summer. (The city gained a new weather record in late August with 29 days of temperatures 110°F+ this year.) Available at the first meeting in September, the 48-page black spiral-bound yearbook's white cover had our four-color logo tree and there was a color photo inside of Doug (with Frank Goya and Ben Oki). New sponsors this year included Bonsai by the Monastery (GA) and Green Desert Bonsai (AZ). A dinner in honor of Max and Shirley Miller (soon moving to Iowa) was held in late September. The club had a display with a demo at the Arizona State Fair from Oct. 11 to Nov. 4 (closed on Mondays). Ben Oki conducted three workshops and the club had a display at Baker's Nursery on November 10-11. 2008 -- The Chinese Week and Matsuri displays were presented, and former member and long-time enthusiast Chuck Wiegand passed away in February. (The National Weather Service decided to have the monsoon season here officially run from June 15 to Sept 30, no longer just starting on the third consecutive day when the dew point averaged 55 degrees or higher.) During the summer a committee reviewed our plant list and a major revision resulted, presented in the salmon-colored cover yearbook that also had color photos of our nine mentors. The changes were also brought to the web site, along with a handy "To Join" button. Also in August, Joan McCarter and Elsie Andrade presented a short workshop. The club had a display with a demo at the Arizona State Fair from Oct. 10 to Nov. 2 (closed on Mondays). The Valley Garden Center held a one-day Fall Festival in which we participated in early November. Ben Oki conducted two workshops and the club had a display at Baker's Nursery the following week-end. The December issue of the Desert Botanical Garden's Sonoran Quarterly included an article with photographs on "Miniature Desert Trees" by member Tom Gatz. Also this month, member (since 2002) Jim Jeffries passed away at his home in Santa Clara, NM.
2009 -- The Ted Matson Critique and Lecture was held
in January. Ken and Carol Roberts were interviewed for a small article,
"Graceful,
serene bonsai trees are small wonders" by The Arizona Republic's
Laura Trujillo. The Chinese Week and Matsuri displays were
presented in February. The Southwest Flower Garden Show at the University of Phoenix Stadium in March hosted a
display by us. Our alternating-year display for "Art in the Garden" at Berridge Nursery took place in
April. In May, Jamie Sims, a member since 2002, was elected club president. June saw the on-line archiving
of many past copies of our Fujii Notes newsletter. July was the hottest month in observed
weather history here (since 1896), having 15 days with a high of 110 degrees or more and every day with a high over
90 degrees. The average of the high and low temperatures was 98.3 degrees, a
record.
The July/August
issue of the Golden State Bonsai Federation magazine contained an article on pp. 15-16 about the bonsai
history section of our web site. Long-time club friend and sponsor James R. Baker of Baker's Nursery
died on August 31 at age 86. (See 2002 above and Designing Dwarfs in the Desert, pp. 34 and
68). Our 50-page yearbook this season had a pale green-gray cover, and included two new sponsors:
Reed's Woodworking and West America Import and Export, Inc. The
club had a display with a demo at the Arizona State Fair from Oct. 16 to Nov. 8 (closed on Mondays). At the GSBF
Awards Dinner in early November in Riverside, CA, Joan McCarter and Elsie Andrade (along with Tucson's David
Meyer) received their Bonsai Basics Teacher Certifications. Ben Oki conducted two workshops and the
club had a display at Baker's Nursery on November 14-15. Long-time and former member Sunao "Rex" Tsutsumida
died at age 87 on December 12.
2010 -- On January 21, the University of Arizona in Tucson recorded a wind gust of 73 mph, a state of emergency was declared in Maricopa County, Flagstaff picked up between 35 to 40 inches of snow in the past four days, and voluntary evacuations were taking place in Sedona due to the near-record flooding forecast for the Oak Creek. Flood stage was 14 feet, however, it was forecast to reach a river stage of near 20 feet. This was just how our state was affected by four back-to-back powerful Pacific storms which were resulting in a state of emergency also being declared in five flooded California counties and bringing heavy precipitation throughout the Southwest. (From the 18th through the 22nd Phoenix received 2.05" precipitation. Total January rainfall this year was 2.13" compared to a .83" average.) By this time, David Meyer was less involved with the Tucson Bonsai Society due to health issues. In February the club presented a display at Matsuri only this year. March saw a display of trees at the Maricopa County Home & Garden Show at the University of Phoenix Stadium. The March/April issue of the Golden State Bonsai Federation magazine contained "Growing Bonsai Under Extreme Weather Conditions," an article with photos by member Cheryl Sykora on pp. 32-35 about tree requirements in Wisconsin and Phoenix. A Bougainvillea Workshop at Gardener's World with bonsai artist Cindy Reed was held in April. On June 17 Jim Andrade, Elsie's husband and partner for 53 years, died. (The club made a donation in his name to the American Lung Association.) The club set up a Facebook page as of July 23. Reiko "Ruth" Fujii, the widow of our late sensei Leroy, died on August 4. (They were married from 1951 until his death in 1998.) On September 15 the first of the club's new slideshows and other videos were uploaded to the club's YouTube account by assistant webmaster Eric Zimmet. The 50-page yearbook this season had a tan cover against the four-color logo, and included the new sponsor Valley of the Sun Koi Club, Inc. The club had a display with a demo at the Arizona State Fair from Oct. 15 to Nov. 7 (now closed on Mondays and Tuesdays). As it would turn out, this would be our last year participating at this venue. Ben Oki's workshops at Baker's Nursery were held November 13-14. The December 2010 issue of Phoenix Home & Garden contained an article on pg. 53 by Cathy Cromell, "Scottsdale Gardeners Carol and Ken Roberts Explore the Art and Science of Bonsai." Our newly renovated home page debuted on December 13. The last morning of the year saw a wintry mixture of snow and hail with the appearance of snowflakes in the Metro Phoenix area. (The day before a foot of snow was recorded in Flagstaff, closing parts of Interstates 17 and 40, the two major thoroughfares in northern Arizona.) 2011 -- The Ted Matson Critique and Lecture was held in January. The club participated in February's Matsuri, and by request Robert Baran specifically wrote a History of Bonsai article for the multi-lingual Belgium website bonsaiempire.com. March saw a second club display at the Flower & Garden Show at the Cardinals' Stadium. The club's first annual bonsai show at the Valley Garden Center took place on April 9, and the following weekend saw another "Art in the Garden" at Berridge Nursery. In late April, an older article by Robert was also published on-line, The Synergy of Magical Miniature Landscapes. In May, Jim McEown, a member since right after Matsuri 2008, was elected club president. Also, Eric Zimmet spearheaded the website's Tree Gallery project as well as the separate website, Bonsai of the Week. And long-time member Fred Carpenter died on May 23. A somewhat rare huge dust storm (reminiscent of those regularly experienced during the summers in the 1960s and 70s) swept through the Phoenix area on the night of July 5. A trio of large dust storms (smaller than the early July monster) on July 18 and then another single large one on August 18 also covered everything in the Valley and briefly caused Sky Harbor Airport to be closed. The 52-page yearbook this season had a white cover against the four-color logo and script in red "Celebrating 50 Years." It included the new sponsor West America Import and Export, Inc. Ben Oki's workshops at Baker's Nursery were held November 12-13. 2012 -- Ted Matson and then Phil Tacktill presented demo/lectures in January. The club participated in February's Matsuri. In early April visiting bonsai master from India Urvashi Thacker gave a talk before the club. As part of the new appearance of Facebook pages, our page now included many historical details in its Timeline. And then by request Robert Baran specifically wrote the What is Bonsai? article for the multi-lingual Belgium website bonsaiempire.com. On Apr. 21 the club held a very successful second spring show in commemoration of our 50th anniversary. There were some 107 items displayed in an artistic and educational manner with demonstrations and even a tokonoma. Many club members participated and assisted. Ken Roberts was in a TV-5 spot the day before the show and Carol Roberts and Jim McEown were in one on TV-3 the morning of the show. |
The Archives: Previous Arizona Club Calendars
| 2000-2001 | 2001-2002 | 2002-2003 | 2003-2004 | 2004-2005 |
| 2005-2006 | 2006-2007 | 2007-2008 | 2008-2009 | 2009-2010 |
| 2010-2011 |
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