Camellia Club of Mobile
Newsletter
Volume VI - Issue 2
NOVEMBER MEETING TO HIGHLIGHT CAMELLIA SPECIES
The November 8th Meeting at the Mobile Botanical
Gardens will feature Jim Campbell of Covington, Louisiana, as our program
speaker. Members will recognize
Jim since he is a long time participant in our January Show both as an
exhibitor and a judge. We
really recommend that you attend
this Meeting, Jim has an
abundance of knowledge about, and a great enthusiasm
for, our favorite flower, the camellia. Looking
forward to seeing you there.
ELAINE’S CAMELLIA SHOW DAZZLES (as usual!)
The October Meeting was attended by about 40 people who
thoroughly enjoyed Elaine Smelley’s slide show of camellias.
Elaine answered questions on each of the blooms she showed the
members and a lot of notes were taken.
Our thanks to Elaine for presenting this program, - and to Jim
Smelley since I think he takes the photos
CORRECTION: FORT WALTON BEACH
SHOW IS SATURDAY, NOVEMBER l4th
CAMELLIA CHAT………………………………………………….
Sadly we report that our lovely lively member Margaret
Comstock is seriously ill in Thomas Hospital.
As we all know Margaret has being fighting a valiant battle against
cancer for a number of years, her
cheerfulness in the face of such a struggle has amazed us all.
At present she cannot have
visitors but cards would be welcome – ask Vera Curry for the address.
Our prayers are with her and her husband Earl.
Our Vice-President Floyd Hamburg is still not too well,
doctors are busy trying to find a fine line in his
blood treatment, between too thick and too thin (O.K. – I
know that isn’t the medical term,
but it does sort of explain the problem!).
Melba says he appreciated the card that all the members signed at the
last meeting, and we again send him our best wishes for a very speedy
solution to his problems. We miss you, Floyd!
Better news on the health front, Treasurer Kay Calloway has
come through her shoulder replacement op with flying colors.
You know she is doing well when you go to visit her at
the hospital just three days after
the operation and find she’d
gone home the previous afternoon!
Well done, Kay!
The visit to the Kyle McCaskey and Vernon Howell camellia
nurseries in Mississippi was well attended with 20 people braving a sunny
but cold windy day. After a
great fish lunch at the Hook, Line & Sinker Restaurant we all trooped off to
Kyle’s and then Vernon’s. We
were made very welcome at both places, by both people and dogs! Plants were
bought at both nurseries and I know that many people will be heading back to
see the plants that are for sale when they are in bloom, particularly
Vernon’s seedlings…
A belated, but sincere,
THANK YOU
is due to all the gentlemen who
provided the seedlings for the members present at our September meeting. So
to Al Baugh, Leo Brown, Bill Curry, Ronald Driskell, Jim Oates and Jimmy
Walker, thank you, we do appreciate your generosity.
While reading the “Horticulture” magazine at the library the
other day I came across a great article about the Camellia Forest Nursery
which is run by the son of Dr. Clifford Parks.
One of the camellia pictures
was “Sarrell” a lovely bloom from Bobby Green – those
of you who went on the
tour of Bobby’s elegant camellia gardens in Fairhope some years ago will
remember we were guided by his granddaughter Sarrell….
Now that the camellia season is underway it is time to visit
the Camellia Shows being held in our area.
The first will be by the Fort Walton Beach Camellia Club on
November 14 at the Westwood
Retirement Resort, 100l Mar-Walt Dr. Ft. Walton Beach, FL.
The second will be the Mississippi Gulf Coast Camellia Club on
November 21 & 22 at MSU Co-op Extension Center, Popps Ferry Road, Biloxi,
MS. The Ozone Camellia Club will
hold their Show on December 5 at Municipal Auditorium, 2056 2nd
St, Slidell, LA. Then
don’t miss the Pensacola Club’s Show on December 12 & 13 at the
Wright Place, Wright St., Pensacola, FL.
If you’ve never entered a Show, be brave and go for it at one of
these Shows, you could win!