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About Us
Happy Anniversary, Salal Chapter! - Marcia Hunt In the Beginning - Art Kermoade Salaloquy - Rita Winn Only One Seed - Art Kermoade Happy Anniversary, Salal Chapter! by Marcia Hunt As we blow out our candles and celebrate our successes we should also raise our glasses in a toast to all the chapter members, past and present, who have given of their time, energy and ever-growing expertise to serve as officers, arrange programs, lead hikes, staff booths, create our display garden, publish our Potent Teller and our web page, host our successful Study Weekend 2000, spread our message about the value of native plants to countless groups and individuals, and to enrich our collective understanding and appreciation of native plants and their role in our present-day and historical ecosystems. Bravo!
In the Beginning by Art Kermoade Our first meeting, at which 17 people were present (the list is available), was held in an office building at 110B First North in old town Mt. Vernon. Ruth Kromann, Helen Kermoade and Sylvia Hosford agreed to serve as the pro tempore officials. They wrote the original by-laws and applied for acceptance to WNPS. Helen contacted Skagit Valley College and arranged for us to have our regular meetings in the college's botany facility: Room 11, Angst Hall, where we still meet. I'm certain that the botany instructor's being a WNPS member went a long way toward our gaining access to such an appropriate meeting place. Many thanks to Skip Pass. Next on the agenda was the "election" of regular officers. We met at the college for our very first time on October 5, 1991. "Who was willing to do what had to be done?" Relative silence prevailed. I, personally, wanted this formation to happen so much that I nominated myself to be the first chair. Then Ruth said she was willing to take the co-chair and Thad Davis volunteered to be the secretary and treasurer. Immediately nominations were closed. Board meetings at Denny's in Mt. Vernon were frequent. We even incorporated--we were an entity unto ourselves. Thad also took on the newsletter. Often he produced eight to twelve very well thought out and informative pages. In the beginning we called ourselves "Skagit Chapter." However, since we claimed San Juan, North Snohomish and Island counties in addition to Skagit, we voted to change our name to Salal Chapter in January 1992. Let us not forget that we are a "stepchild" of the Koma Kulshan
Chapter. We laid claim to much of their territory. One of their members
proposed our formation--Ruth Kromann was indeed a "KK renegade." Today
several Salal members hold associate memberships in Koma Kulshan. We enjoy
visiting back and forth. We have a very close relationship. Salaloquy by Rita Winn So why is salal a favorite plant of mine? In large part because of the majority of my memories from days when I found myself surrounded by it. I think of salal in the dappled sunlight of a pleasant stand of trees, with the pungent smell of warm forest duff tickling my nostrils. I'm walking lightly, dressed in comfortable clothing. The air is fresh and caresses my skin. I come unexpectedly upon delightful orchids, dainty and elusive. I am serenaded by a variety of songbirds and gently scolded by squirrels. Sword fern is another favorite plant, associated with mossy glades an serene walks through the woods during the summer dry season; but it more commonly brings to mind soggy days in wet seasons when I am floundering through fallen debris where everything drips. I am wrapped in bulky clothing which holds the moisture--in. My feet are wet and cold in "waterproof" boots. The sky is gray and sodden; the trees direct small rivulets with great accuracy down the back of my collar. Crows follow me through the woods berating me like a car with a dead battery. Large black spiders bar my path, their glistening strands as effective as a barbed-wire fence (you can move on through it, but you think about it first). I have to look closely to find salal in the Upper Skagit. It's here, thick in places, but this is sword fern country. Openings in the trees are more likely choked with salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis) than graced with ocean spray (Holodiscus discolor). Much as I love the rain and the green, I have a special fondness for salal country. To my mind, it's more hospitable.
I couldn't resist. I randomly gathered a few of the seeds and placed them in my lunch sack. After returning home and preparing a seed flat I broadcast my reapings therein. Eventually several then unknown species made their way through the medium. One, and only one, of the new seedlings was grass-like. Patiently I nurtured and waited. After approximately two years this particular plant produced several small blue flowers, each with three sepals and three petals. By then there was little doubt as to its identity: Sisyrinchium angustifolium, synonym S. Bellum, common name: blue-eyed grass. From that one seed we of Salal Chapter probably have propagated three or four thousand plants, many by seeds, many by vegetative division. Very recently twelve clusters of this iris were taken to Wayne Eden at the Peace Arch State Park for transplanting there at Blaine. These should serve to commemorate Wayne's years as a staff ranger at Deception Pass and his service to Salal Chapter as a botanist and native plant walk leader. He is credited with having identified several species on our plant list. |
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Updated: April 14, 2007 |
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