ENHS Nature Trails November 2005 Article 2

President's Message: Report from the Mushroom Festival

This year the Eugene Natural History Society put up its booth at the Mushroom Festival under a new canopy. The Board voted to spend some of our savings to get a quality canopy. We ordered an EZ UP Encore II with zippered sidewalls and awning from the Hutshop in Tennessee. What a lovely booth it made! Roomy and dry--it offered plenty of room for our "Please Touch" table, posters, and program publicity.

I put the tent up myself on Saturday. It took about an hour, but that is only because it was the first time. Now that the top is installed--it stays on permanently--the next time will take five minutes. On Sunday I was helped by Tom Titus and his wife, Kim, in setting up the displays. We have more material to show off than we can ever set out, so it is fun to select and arrange from our boxes of "What's-its?" and "Look-at-thats!"

Helping with staffing the booth were, in approximate order of appearance, Chuck and Reida Kimmel, Joan and Stan Cook, Evelyn McConnaughey, Nanette Stuart, Herb Wisher, Debra St. Hilaire, and Marge Zane. Marge was in charge of booth-sitter scheduling. Special mention must go to new ENHS member, Nanette, who showed the greatest enthusiasm for placing a lecture schedule in the hands of everyone who visited the booth, and then, when we ran out of flyers, for signing up visitors to receive one in the mail.

One of the fun things about our booth was the activity corner for kids. We had a table for making leaf rubbings. We supplied a box of crayons, a stack of blank sheets of paper, a couple of clip boards, and a selection of pressed leaves pasted on card stock. Most of the leaves had identification labels made from plastic letters so they showed when rubbed with the leaf. There would be flurries of activity at this table along with youthful enthusiasm expressed over handling the items on the "Please Touch" table. Parents seemed to enjoy the offering of something worthwhile for the kids.

One of the questions that arose several times was, "How did you get the leaves glued down so nicely?" This time of the year is a good time to make a leaf collection, since the leaves falling to the ground are often brightly colored, the most colorful of the year. So I have written up the process, step by step. (November 2005, Article 3).

David Wagner, President and Chief Booth Coordinator

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