Rotary Log for October 10, 2019
President Leo welcomed Rotarians and guests on a grey and blustery October day, warmed by a good meal and Rotary fellowship. After the Pledge of Allegiance, John Rice led the members in song. Larry Murphy gave a thoughtful invocation.
Guests Elizabeth Burr, Heath Wilson and Don Chick were introduced. All will soon join Rotary.
General announcements included a mention that Paul Famulari has been reinstated in the Club…We raised $190 last week in honor of Basil Richardson’s 50 years of hands-on projects...Leo thanked Dennis Moulton and Aileen Dugan for showcasing Portsmouth Rotary’s service projects at the Rotary Rocks District Conference in Portland.
Asking for volunteer cooks and servers, Tiffany McKenna thanked Rotarians for their continued support of Crossroads House. Joanie Dickinson gave an update on Interact, thanking everyone for collecting can tops for veterans.
Mark Lorusso won the 50/50 raffle, pocketing $48 – sadly he didn’t have a match for the bonus of $25.
Donna Lewallen provided an overview of Operation Warm which distributes winter coats to children in need. Donna, Jen Craig and Leo modeled coats. Donna explained that three million coats have been distributed since the project was started by a Philadelphia Rotarian 15 years ago. This year, the Board has approved $3000-dollars for Operation Warm.
Jon Flagg’s “Historical Minute” included several testimonies about past Christmas tree sales going all the way back to 1972 when it began. Dan Hoefle, John Pappas, Ben Wheeler and Ted Alex regaled the assemblage with their stories.
Leo updated us on Mort Schmidt who undergoes surgery October 16th. Friendly outreach from members is much appreciated.
Personable Brian Fox, owner of a Christmas tree farm in New Brunswick, Canada, was our program speaker. For years, Fox’s farm has supplied Christmas trees for Rotary’s biggest fundraiser. He discussed the different tree varieties, including native Balsam and the non-native Fraser. He has cross-bred the two to combine the best characteristics of each tree.
Cones are collected, dried and processed to obtain the seeds which are then sown in autumn, following Mother Nature’s example. Seedlings are transplanted several times and trees mature in 11-12 years.
Harvesting starts in early November so that trees can be delivered right after Thanksgiving. Brian interspersed cool photos of the farm with one of a 25-pound salmon caught on the near-by world famous Miramichi River. Another pic showed his dog sprawled out upside down on the sofa looking exhausted during Christmas Eve! That could be how some Rotarians will look after they have unloaded hundreds of trees in Portsmouth next month!!
Leo closed the meeting with all joining him in the Four-Way Test.
Respectfully submitted, Francoise Meissner
Photos by Sara Treacy
