Pikes Peak Bonsai Society: About Us

ABOUT US

HISTORY OF THE CLUB

The Pikes Peak Bonsai Society was founded on May 9, 1987 by Sonya Alford, our first president. Ross Huddleson and Charles Richards were among the original members, and these three are still present in the group.

By 1996 a more or less monthly single-page newsletter was being mailed to all members. (In 1997, at least, and titled "bonsai journal" it would be edited by Marie Walling.) Club dues were $10 per year.

Club meetings were usually held at either the Colorado Springs Senior Center (1514 N. Hancock), Los Robles Nursery café (918 W. Costilla), or private members' homes on the second Saturday of the month at 10:00 a.m.

By Aug. 9, 1997, our big annual show was at the Donaldson (aka Asian) House, 1123 N. Cascade Ave. on the campus of Colorado College, just north of downtown Colorado Springs. The show featured a demonstration by master gardener Harold Sasaki, a long-time friend of our club from the Denver area. (He has been an instructor at the Denver Botanic Gardens since the late 1970s.) The show coordinator was Mary Alice Ayling. Subsequent single-day shows at this venue were held on Aug. 8, 1998 and Aug. 14, 1999. The two-day show format would begin Aug. 12-13, 2000 and then Aug. 11-12, 2001. Long-time member and master gardener Pete Apostolas would also regularly demonstrate, assisted by members such as Rick Ruggles and Ross Huddleson.

A 10th anniversary party celebrating the organizing of the club was held in September 1997.

Lynne Ryder was the president at the beginning of 1999. On May 1, 1999 a spring show was held at Los Robles Nursery. An azalea workshop with Harold Sasaki up in Denver was the mid-June meeting. The non-private home meetings for the rest of 1999 and throughout 2000 were all at Los Robles Nursery.

In January 2000 a reorganization of the club led to an experiment without formal officers, the responsibility for each monthly meeting being undertaken by one individual member. (For the next twenty-one months, the club's newsletter would be titled "Bonsai News" and continue to be edited by Marie Walling.) The local chapter of Ikebana International invited us to bring some of our trees to display during their March 15 meeting at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. Harold Sasaki conducted a workshop on May 13 at the Senior Center for us. And the June meeting was a car-pool trip up to Harold's nursery in Wheat Ridge, outside of Denver. The club was again invited to bring trees to display at the Japan-America Society of Southern Colorado meeting at the Fine Arts Center on October 21.

At the start of 2001, the year-long experiment with no officers was ended and Pete Apostolas was elected president of the Pikes Peak Bonsai Society.

On March 23, the Colorado Springs Gazette included an article by reporter Dru Wilson about the club. Harold Sasaki, Pete Apostolas, and Mary Alice Ayling were quoted in this good overall introduction to bonsai.

In April, the non-private home meetings were moved to just the Senior Center as we said good-bye to the Los Robles Nursery, which was closing. On May 4 Harold Sasaki conducted a demonstration-workshop at University of Colorado/Colorado Springs. On May 19 Pete Apostolas conducted a Beginning Bonsai Workshop at his home. (Another would be conducted April 27, 2002.) Starting in October 2001 through April 2003, the monthly mailing of the club would be titled "Pikes Peak Bonsai Society of Colorado Springs Newsletter." It was edited by fairly new member Larry Rohr.

The 2002 show (Aug. 10-11) was held at the Japanese-Chinese Language House of Colorado College, behind 1196 N. Cascade.

In 2003 the club dues were raised to $20 per year per family.

The May 2003 meeting was up at Harold Sasaki's nursery. (In June the first e-mailed version of the newsletter was made as an alternative to standard mail, with Claudia and Jim Eley as editors. The monthly was simply titled "Pikes Peak Bonsai Society." Living in Green Mountain Falls, the Eley's occasionally had club members meet there, dig small trees, collect rocks and moss, and finish with a potluck lunch.)

An Aug. 16, 2003 display and sale was held as part of the Community Hands-on Art Day at the Fine Arts Center. A one-day show on September 6 was held at the Worner Center of the Colorado College, 902 N. Cascade Ave. This is the campus' student union building.

On November 8, Harold Sasaki conducted another workshop here.

From June 19-20, 2004 the Pikes Peak Bonsai Society participated in the Rocky Mountain Bonsai Society's annual show at the Denver Botanic Gardens. That September saw a second club show here at the Worner Center.

On Sept. 10, 2005 the club's new official web site debuted at www.phoenixbonsai.com/PikesPeak Bonsai.html.

From Oct. 22-23 the club's annual show was again held at the Worner Center. And in December, Bill Fox was elected president.

Our May 2006 meeting was at Cliff Broyles' and the following month saw a dig at Claudia and Jim Eley's.

From Sept. 23-24, our annual show was held at the Worner Center. Gazette reporter Shari Chaney Griffin visited on Saturday and had an article in the next day's paper (pg. Metro 3), "Variety of plant types on display at bonsai exhibition". On Saturday we also held our first "Peoples' Choice" vote during the show. Pete's fiery Japanese maple forest was named as the most favored by the visitors throughout the day.


From Sept. 2006, (standing l. to r.) Robert Baran, Pete Apostolas, Bill Fox, and (seated) Charlie Richards.	Ross Huddleson.

January 2007 saw the first edition of the club's yearbook, dedicated to our founder Sonya Alford. This useful guide was spearheaded and includes photographs by Cliff Broyles.