Many of you know that I was a history teacher, and my mind always turns to history. What history is all about is to enable us to understand the state we are in now by tracing the path we have followed from a starting point to get here. So, if you will bear with me I'd like to give you a brief historical sketch of the Sun Country Iris Society. Very brief and very, very sketchy. No statistics, I promise. Well maybe you might like to know how few members started the society. Frances Wvob and I just counted - - there were 13.

That was back in 1969, only 19 years. What we have coming up is the 20th year of operation. It all started when Archie Gerrard and maybe another one or two of the original members attended the Tucson Society's show in the spring of 1969. It was probably the Sunday afternoon a week later that I read a notice in the Arizona Republic's garden section about an iris show at Valley Garden Center. That was about 2:00 in the afternoon, so I jumped into my car and went down there. A few people were still there, but I got a very cool reception and the information that the show was over. I went back home and check out the garden section to see whether I had read the notice wrong. No, that's what it said - - until 5:00 Sunday afternoon.

Then I saw another little notice. Archie Gerrard was holding open garden at his home until 5:00. Into the car again and over to Archie's. I was the only visitor, but he was very friendly and hospitable, and his enthusiasm for irises rubbed off. I was already hooked on irises, even with the old dogs blooming in my yard. Somebody had given me a bunch of what was probably old Maytime or Tournament Queen -- a lavender biolor that was growing along my driveway from the carport to the street and making such a show that people driving by would stop to look and express amazement that irises - - or flags - - could do so well in Phoenix.

In the course of my visit with Archie he asked me if I would be interested in joining an iris society. He told me that he had been approached by the Regional Vice President of Region 15 about starting a Phoenix chapter of the American Iris Society. Now, there was already an iris society in Phoenix closely tied to the Valley Garden Center but not following AIS rules for affiliation, conduct of shows, etc. This club was always in need of money for itself and involved in raising money for the garden center. The AIS then, and still yet so far as I know, discouraged its member clubs from getting involved with community garden centers for various reasons. I do want to say that Sun Country has a good relationship with the Valley Garden Center and we very much appreciate the privilege of using the facility.

Archie finally got around to telling me that he had some eight or ten iris lovers interested in starting a new society. He had a vice president, a secretary, and a treasurer lined up, even a Region 15 representative. But they needed a president. Since I was a college teacher, surely I could preside at a meeting and serve as president, couldn't I? A few nights later we all met at his house to organize, and I went home wondering what in the world I had got myself into.

There followed a volume of correspondence with Region 15 and AIS officials to gain acceptance as an AIS affiliate. We met at homes - - mine or Archie's or somebody else's - - the first year or two until we got so big we had to find a larger place. First, the hospitality center of an insurance company on North Central; next First Federal Savings and Loan accross 19th Avenue from Chris Town; then at 20th Street and Camelback. Finally, to the Garden Center, where we feel fortunate and well cared for. In the meanwhile, the other iris society had ceased to exist, largely because of the death of one of its most influential members. Some of their real irisarians had already joined Sun Country.

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