This year's raffle tickets are a can't-lose proposition. Your $10 donation entitles you to $10 off on a purchase of $35 or more at area PB&J restaurants (Red Robin, YiaYias and Burnt End BBQ). So you can't lose!

Prizes include: Dinner for 8 in the winner's home, prepared by a PB&J Chef; Apple iPad; flat screen TV; Garmin Nuvi; and Apple iPod. Prize winning names will be drawn at the Holiday Luminary Walk on December 3, 2011. Winners do not have to be present.

Tickets will soon be available at FOTA events.

The large turnout for the July 5 dedication of the beautiful new Serenity Point was a perfect tribute to the memory of Margie Engelkemier, who passed away in early 2008.

Margie was hugely influential in the early stages of Arboretum development, and at times she seemed to propel the Friends group forward single-handedly. As Margie and Larry's son Monte said at the dedication, after her children grew up and left the nest, "the Arboretum became her child."

To honor her life and her love of the Arboretum, her family and FOTA have created this lasting monument to her vision. 

Cutting the grape vine "ribbon" are (from left) Georgia Erickson, Terry Happer Scheier, Greg Ruether, Larry Engelkemier, Monte Engelkemier, Donna Owens and (behind foliage) Russell Simmons and Teri Shields.

Photos by Jim Van Hooser (top) and Mark Higgins   

An enthusiastic group of about 75 FOTA members gathered in the nice, cool Visitors Center on a very hot July 10 to enjoy a barbecue luncheon, visit with friends, and witness the presentation of the annual volunteer awards.

The Volunteer of the Year award was earned by Karen McNerney, for her many years of leadership and assistance with every event and activity imaginable. She is every event chair's dream come true, as there seems to be no job too difficult for Karen to tackle. Karen will now enjoy a free lifetime membership.

Charlie Cormier received the Sapling of the Year award for his 650 hours as a brand new volunteer. It seems like Charlie is always around to help in every possible way with just about any job that needs him. He receives a free membership for one year. In this photo he is holding a special parking lot vest made for him by last year's Volunteer of the Year, Margaret Kalal. 

Karen Haake did an outstanding job with organizing, table decorations and an unusually delicious meal.

The bird committee has been busy with Bird Blind maintenance, hummingbird and oriole feeder filling, suet feeder building, and bluebird counting.

According to committee chair Sue Davidson, the group has counted 18 bluebird nests, 77 eggs and 71 babies this year. The bluebirds are in the second round of nesting.

Two newly donated display cases in the Visitors Center are helping to house the growing collection of bird nests, which now includes a Brown Thrasher nest.

The Arboretum is fortunate to have an authentic Native American Medicine Wheel, located between Serenity Point and the Marder Garden. On Saturday, August 6, 9:30-10:30 a.m., the Arboretum will be honored to greet Chelsey Yellow Eyes, granddaughter of Chief Yellow Eyes, who designed the Medicine Wheel for his father. 

The Yellow Eyes Medicine Wheel is the only Medicine Wheel of its kind in Kansas. It was created through strict observance of the sacred and secret traditions of the Traditional Southern Cheyenne Nation. The Cheyenne are indigenous to the territories now known as Kansas and Oklahoma. Chief Yellow Eyes, assisted by Friends of OP Arts Volunteer Mark Raynes, traveled to Southern Oklahoma to consult tribal elders and gather the sacred stones that form the axis anchors, hub and exterior circle for this Wheel, which was dedicated in October, 2001.

The project honors a culture whose existence in this region stretches back for several millennia. The Cheyenne beliefs behind the Medicine Wheel are that we must strive for completeness by seeking understanding from all the directions in order to gain balance and understanding of ourselves. The Medicine Wheel is a place of worship and spiritual reflection.

This will be the first time Chelsey has seen this Wheel. She graduated from Muskogee High School in Oklahoma and will be attending Bacone College in Muskogee this fall. She was awarded the "Miss NASA Princess Award" (Native American Student Advocate) and received a $40,000 scholarship to Bacone College. As Princess, she tours various powwows and performs traditional dances. She will be wearing her full dress regalia for picture taking at the Medicine Wheel.

We hope you will have a chance to meet this remarkable young lady in person on August 6, 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.! 

Photo by Phyllis Merrick 

Approximately 400 kids enjoyed "Plant A Pot" at the OP Convention Center Touch-A-Truck event July 17, while learning more about the Arboretum.

Kids had a riot, planting small pots with rye seed, and then hammering foliage onto a square muslin cloth, with which they then covered the potted seeds in a neat little take-home package. Kids - and FOTA volunteers - had a diggin'-good time. (That's a lot of kids and hammering, by the way!)

You can see some great Touch-A-Truck photos here . 

Pictured at right are part of a group who took part in one of the regularly scheduled GeoKids activities at the Arboretum, led by the "big kid" in the background, our geocaching guru Charlie Loftus.

GeoKids activities include a basic instruction class for children ages 6-12 on the use of a compass, with a brief introduction to GPS devices and geocaching. After a short classroom session on how to orient a compass, kids enjoyed participating in a treasure hunt using a compass and clues.  

Photo by Karl Yehle

FOTA Chair Teri Shields:

Terishields@aol.com 

Volunteer Coordinator Phyllis Merrick:

VolunteerCoordinator@opkansas.org 

FOTA Coordinator Suzie Swyden:

fotacoordinator@yahoo.com 

Send photos and news to:

judy@springvalleynursery.com 

Photo by Carol Fowler