Wonderful Adventures in Iowa!

Hello Daylily Friends,

Diana and I were tremendously thrilled to have been asked to come and speak to the Central Iowa Daylily Society which is located in Marshalltown, Iowa.  What a privilege to be asked to come to Iowa which is the place where our Society had its beginnings.  We were met at the airport by our good friend, Lee Pickles, and then we headed toward the meeting.  On the way Lee took us to  the "Maid Rite Sandwich Shop" in Newton, Iowa.  We had the most unusual sandwich.  We had wonderful Iowa beef, but the beef was not "pressed together."  Instead, it was loose and tasted great. Lee loves the maid rite sandwich and now, so do we.  The French Fries were also outstanding.  While we were eating the owner of the Shop came over and spoke to us.  He was so friendly.  His name was Dan Holtkamp.  When we went over to pay our bill I was surprised to see that Dan was using a "Cash Register."  I haven't seen a Cash Register used hardly anywhere in this age of computers, so I had to take several pictures.  It was a thrill for us to visit the Maid Rite Sandwich Shop.

I should also add that Lee is originally from Colfax, Iowa, even though he resides in Tennessee.  We understood from Lee that he often visits Iowa, and that he particularly likes to visit the Iowa Daylily Clubs.

When we arrived at the place of our meeting, which was at the Marshalltown Community College, we were met by Don Lovell and Phil Fass, two of the Club's leaders.  Phil is a computer specialists, and he wanted my "Flash Drive" to enter into his computer.  I told Phil that I had brought my own computer because I use  "Picasa."  Phil was not as happy as he could have been, and he indicated that we could get the program converted and moved to "Power Point."  I have tried many times to move my program to power point, but I've always failed because the pictures do not transfer in order.  Notwithstanding my past failures, Phil and Michael Bouman stepped in to give me an hand.  Soon, my program was transferred and Phil entered it into his master system.  It was good to get all of that D-O-N-E.  I want to say a special thank you to Michael.  He is excellent on the computer and I am very appreciative that he converted my slide show into power point. 

I'm showing a picture of Diana enjoying the snow standing just outside the door of where our meeting was held. 

The Central Iowa Daylily Society is fortunate to have so many members who are hybridizers.  The members of the Club are very knowledgeable, and they had a tremendous meeting with many speakers.

When the meeting was over on Saturday evening, we then had more great fun.  We went with a number of members of the Club to Rube's Steakhouse which is a restaurant where you grill your own steak.  We went through a short line and each member selected a steak, and then we went to a central area where there was a massive charcoal grill.  And as I said, we grilled our own steak. Left to right in the above picture are Barb Pappenhauser, Mike Grossman, myself and Nan Ripley. 

Would you like to see my properly grilled "Porterhouse" steak?  Well, here it is.  I ate the whole thing.  It was double and triple good.  Also, the restaurant served peppers and grilled potatoes, salad, beans and all of the Texas Toast that you could eat.  I have never been to a restaurant where I've been able to grill my own steak.  It was indeed a unique and exciting experience.

I would also like to tell you about Little Lily Rae and her experiences this morning in Music Class.  Lily Rae's class Teacher is Ms. Arie Motschman.  There was a session where each child had a scarf.  In accordance with the song being sung, the scarf was placed over the face, and then on command it was removed.  Lily Rae walked over in front of Ms. Arie and watched her with her scarf, but Lily Rae would not use a scarf.  She was nevertheless excited about this fun activity, and really enjoyed music class.

Before I go I must also show you a picture of a new bloom that I had this morning in the Greenhouse.  The bloom is from Seedling 3-302 and the parentage is as follows: [(Wild Hair x Fantastic Fringe) x Chilled Orange Sorbet].  You might ask me why I choose to give this particular flower a number.  Well, it is because of the color, because of the potential for teeth, because of the wide sepals, but most of all for its height.  It is 39" tall with 4-way branching and a 5 1/2" flower.  It was just a jewel.  I have plans for this seedling.

Again I want to say how much Diana and I enjoyed going to Iowa.  The members of the Club were so friendly.  We will always remember our time with the Central Iowa Daylily Society.

Bill