Trimestial Photo Competition

There will be three photo competitions per year, referred to as the Trimestial Photo Competition or TPC which are scheduled as follows - number advancing in accordance with the year, i.e., TPC 2001-1 and the year following TPC: 2002-1, etc. (unless otherwise mentioned, the exact time will be midnight GMT of the date indicated)

TPC 2001-1: Starts Feb. 1 - entry deadline April 30 First Two Weeks of May for Final Website Setup Second Two Weeks of May for Voting

TPC 2001-2: Starts June 1 – entry deadline August 31 First Two Weeks of September for Final Website Setup Second Two Weeks of September for Voting

TPC 2001-3: Starts Oct. 1 – entry deadline Dec. 31 First Two Weeks of January for Final Website Setup Second Two Weeks of January for Voting.

Turning Over A New Leaf

By Damon Veach

I guess you thought I was very clever when I came up with this title for my book review column. Well, think again. It was the name of a column written by a dear friend of mine who actually got me a job working for The Times-Picayune, New Orleans’ largest newspaper and a part of the Newhouse publishing empire.

I loved Mabel. I still do, and I think of her often.

I wandered around the French Quarter in my earlier years, browsing for old books, especially Louisiana books to add to my already extensive collection. One of my favorite haunts was on Chartres Street (Rue Chartres). I joined a book club while I was living in Fort Worth, Texas, and one of my first selections was “Madame Castel’s Lodger,” which was set in a home its author Frances Parkinson Keyes (rhymes with eyes) had restored on Chartres. Its most famous connection was General Pierre Goustave Toutant Beauregard, but Paul Morphy, the chess champion, also lived there. (This Chartres Street resident, by the way, is buried near Marie Laveau, the famous voodoo queen, in St. Louis Cemetery #1.)

Well, I needed more of Keyes’ books and some of the more famous New Orleans cookbooks and gardening books, so I checked several stores on a regular basis. Shan’s Antiques was such a store, located on the next block of Chartres and practically in the shadow of the Keyes home which is now a museum. Shan’s selection of books was always a delight to behold.

One day I walked in the front door, and there was this petite little lady chatting with Shan. She mentioned that she worked at The Times-Picayune, and I told her I would dearly love to review books and do a genealogy column for the newspaper. Let me see what I can do was her response. Two or three weeks later, I had the job, and Mabel Simmons became my “running buddy.” I’m not sure how old she was at the time, but it didn’t make any difference. She was always ready to go shopping, checking out garage sales, partying on the river boats, going to political functions, or just walking the streets of the Old French Quarter.

I always stayed at her house when I needed to rest, and my children loved to go there. Her home on Nashville Avenue was near the parade route which started up by the Baptist Hospital on Napoleon.

Mabel was the book editor and travel editor for the T-P. She was good, and everyone loved her. She finally began to tire out and had to check into the hospital for her ailments, and this seemed to be her downfall. She was into her eighties and never thought of retiring, but because of her continued hospitalizations, the T-P retired her automatically. I really think this was the point when she gave up.

I used to go to Key West every year in January for the annual writers conference, and on this particular January morning, I stopped by her home to tell her I was leaving for a week at the conference. She looked better than she had in a long time, peaceful and relaxed. She held my hand while I told her about the seminar. Her last words to me were “Go and have a great time for the both of us.”

I had just arrived in Key West when I received a call from my daughter that Mabel had passed away. She was 89 years old then, and I did as she would have had me do. I stayed at the conference, and I enjoyed it for both of us.

“Turning Over a New Leaf” was her book column in the T-P. I still have the metal plate used in the print shop to stamp the header on her formats. She loved to promote books, especially the small publishers who are sometimes overpowered by the biggies.

Mabel was a beautiful human being, and I loved her dearly. I can still feel her presence today. The oak tree planted in her honor on the front lawn of the T-P has grown into a fairly nice-sized tree, and it will continue to grow and people will know that a kind and generous lady was honored by her peers for long years of devotion to her craft.

Now you can feel a part of her too every time you read this column.

“The Old Woman of the Quarter” is a short story I wrote about one of our nights in the historic old French Quarter. I can feel her presence even now as when we huddled under an umbrella and walked down Pirates Alley around midnight. It was cold and raining and ghostly as we made our way past the home where William Faulkner had lived at one time.

Like the hibiscus plants I treasure, Mabel too was a treasure to so many people. Someday she will be a part of my flower garden too.

I plan to name a seedling in her honor.

Secretary’s Report
December 2000 and January 2001 / February and March 2001

December and January topics of discussion for the Board of Directors (BOD) were mainly centered around minor problems with the IHS web site. Solutions were discussed and an IHS member, Joseph Dimino, stepped forward with his expertise and quickly solved the problems. The BOD would like to extend its appreciation for Joseph’s efforts and is pleased to announce that Joseph Dimino has accepted the position of Assistant Web Master.

In February President Dick Johnson had a computer malfunction, which resulted in his absence from BOD discussions and the mail list. Dick as well as being President, Web Master, Mail List Owner/Moderator also provides the popular Photo of the Day and is responsible for setting up the Polls for the Photo Contests. Allan Little, our Australian Rep, filled in for Dick and provided the photos. Thank you Allan. However, the final Poll for the Photo Contest had to wait until Dick’s return. It was the decision of the BOD to add an Assistant Monitor to prevent such disruptions in the future. Nadeen Pickard volunteered as Assistant Monitor. The takeover of eGroups by Yahoo also proved troublesome for some of the IHS members. It was agreed in March that all discussions by the BOD be suspended until this problem was resolved and our members once again had access to the Polls and other features of the IHS mail list. Once the problems with Yahoo were resolved, the BOD could once again resume its work. The BOD has decided to add a weekly feature to the mail list called Hibiscus Notes. Hibiscus Notes will contain information on fertilizers, pruning, pest control and other subjects relating to the general care and maintenance of hibiscus. These messages will be archived in a folder set up on the IHS Yahoo site for easy access in the future. The final voting on the Photo Contest also commenced and the results are posted below. Thanks to the members who provided so many wonderful choices and congratulations to Robert Cook, our second winner of a black Tahitian pearl compliments of President Dick Johnson.

Best Single – Sunshower
Best Double – Pamela Ann
Best Multiple (Single) – Bonnie B. x 2
Best Multiple (Dbl) – Red Snapper x 2
Best Christmas Theme Floral Art – Bowl
Best Computer Art – Computer Paint
Best Flowering Bush – Bonnie B. x 2
Best Garden – 3 CV Garden
Best People and Hibiscus – Charlie and Copper Moon

Nadeen Pickard Secretary/Treasurer
International Hibiscus Society.

Spotlight on Subscribers

Ed Spillman and Bonnie B

Photo by Damon Veach (taken at a meeting of the Baton Rouge Hibiscus Society in March 2001).

IHS GOVERNING BOARD

Hibiscus International is published every two months as a cyber/hard copy publication. It appears on the IHS web site in cyber version or as an e-mail attachment, which can be read and printed out on your own equipment. Hardcover copies are available, but they have to be requested from the editor and a small charge is assessed to cover mailing costs. The IHS is a non-profit organization with the sole purpose of promoting the world’s most beautiful flower. The benefits can be found by joining our group and sharing daily updates and discussions. From the novice to the professional hybridizers, you will fine it all here. Check us out at:

Articles for publication:

Send any freelance submittal directly to the editor: bookman@intersurf.com or to Damon Veach, P.O. Box 44370, Capitol Station, Baton Rouge, LA 70804. Opinions expressed in the articles are strictly those of the authors who have submitted the data for publication and for sharing with the society and the readers of its publication. If the issue is already full of copy, the items will be held for future issues. The earlier the submittal, the more likely the copy will be accepted for a given issue. Acceptance of material is at the discretion of the editor with final approval from the BOD.

Publication Schedule:

November/December
Deadline – October 1
To BOD – October 10

January/February
Deadline – December 1
To BOD – December 10

March/April
Deadline – February 1
To BOD – February 10

May/June
Deadline – April 1
To BOD – April 10

July/August
Deadline – June 1
To BOD – June 10

September/October
Deadline – August 1
To BOD – August 10

Coming in Issue 5

Gloria White has an interview with the Vannoorbeecks and the Scobeys.

Plus another surprise offering that I don’t plan to announce, but it will be a major look at our favorite flower from a far corner of our world.

Picture Gallery

 Hot to Trot

Confederate Rose
 Photos by Damon Veach

Back to home page
© 2002 International Hibiscus Society