There were 34 of 57 members present. Guests were Deb Guy from the Women’s Exchange in Glencoe (Patti Van Cleave guest); Shari Burton represented corporate member Hadley Institute and Ann Smith represented the W-N Chamber of Commerce.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: Randy Reeves celebrated a birthday. Patti listed the assignments for the next meeting. Mark Kotz reminded everyone that he still has available copies of the directory of all the Rotary Clubs in our District. Barb Tubekis reminded us that although we have no luncheon meeting on September 29, that the Glencoe Community Garden group is having its harvest of fruits and vegetables from 12:15 to 1:30 at its location in Glencoe (next to the railroad tracks). This includes a short lunch and volunteers are needed. They should wear closed- toe shoes and bring gloves. Barb also reminded us that our Club is having a social gathering that evening at 5:00 to approximately 6:30 at the Winnetka Historical Society—drinks and hors doeuvres will be provided. This is one of our newly-initiated social events that we are trying on the 5th Thursday of a month in lieu of a formal meeting. Rich Lalley asked for names of other organizations that might be able to benefit children by being part of the Club’s Operation Warm program. Donations of coats are given to such organizations who find the children to receive same. A good example is the Open Arms Kitchen in Antioch. These coats are passed out to kids from October through November. Our Club is responsible for getting these coats to more kids than any other Rotary Club in our District.
HAPPY BUCKS: Wes Bauman contributed in memory of 14 years ago when he had a serious health problem at the opening meeting of his last year as Principal of New Trier High School—he is thankful he made it through that last year until his retirement and for the 13 years thereafter—and is looking forward to many more; Barb Tubekis contributed for the great job Robert Mardirossian did in presenting a program on handling aging parents given recently at the Winnetka library; Tony Kambich contributed in honor of Sam Owri of Uganda who is a long distant admirer of our Club and who will become the International Rotary’s President in 2 or 3 years.
Tim McCabe gave the Dig N Grin by reminding us that if a dentist marries a manicurist they may fight “tooth and nail”—or a will (estate plan) is actually a “dead give away”.
SPEAKER CYNTHIA ANDERSON FROM THE CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN (CBG): David Birkenstein introduced our speaker who is a Master Gardener and educator at the CBG and is now working on her Doctorate in landscape architecture. She said the goal of the CBG is to further education and scientific programs involving plants and flowers. Cook County Forest Preserve owns the CBG property but it is managed by the Chicago Historical Society. Other facts relating to CBG are: it had one million visitors in 2015; it covers 385 acres; has 26 garden areas and 4 natural areas; has one million bulbs, 65,000 shrubs and 100 acres of woods. The five major gardens are the Krasberg Rose Garden (5000 plants); Bonsai Collection Garden; English Walled Garden; Japanese Garden covering 17 acres and 3 islands; and the Evaluation Garden . The Plant Conservation Center is part of the Evaluation Garden where it teaches and researchs plant conservation. Northwestern University and ITT have educational classes at CBG. The Regenstein Learning Center is new, has 10 classrooms and 433 adult education programs. During the summer several hundred children from the area attend educational classes at the facility. The Hadley Institute has at least 3 programs to help sight-impaired people learn about and enjoy plants/flowers. A little known program of the CBG is its Plant Information helpline where people can call in problems with their plants/flowers and get immediate and expert advice from the 5-10 Master Gardeners who are usually on duty to take such calls.
In answer to questions from the audience, Cynthia said, yes, there are fish in the water; that the CBG has plenty of geese on the premises, but no swans at this time; there are 250 bird species that frequent the area; and that the deer population is “controlled and escorted peacefully from the premises”. As Cynthia put it, “we are indeed lucky to have the CBG our backyard.”
(Cynthia’s power point presentation will be passed on to members when it is received.)
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