I am sad to pass on the news that the New Jersey show on the ADS calendar to take place on April 27 and 28 in Morristown at the Frelinghuysen Arboretum will not occur. The show has been canceled.
Sadly, no one in that group has been willing to step up and chair the show, despite many pleas this year from the past chairman, Ray Rogers.
This is particularly sad since the NJ Daffodil Society has secured for their shows a venue most of us would drool over, a location that provides both adequate space and good lighting as well as a accessibility, ample parking and public exposure right in the heart of a wonderful little town.
I have fond memories of this show. My favorite includes the time Loyce McKenzie and I drove my half dead flowers that had been in the back of my car during the Greenwich show the day before to Morristown and staged them “to fill out the bench”, don’t you know, and were so proud of ourselves until the next day when the show committee OPENED the draperies behind the entries and exposed the lack of substance in my flowers. (ooops) I didn’t win anything much, but being there in that historic horse paddock with a stone floor where staging took place and laughing and chatting over what entry we might make of the flowers is now a memory I will treasure more than a whole box full of ribbons. Every time I’ve had the pleasure of going back to that show, I’ve always remembered that first time I was there with my good friend.
I sincerely hope the group in NJ will be able to reinvent themselves in the future and that the wonderful show they produce will again be part of our list of shows. Like many of you, no doubt, I understand appreciate the effort it requires to plan and run a show, but I also am aware of what a positive and lasting impact that effort can have in other people’s lives.
Chriss Rainey
ADS Awards Chairman
I second Chriss on this situation. Some of best memories of daffodil showing has been at the NJ Daffodil Society Show. As a student judge I was there years ago just to show my flowers and someone came out and said are you a judge or a student judge? I student judged there with Liz Ellwood. Henry Hartman could always be counted on to bring in this hybridized crop of the year where he showed “Golden Daffodils.” Came back as a judge for many years and always enjoyed myself. I hope Ray Rogers gets the help needed to continue the wonderful tradition at the Frelinghuysen Arboretum. Hard to win a ribbon there as the competitors are top notch.
Clay