Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Quad City Forum, a weekly community service program
produced by iHeartMedia to look at the issues and opportunities
that exist in our community. Now here's your hosts for
Quad City Forum, Pt. Luke and Denny Lynn Howe.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
We are talking to Martha A. Smith, who is part
of the American Conifer Society. I first off did not
really know the American Conifer Society even existed. When I
looked at the YouTube blink that you had sent. It
is amazing some of the backyards that a lot of
us maybe aren't privy to. But the kind of well
(00:39):
manicured and well developed backyards that we have right around
here in the Quad City area, Yes.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
And some of them are phenomenal. The American Conifer Society
really wants to promote the use of dwarf and unusual conifers.
They're very versatile, they do very well in our climate.
And when people think of conifers, the first thing I
(01:06):
think of is green, right, But that's not the case.
There's yellows and blues and burgundies. And then you get
into the sizes and the shapes. You've got upright, you've
got mounding, and the dwarf and unusual are those that
grow very very slowly so that they're not going to
(01:31):
be overwhelming in your landscape in six years.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
And doesn't that happen, Martha, where sometimes you want you
want to get a tree that's going to grow fast
to give you shade. But with conifers, and again, when
we're talking about a conifer, that species that's that's an
evergreen er. That's a pine that we're talking about, right.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
Yes, yes, well, when we say conifer, it's really a
cone bearing plant. But not all kinds are evergreen. There
are cone bearing plants that will drop their needles. Bald
cypress is one of them. They turn a beautiful, rusty
orange and drop their needles. But they are a member
(02:14):
of the conifer group. So it's very large. It's very
diverse really what they boil down to and I know
I'm getting really technical botanical, but they're called gymnosperms, and
they talk about being cone bearing plants and what there's
one plant I don't think bot in this way back
(02:36):
when knew exactly what to do with ginko, Ginko is
a gymnosperm. Has I won't get into the details, but
well you can.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
We got time, We got time we can stretch us
into two weeks if you want to, but just try
to every now and again. Just realize as much as
you know it. I don't know. My brain is already
exploding on this thing, but it still is. Its amazing
all the difference because I think of I just think
of a pine tree where I think of an evergreen,
and it's so much more than that.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
Yeah, Ara, spruce, I mean spruce is a common one. Yeah,
So that's that's part of it. And here in the
Quad Cities just north, we have the Bicklehopft Arboretum, which
was actually started by one of our dear, dear members
who has since passed away. He donated Chub Harper was
(03:29):
his name, and he worked for John Deere. Actually he's
the one, well one of them, that I blame for
getting me into.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
I don't think I hear you smiling as you say
he blamed you blame him, But I'm seeing I think
I saw that on the YouTube thing on maybe I
saw part of that. The hours that it takes just
for the lawn, let alone, all the other things incredible.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
Yes, And it's a it's a wonderful collection. And I
always encourage people if you're really not sure. Just you know,
take a Sunday drive up to the Bickelhats. You will
not be disappointed. And I think you will see what
I'm talking about about the textures, the colors, the sizes,
(04:16):
there's just so much to it. In fact, I will
be a speaker at the conference and my topic is
colorful conifers because there's things that people don't really realize
that's out there. And that's the joy, that's the joy
of it.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
I'm looking at one of these, one of the pictures
here and just the placement this is not and again
it depends on some of the other people that are
doing their best in their yards and they sometimes you're
just plopping down this over here. And a lot of
times where you put it in your yard whatever it is,
whatever plans or whatever it is. Sometimes you could it
(04:55):
could be the right soil but the wrong part of
the yard. But looking at the planning that and just
one of these pictures, it is truly incredible how to
not only the perfect spot to get it, but to
make sure that the proper care to let that grow
and thrive.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
Yes, and let it just let it become what it
what it wants to become some are going to be weeping.
Some are very tall and narrow, and it's placement, right
plant for the right spot. And with conifers, with some
of these we call them specimen plants. And you when
(05:32):
you come around a corner of someone's home, maybe have
one tucked off in the distance because wow, that's unusual,
and that draws your eye like you're going into another room,
and that with conifers, it's just it's a lot of fun.
It's just so much fun to work with them. And
(05:53):
I have learned so much by being a member of
the Conifer Society. I've been nurtured by people that everybody
wants to share their knowledge because they love these plants.
So going to the meeting like the national conference that's
coming up, you get to meet people that really want
(06:14):
to tell you about these plants and help you love
them as much as they do. So it's a real
fun group also.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Well, and for those of you just tuning in right
now and you're hearing us talking about planning here that
we're talking to Martha Smith, who is with the American
coniferce Society, and you talked about that event that's coming up.
When is it and where's it going to be and
how can some more people share in the enthusiasm.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
Well, it is going to be in June, June nineteenth
through the twenty first. The hotel, the conference hotel is
Vallys of the Quad Cities. People can go onto the
American Conifer Society web page and click on twenty twenty
five National Meeting and they'll get all the information listed there.
(07:06):
It will start Thursday night, will have social hour, a lecture,
and then it's two days of touring private gardens, gardens
that are not open to the public, gardens that members
have graciously said, Okay, I'm going to make it look
really really good this year and to work into it
(07:29):
so that people can see it and enjoy it and learn.
We'll also tour the bicklehot so that will be part
of it too. But two days of tours for a
bunch of plant geeks. That's the problem.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
Now. That website again, when you're talking about if I
got the right one here, when they talk about registering,
it's on the world Wide Web or HTTPS, and then
Worldwide Web number two dot Conifer Society dot org. That'll
get them there. M okay, okay, So the w across
(08:05):
the town. Okay, so www the number two dot Conifer
Society dot org. And then they when they get there,
they'll see the banner and then it'll kind of be
self explanatory to take it from there.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
Yeah, and with the registration you can also become a member,
and with that you will get we have a public publication,
the Coniffer, right, and we have another one called the
Countiffer Quarterly that you will get as part of your membership,
and in there you learn so much about these plants.
(08:42):
And they usually features some gardens all maybe from New York,
or they might be featuring a garden from the West
Coast or one in central Iowa, which we've had some
beautiful gardens that have been featured in our magazines just
right here in the Midwest.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Well, it's like it's like when you go in recent
times when we've gone to maybe the Plant Show or
some of the stuff around the area. It can get
a lot of people psyched up for maybe not they're
not going to be able to come as close as
some of these incredible gardens are, but get them inspired
to maybe think God, plant outside the box.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
Very clever. I like that.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Well, thank you. Occasionally I come up with missing the
most he's missing the most clever thing. Where you say
enter the cone zone, mean, well, I like the what
is it the Conifer quarter or whatever. I like that
whatever you call the quarterly where I like the little
like alliteration, even though it's maybe not all right there. Yeah,
I just I love this. But for a lot of
(09:44):
we there we go, I just I love I just
absolutely love this. Okay, So for people that want to
find out more because maybe they I we gather, there's
got to be some sort of costs. So so what
are we talking about at the very beginning, and let's
go back again on how they can enter, what they're
(10:06):
expecting and cost wise, and what's entailed once they once
they get registered.
Speaker 3 (10:13):
Yeah, the registration for all your meals, your coach bus transportation.
There is a riverboat lunch and cruise on the celebration bell.
We also have a phenomenal silent auction where people actually
will stand when the time is running out, so they
(10:33):
make sure they get their number on that list, so
they get that plan. It's a lot of fun. For now,
it's for non members, which will include your membership is
four hundred and thirty five dollars and then the early
bird registration and April fifteenth, but you still have another
month after that to register. It's just fifty dollars more, okay,
(10:57):
So that will get you in. It'll get you, you know,
into the gardens on the tours part of the silent
auction learning about conifers, and if you're traveling into the
Quad Cities, the Valleys of the Quad Cities has a
room rate for us, so we're all set with that,
(11:20):
so they just have to sign up and get here.
Another thing that we offer to only those who register is,
let's say you are coming from western Iowa. We have
gardens that are open en route. They're open the day
before when you're traveling, and on Sunday, so if you
(11:43):
didn't get enough conifers at the convention, you can stop
at some of these private gardens. We have a northeast, west,
and south of the Quad Cities, so we really try
to make it, make it a nice event, and those
days you do those tours on your own. But it's
(12:04):
just nice to have our membership that opens up their
gardens across the Midwest.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
Well. Yeah, sharing the love, sharing the joy. When we
talk about some of the conifers are when we see
some of these out in these beautiful gardens, Are any
of these rare or are they just people that they
don't go they don't use these when they're talking about
planting in their garden or in their yard.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
They're rare or they're unusual. These are not generally easy
to find, say, as some of the common landscape plants
we see right now. You see a lot of our varieties,
you see a lot of spyreas. Then they're all good hydranges,
they're all good landscaping plants. But this is just kind
(12:52):
of another level up. A lot of these, if you
really want to know, are plants. People when they're out
in nature, they might see a weird, funky growth on
an evergreen, and we call that a witches broom, and well,
we're not really sure. It could be an insect, it
could be environmental, but something has caused that portion of
(13:16):
that plant to grow in an unusual manner, or maybe
it's coming out blue or maybe it's coming out yellow.
So these plants, people will actually take a part of
that plant and then try to grasp it or root
it so then to see what it's going to grow into.
And so many of the plants that we have that
(13:40):
have been introduced are from doing just this, some a
mungo pine. Someone noticed that the true mugo stayed shorter. Okay,
well let's see how can we propagate that and get
it into the trade so that other people can enjoy it.
So there's a lot more, there's more behind the scenes
(14:02):
in some of this. It might be some grafter that
just decided, oh, I'm going to take this and I'm
going to graf it onto that who knows what it's
going to turn out like, and that's the fun fun.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Well, okay, so we want people to get in here again.
So again we're talking to Martha Smith here from the
American Conference Society, and Martha for people that want to
be a part of it again, website dates and let's
make sure that as we're heading on out here they
get all the information they need to be able to
(14:36):
be a part of this big event.
Speaker 3 (14:38):
It is our national meeting. It won't be here in
the Quad City for another twelve sixteen years. It is
at Valley's Quad Cities. That's where the conference will be.
All your meals, that's where you'll get your buses, all
of that, and it's June nineteenth through the twenty first
you can register online and the Early Bird and April fifteenth,
(15:03):
but after that you still have until May fifteenth.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
It sounds great and I can much like when I
was talking to Tracy a few weeks ago when she
was just talking about I think the the event that
they had over at Vibrant Arena. But it is just
great to hear you plant geeks go all geeky on us.
You just the passion is it's exciting because it rubs off.
(15:31):
It just makes you go yep, I can do this
and it's ten. But it is also great when you're
there in your front, you know, people that want to
be your friends, or that energy just makes you want
to go all right, I'm gonna try it. It's not
gonna it's not gonna look like the Bickelhoff, but it's
gonna look better than it did before.
Speaker 3 (15:51):
I should also say for anyone who will be a
first time that we have a free plant to give
to them so they can start this journey and kron
of first.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
If you or your organization would like to be featured
on Quad City for them, please visit the contact page
and our station website. Now back to bat Luke and
Danny Linnhowe.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
Steve Garrickton Hub, director of Honor Flight to the Quad Cities,
talking to us today. It's going to be busy, busy,
busy this year. More on that in just a few minutes.
But Steven, if you can just tell us a little
bit about what the Honor Flight is all about.
Speaker 4 (16:30):
Well, first of all, we're honoring our veteran We are
taking applications from veterans who serve before nineteen seventy five,
other ones as we go along. That includes Vietnam and
Koree in World War Two. So we're trying to get
all those veterans and we're taking them to DC on
a one day flight. Flight sixty two is coming up
in May. It should be fantastic. Those guys will go there,
(16:52):
they'll see the monuments, they'll see some of the old
equipment that they used to use at the museum. They're
just going to have a good and.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
We're going to feed them with all that they've gone through.
That's certainly deserving of that. Now, when we talk about
sixty two flights, I would think everybody from before nineteen
seventy five knew about this and has already gone on,
but you probably still will run run into this where
a lot of veterans say, no, no, no, I don't
(17:19):
deserve that.
Speaker 4 (17:20):
Oh yeah, yeah they're here. Oh I saw of it
was more important to me and they did that, and
I'm just not. Veterans are the most humble people actually
you'll meet. They're very humble about what they did. Guys
who have the silver star the bronze start now, well,
I you know, there's a mistake or something.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
I don't know.
Speaker 4 (17:42):
Just very humble. Except for me, of course, everybody else
is really humble.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
We are talking to the humble Steve Garrington, hub director
at the Outer Flight of the quad Cities. If people
want to find out more website to do just that.
Speaker 4 (17:57):
Just google Honor Flight quad Cities. You'll get to US.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
Okay, Honor Flight quad Cities. Just do a Google search
in that and you're good.
Speaker 4 (18:04):
And on that you will find applications for veterans and
applications for guardians, and we would like to have a
lot more guardians. The nice thing about a guardian who
doesn't know a veteran come in. He hasn't heard the
veterans story before. The veteran has already told that their
kids the story fifty seven times. They don't want to
(18:24):
hear it again. The new guardian coming in says, hey,
tell me all the stories. They make such good new friends.
And when people get in my age, you got to
make new friends because some of them are going quick.
So you like making new friends and that's great. So
we need people to sign up to be guardians, and
that's on that same website Google Honor Flight Quad Cities.
(18:44):
There is one little problem though, the TSA, that's a
transportation security agency, not the Salvation Army. The TSA requires
the new real ID. We have a star in the
corner of your driver's license or your ID card. So
if you know a veteran, tell them go get your
(19:05):
real ID, because you can't fly without it. They're just
not gonna let us take it. And I don't want
to have anybody show up at the airport and say,
well I don't have a real ID, you can't use
a passport. But the real idea is what we'd really
like to have every veteran. So if you know a veteran,
say have you got your real ID yet? Go get it.
And that's by the way, I think it's different between
(19:26):
Iowa and Illinois as to what you have to take
and give them. So you got to call the driver's
license bureau to find out what you need. But the
real idea is going to become very important. We're just
holding our breath. We don't have any problems with that.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
And while you're at it, as people are listening to
this today, for some people they could have a passport
but it's out of date. So it certainly is a
good idea to always update those and make sure that
you're ready to go. And that would be the similar
thing if people want to volunteer and be a guardian.
You've got to make sure you get all this in
order because the day of is too late to be
doing some of this stuff. There's quite a lead time.
Speaker 4 (20:01):
Certainly is it's hurry up and right in there. We'll
call you.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
It's going to be a busy year in twenty twenty
five because not just one flight or I would think
sometimes it would be two, but you've got three this year,
you got three.
Speaker 4 (20:15):
So we're looking forward to doing that. There's good times.
Spring is hard to do in DC. They have a
cherry blossom festival and you can't hire a bus because
all of uses are taking tours on the Tourer Bossom
festival tours, so it's really difficult. So we do one
(20:39):
kind of lateness brainless in May, and then we do
a couple in the fall, and that's beginning to work
out pretty well.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
So the first couple of steps, what should our veterans
or our veterans families start to do outside of making
sure they get the real ID also update the passport.
First couple of steps after that, just.
Speaker 4 (21:00):
Get the application in first, and then what we'll do
is we take the guys who are before nineteen seventy five,
by the date that they applied, We'll call them and
we'll say are you available now? Since we're gonna have
some people who may not be available, we always call
our things come up, So if we're going to take
eighty people on the flight, we'll call one hundred and
(21:23):
say are you available. If that works out well, we'll
send out a letter to them and then they'll tell
them all the details what they need to do, what
they need to bring, dates and times and all that
sort of stuff. But we will call them when their
turn comes up.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
Guardians first off, apply because there'll be some cost in
that too.
Speaker 4 (21:41):
There will be that helps pay for the airplane. It's
not cheap during an airplane for to day, all of
the guardians pay four hundred dollars to go. And now
I have got many guardians who have had such a
wonderful time that they have paid it three or four
times to go on flight. They just have a great time.
Some of them take pictures and make up those little
(22:02):
picture books and give them to the veterans after the
flight's over. They're just so wonderful. Some of them invite
veterans to their house for Thanksgiving dinner. I mean it's
just really really great. You mean, they make a real,
real good vacation and then a meeting of new friends.
We'll call them well ahead of time say are you
are you available? And we need actually guardians because a
(22:26):
lot of people work and that they may not work
for them. You know, if I want a guardians, I
better call one hundred and twenty.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
And when you talked about some of the veterans how
they've maybe told stories to some of their family, then
getting a chance to talk to some of the guardians,
I would still think Steve, that some of the veterans
still can be tight lips. Sometimes they're not gonna talk,
and it's a great chance for that guardian to be
able to help that veteran come out of their shell.
(22:54):
Like you said, you can May you can start a life,
even though it's a little bit later in life. You
can start a lifetime friendship with this flight.
Speaker 4 (23:03):
It is. That is probably one of the greater things
it comes out of the flight. I mean, it's nice
for them to go and see the memorial, but to
really make a true friend, it's going to you know,
meet them and talk to them, listen to their stories.
I mean, a guardian is going to spend a whole
day focusing in on that veteran, a whole day. The
(23:27):
last time I had somebody spend the whole day focusing
on me was my honeymoons.
Speaker 2 (23:33):
Hey wait a minute, Steve, now let's stop getting too
personal on that stuff.
Speaker 4 (23:36):
Okay, what it is, it's a day when somebody really
focuses in and there's questions and I want to hear
the story. Well what about this? Well what was that?
Who did you get love letters from while you were
in the service besides your wife? You know, I mean
those those questions, they have wonderful questions and they get
and what really happens. In many many cases, the guardian
(23:58):
will say, now, don't forget. You've told me some great stories,
but you need to go back to your family and
tell them the stories. And some families say, it's the
first time we heard these stories after they got back
from the after they got back, so it's a time
when there's nobody to judge them. The ib everybody's or
with these guardians who are eager to see them. They're
(24:20):
just going to have a good time and they can lie.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
Well you know what, it's therapeutic.
Speaker 4 (24:28):
Well, they don't really lie, they just leave out parts
and stretch the others. You know, it kind of like
going fishing.
Speaker 2 (24:34):
Do the guardians just meet the veteran that they're on
just on the flight that day, or is there a
little bit of lead time before the flight?
Speaker 4 (24:41):
There is ten days before we have a meeting for
where all of the veterans and their guardians they get
a chance to meet each other. We'll tell them a
little bit about this. We'll send the veterans home and
then we'll talk to the guardians and we'll give them
some training. Things that they may not think about, things
that they have have to do. You know, lots of
(25:01):
little odds and ends that will teach them, to help
them have a really wonderful day, help them with the
question questions you might want to ask. Remember, if they
get a bottle of water, you need to unscrew it
because with ours litis.
Speaker 2 (25:14):
Well you think about this. If it's a veteran before
nineteen seventy five, so that probably means that veteran most
cases is in their seventies at least.
Speaker 4 (25:23):
Yeah. Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
Now for people that are just tuning in. Steven Garrington,
hub director Honor Flight at the Quad Cities, he's talking
to us.
Speaker 4 (25:30):
They just need to go to our website, download their
application and we'll take care of it. They have a
good time, they really really Some of the guys come
back and say it's the best day of their whole
life other than their wedding. I mean, this is a great,
great time for them. They just really have enjoy it.
And many of the guardians come back into the exact
(25:53):
same thing.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
Okay, so Flight sixty two, we're still looking for veterans
to fill it, and we're also looking for guardians to
help out. They need their real ID, but the main
thing is fill out the application. When you can find
it at the website when you do a little search
on or fly to the Quad Cities and you get
right to it. But we would certainly think volunteers or
(26:15):
maybe people that are listening now just want to donate.
How can they do it?
Speaker 4 (26:18):
Sure? Oh yes, again, there's a app address on the website.
You can just send a check or drop it by
Richcrest Village. That's where we have our office and they
can just put in our mailbox. But that's always great
and we do so much appreciate it. A lot of
(26:41):
other groups have fundraisers and then they and then they say, hey,
we had a fundraiser and we're going to give you
the money. Well that's well, I mean that's great. I
love having doing it. And we have people from way
down in southern Illinois. We have people over and Stealing
and Rock Falls and Dixon and people over in h Iowa,
(27:05):
up and down the river. We have lots of friends,
lots of groups that help. We had a school at
uh Sabulah, Illinois, just did a bicycle thing. Sinnus gave
us the money. I mean, it's wonderful. This is always
say Quad Cities, but we're the Quad City area we
(27:26):
go way out in the area. We just love it.
Speaker 2 (27:29):
Uh, we just I would say instead of the Quad
City area, let's just call it the Quad City region
because it's like one big welcome at.
Speaker 4 (27:38):
We actually have a veteran from Minnesota. His daughter lives
here in town, so he's gonna drive drive down from Minnesota,
stay a couple of weeks with his daughter and son
in law, and go on the flight.
Speaker 2 (27:52):
Wow, that is it's fantastic. And again we're talking to
Stephen Garrington, Hub Director Honor Fly to the Quad Cities. Stephen,
as we wrap this up here today because I still
feel like we could talk another ten to fifteen minutes
on all the great things that are happening. If people
want to find out more as they get ready for
that first flight, there's going to be three this year,
(28:14):
sixty two, sixty three, and sixty four. But give us
the date and how they can be a part of
this in one way or the other.
Speaker 4 (28:22):
Well, the date is May May thirteenth is the flight.
And of course if they and some people I can't
give with this time I can't go, that's fine, come
out to the airport on that date and will we'll
have aig information out about that later, but it's May thirteenth.
Come out about nine thirty ten o'clock that night and
(28:45):
welcome the guys home. Say thank you to these deferences
for their service. I mean, let them know how much
they're appreciated. That is, if nothing else, that is a
great thing to do. Come out and say thank you
as they as they come home. You know, it's a
big party.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
It's a big party, and it's we're already preparing for
it on May thirteenth. But again, to do the search
to find out more, where do they go to?
Speaker 4 (29:13):
Again, Google on a flit Quad Cities on a f
like QC and you'll find us. We're there.
Speaker 2 (29:19):
You're not going anywhere either, right, Yeah, it comes.
Speaker 4 (29:22):
Up every time. Luckily my picture is not on it.
Speaker 2 (29:25):
So you'll be sa always Stephen, always with the humor,
keep doing the great work there with the honor flight
and we'll see you May thirteenth.
Speaker 4 (29:35):
We're looking forward to it.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
You've been listening to Quad City Forum, a weekly community
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and carab Iheartsmedia, Quad Cities three five three five East
Kimberly Road, Davin Fords, Iowa five two eight zero seven
Welcome to Quad City Forum, a weekly community service program
produced by iHeartMedia to look at the issues and opportunities
that exist in our community. Now here's your hosts for
Quad City Forum, Pt. Luke and Denny Lynn Howe.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
We are talking to Martha A. Smith, who is part
of the American Conifer Society. I first off did not
really know the American Conifer Society even existed. When I
looked at the YouTube blink that you had sent. It
is amazing some of the backyards that a lot of
us maybe aren't privy to. But the kind of well
(00:39):
manicured and well developed backyards that we have right around
here in the Quad City area, Yes.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
And some of them are phenomenal. The American Conifer Society
really wants to promote the use of dwarf and unusual conifers.
They're very versatile, they do very well in our climate.
And when people think of conifers, the first thing I
(01:06):
think of is green, right, But that's not the case.
There's yellows and blues and burgundies. And then you get
into the sizes and the shapes. You've got upright, you've
got mounding, and the dwarf and unusual are those that
grow very very slowly so that they're not going to
(01:31):
be overwhelming in your landscape in six years.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
And doesn't that happen, Martha, where sometimes you want you
want to get a tree that's going to grow fast
to give you shade. But with conifers, and again, when
we're talking about a conifer, that species that's that's an
evergreen er. That's a pine that we're talking about, right.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
Yes, yes, well, when we say conifer, it's really a
cone bearing plant. But not all kinds are evergreen. There
are cone bearing plants that will drop their needles. Bald
cypress is one of them. They turn a beautiful, rusty
orange and drop their needles. But they are a member
(02:14):
of the conifer group. So it's very large. It's very
diverse really what they boil down to and I know
I'm getting really technical botanical, but they're called gymnosperms, and
they talk about being cone bearing plants and what there's
one plant I don't think bot in this way back
(02:36):
when knew exactly what to do with ginko, Ginko is
a gymnosperm. Has I won't get into the details, but
well you can.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
We got time, We got time we can stretch us
into two weeks if you want to, but just try
to every now and again. Just realize as much as
you know it. I don't know. My brain is already
exploding on this thing, but it still is. Its amazing
all the difference because I think of I just think
of a pine tree where I think of an evergreen,
and it's so much more than that.
Speaker 3 (03:08):
Yeah, Ara, spruce, I mean spruce is a common one. Yeah,
So that's that's part of it. And here in the
Quad Cities just north, we have the Bicklehopft Arboretum, which
was actually started by one of our dear, dear members
who has since passed away. He donated Chub Harper was
(03:29):
his name, and he worked for John Deere. Actually he's
the one, well one of them, that I blame for
getting me into.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
I don't think I hear you smiling as you say
he blamed you blame him, But I'm seeing I think
I saw that on the YouTube thing on maybe I
saw part of that. The hours that it takes just
for the lawn, let alone, all the other things incredible.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
Yes, And it's a it's a wonderful collection. And I
always encourage people if you're really not sure. Just you know,
take a Sunday drive up to the Bickelhats. You will
not be disappointed. And I think you will see what
I'm talking about about the textures, the colors, the sizes,
(04:16):
there's just so much to it. In fact, I will
be a speaker at the conference and my topic is
colorful conifers because there's things that people don't really realize
that's out there. And that's the joy, that's the joy
of it.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
I'm looking at one of these, one of the pictures
here and just the placement this is not and again
it depends on some of the other people that are
doing their best in their yards and they sometimes you're
just plopping down this over here. And a lot of
times where you put it in your yard whatever it is,
whatever plans or whatever it is. Sometimes you could it
(04:55):
could be the right soil but the wrong part of
the yard. But looking at the planning that and just
one of these pictures, it is truly incredible how to
not only the perfect spot to get it, but to
make sure that the proper care to let that grow
and thrive.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
Yes, and let it just let it become what it
what it wants to become some are going to be weeping.
Some are very tall and narrow, and it's placement, right
plant for the right spot. And with conifers, with some
of these we call them specimen plants. And you when
(05:32):
you come around a corner of someone's home, maybe have
one tucked off in the distance because wow, that's unusual,
and that draws your eye like you're going into another room,
and that with conifers, it's just it's a lot of fun.
It's just so much fun to work with them. And
(05:53):
I have learned so much by being a member of
the Conifer Society. I've been nurtured by people that everybody
wants to share their knowledge because they love these plants.
So going to the meeting like the national conference that's
coming up, you get to meet people that really want
(06:14):
to tell you about these plants and help you love
them as much as they do. So it's a real
fun group also.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Well, and for those of you just tuning in right
now and you're hearing us talking about planning here that
we're talking to Martha Smith, who is with the American
coniferce Society, and you talked about that event that's coming up.
When is it and where's it going to be and
how can some more people share in the enthusiasm.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
Well, it is going to be in June, June nineteenth
through the twenty first. The hotel, the conference hotel is
Vallys of the Quad Cities. People can go onto the
American Conifer Society web page and click on twenty twenty
five National Meeting and they'll get all the information listed there.
(07:06):
It will start Thursday night, will have social hour, a lecture,
and then it's two days of touring private gardens, gardens
that are not open to the public, gardens that members
have graciously said, Okay, I'm going to make it look
really really good this year and to work into it
(07:29):
so that people can see it and enjoy it and learn.
We'll also tour the bicklehot so that will be part
of it too. But two days of tours for a
bunch of plant geeks. That's the problem.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
Now. That website again, when you're talking about if I
got the right one here, when they talk about registering,
it's on the world Wide Web or HTTPS, and then
Worldwide Web number two dot Conifer Society dot org. That'll
get them there. M okay, okay, So the w across
(08:05):
the town. Okay, so www the number two dot Conifer
Society dot org. And then they when they get there,
they'll see the banner and then it'll kind of be
self explanatory to take it from there.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
Yeah, and with the registration you can also become a member,
and with that you will get we have a public publication,
the Coniffer, right, and we have another one called the
Countiffer Quarterly that you will get as part of your membership,
and in there you learn so much about these plants.
(08:42):
And they usually features some gardens all maybe from New York,
or they might be featuring a garden from the West
Coast or one in central Iowa, which we've had some
beautiful gardens that have been featured in our magazines just
right here in the Midwest.
Speaker 2 (08:58):
Well, it's like it's like when you go in recent
times when we've gone to maybe the Plant Show or
some of the stuff around the area. It can get
a lot of people psyched up for maybe not they're
not going to be able to come as close as
some of these incredible gardens are, but get them inspired
to maybe think God, plant outside the box.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
Very clever. I like that.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Well, thank you. Occasionally I come up with missing the
most he's missing the most clever thing. Where you say
enter the cone zone, mean, well, I like the what
is it the Conifer quarter or whatever. I like that
whatever you call the quarterly where I like the little
like alliteration, even though it's maybe not all right there. Yeah,
I just I love this. But for a lot of
(09:44):
we there we go, I just I love I just
absolutely love this. Okay, So for people that want to
find out more because maybe they I we gather, there's
got to be some sort of costs. So so what
are we talking about at the very beginning, and let's
go back again on how they can enter, what they're
(10:06):
expecting and cost wise, and what's entailed once they once
they get registered.
Speaker 3 (10:13):
Yeah, the registration for all your meals, your coach bus transportation.
There is a riverboat lunch and cruise on the celebration bell.
We also have a phenomenal silent auction where people actually
will stand when the time is running out, so they
(10:33):
make sure they get their number on that list, so
they get that plan. It's a lot of fun. For now,
it's for non members, which will include your membership is
four hundred and thirty five dollars and then the early
bird registration and April fifteenth, but you still have another
month after that to register. It's just fifty dollars more, okay,
(10:57):
So that will get you in. It'll get you, you know,
into the gardens on the tours part of the silent
auction learning about conifers, and if you're traveling into the
Quad Cities, the Valleys of the Quad Cities has a
room rate for us, so we're all set with that,
(11:20):
so they just have to sign up and get here.
Another thing that we offer to only those who register is,
let's say you are coming from western Iowa. We have
gardens that are open en route. They're open the day
before when you're traveling, and on Sunday, so if you
(11:43):
didn't get enough conifers at the convention, you can stop
at some of these private gardens. We have a northeast, west,
and south of the Quad Cities, so we really try
to make it, make it a nice event, and those
days you do those tours on your own. But it's
(12:04):
just nice to have our membership that opens up their
gardens across the Midwest.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
Well. Yeah, sharing the love, sharing the joy. When we
talk about some of the conifers are when we see
some of these out in these beautiful gardens, Are any
of these rare or are they just people that they
don't go they don't use these when they're talking about
planting in their garden or in their yard.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
They're rare or they're unusual. These are not generally easy
to find, say, as some of the common landscape plants
we see right now. You see a lot of our varieties,
you see a lot of spyreas. Then they're all good hydranges,
they're all good landscaping plants. But this is just kind
(12:52):
of another level up. A lot of these, if you
really want to know, are plants. People when they're out
in nature, they might see a weird, funky growth on
an evergreen, and we call that a witches broom, and well,
we're not really sure. It could be an insect, it
could be environmental, but something has caused that portion of
(13:16):
that plant to grow in an unusual manner, or maybe
it's coming out blue or maybe it's coming out yellow.
So these plants, people will actually take a part of
that plant and then try to grasp it or root
it so then to see what it's going to grow into.
And so many of the plants that we have that
(13:40):
have been introduced are from doing just this, some a
mungo pine. Someone noticed that the true mugo stayed shorter. Okay,
well let's see how can we propagate that and get
it into the trade so that other people can enjoy it.
So there's a lot more, there's more behind the scenes
(14:02):
in some of this. It might be some grafter that
just decided, oh, I'm going to take this and I'm
going to graf it onto that who knows what it's
going to turn out like, and that's the fun fun.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Well, okay, so we want people to get in here again.
So again we're talking to Martha Smith here from the
American Conference Society, and Martha for people that want to
be a part of it again, website dates and let's
make sure that as we're heading on out here they
get all the information they need to be able to
(14:36):
be a part of this big event.
Speaker 3 (14:38):
It is our national meeting. It won't be here in
the Quad City for another twelve sixteen years. It is
at Valley's Quad Cities. That's where the conference will be.
All your meals, that's where you'll get your buses, all
of that, and it's June nineteenth through the twenty first
you can register online and the Early Bird and April fifteenth,
(15:03):
but after that you still have until May fifteenth.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
It sounds great and I can much like when I
was talking to Tracy a few weeks ago when she
was just talking about I think the the event that
they had over at Vibrant Arena. But it is just
great to hear you plant geeks go all geeky on us.
You just the passion is it's exciting because it rubs off.
(15:31):
It just makes you go yep, I can do this
and it's ten. But it is also great when you're
there in your front, you know, people that want to
be your friends, or that energy just makes you want
to go all right, I'm gonna try it. It's not
gonna it's not gonna look like the Bickelhoff, but it's
gonna look better than it did before.
Speaker 3 (15:51):
I should also say for anyone who will be a
first time that we have a free plant to give
to them so they can start this journey and kron
of first.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
If you or your organization would like to be featured
on Quad City for them, please visit the contact page
and our station website. Now back to bat Luke and
Danny Linnhowe.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
Steve Garrickton Hub, director of Honor Flight to the Quad Cities,
talking to us today. It's going to be busy, busy,
busy this year. More on that in just a few minutes.
But Steven, if you can just tell us a little
bit about what the Honor Flight is all about.
Speaker 4 (16:30):
Well, first of all, we're honoring our veteran We are
taking applications from veterans who serve before nineteen seventy five,
other ones as we go along. That includes Vietnam and
Koree in World War Two. So we're trying to get
all those veterans and we're taking them to DC on
a one day flight. Flight sixty two is coming up
in May. It should be fantastic. Those guys will go there,
(16:52):
they'll see the monuments, they'll see some of the old
equipment that they used to use at the museum. They're
just going to have a good and.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
We're going to feed them with all that they've gone through.
That's certainly deserving of that. Now, when we talk about
sixty two flights, I would think everybody from before nineteen
seventy five knew about this and has already gone on,
but you probably still will run run into this where
a lot of veterans say, no, no, no, I don't
(17:19):
deserve that.
Speaker 4 (17:20):
Oh yeah, yeah they're here. Oh I saw of it
was more important to me and they did that, and
I'm just not. Veterans are the most humble people actually
you'll meet. They're very humble about what they did. Guys
who have the silver star the bronze start now, well,
I you know, there's a mistake or something.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
I don't know.
Speaker 4 (17:42):
Just very humble. Except for me, of course, everybody else
is really humble.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
We are talking to the humble Steve Garrington, hub director
at the Outer Flight of the quad Cities. If people
want to find out more website to do just that.
Speaker 4 (17:57):
Just google Honor Flight quad Cities. You'll get to US.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
Okay, Honor Flight quad Cities. Just do a Google search
in that and you're good.
Speaker 4 (18:04):
And on that you will find applications for veterans and
applications for guardians, and we would like to have a
lot more guardians. The nice thing about a guardian who
doesn't know a veteran come in. He hasn't heard the
veterans story before. The veteran has already told that their
kids the story fifty seven times. They don't want to
(18:24):
hear it again. The new guardian coming in says, hey,
tell me all the stories. They make such good new friends.
And when people get in my age, you got to
make new friends because some of them are going quick.
So you like making new friends and that's great. So
we need people to sign up to be guardians, and
that's on that same website Google Honor Flight Quad Cities.
(18:44):
There is one little problem though, the TSA, that's a
transportation security agency, not the Salvation Army. The TSA requires
the new real ID. We have a star in the
corner of your driver's license or your ID card. So
if you know a veteran, tell them go get your
(19:05):
real ID, because you can't fly without it. They're just
not gonna let us take it. And I don't want
to have anybody show up at the airport and say,
well I don't have a real ID, you can't use
a passport. But the real idea is what we'd really
like to have every veteran. So if you know a veteran,
say have you got your real ID yet? Go get it.
And that's by the way, I think it's different between
(19:26):
Iowa and Illinois as to what you have to take
and give them. So you got to call the driver's
license bureau to find out what you need. But the
real idea is going to become very important. We're just
holding our breath. We don't have any problems with that.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
And while you're at it, as people are listening to
this today, for some people they could have a passport
but it's out of date. So it certainly is a
good idea to always update those and make sure that
you're ready to go. And that would be the similar
thing if people want to volunteer and be a guardian.
You've got to make sure you get all this in
order because the day of is too late to be
doing some of this stuff. There's quite a lead time.
Speaker 4 (20:01):
Certainly is it's hurry up and right in there. We'll
call you.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
It's going to be a busy year in twenty twenty
five because not just one flight or I would think
sometimes it would be two, but you've got three this year,
you got three.
Speaker 4 (20:15):
So we're looking forward to doing that. There's good times.
Spring is hard to do in DC. They have a
cherry blossom festival and you can't hire a bus because
all of uses are taking tours on the Tourer Bossom
festival tours, so it's really difficult. So we do one
(20:39):
kind of lateness brainless in May, and then we do
a couple in the fall, and that's beginning to work
out pretty well.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
So the first couple of steps, what should our veterans
or our veterans families start to do outside of making
sure they get the real ID also update the passport.
First couple of steps after that, just.
Speaker 4 (21:00):
Get the application in first, and then what we'll do
is we take the guys who are before nineteen seventy five,
by the date that they applied, We'll call them and
we'll say are you available now? Since we're gonna have
some people who may not be available, we always call
our things come up, So if we're going to take
eighty people on the flight, we'll call one hundred and
(21:23):
say are you available. If that works out well, we'll
send out a letter to them and then they'll tell
them all the details what they need to do, what
they need to bring, dates and times and all that
sort of stuff. But we will call them when their
turn comes up.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
Guardians first off, apply because there'll be some cost in
that too.
Speaker 4 (21:41):
There will be that helps pay for the airplane. It's
not cheap during an airplane for to day, all of
the guardians pay four hundred dollars to go. And now
I have got many guardians who have had such a
wonderful time that they have paid it three or four
times to go on flight. They just have a great time.
Some of them take pictures and make up those little
(22:02):
picture books and give them to the veterans after the
flight's over. They're just so wonderful. Some of them invite
veterans to their house for Thanksgiving dinner. I mean it's
just really really great. You mean, they make a real,
real good vacation and then a meeting of new friends.
We'll call them well ahead of time say are you
are you available? And we need actually guardians because a
(22:26):
lot of people work and that they may not work
for them. You know, if I want a guardians, I
better call one hundred and twenty.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
And when you talked about some of the veterans how
they've maybe told stories to some of their family, then
getting a chance to talk to some of the guardians,
I would still think Steve, that some of the veterans
still can be tight lips. Sometimes they're not gonna talk,
and it's a great chance for that guardian to be
able to help that veteran come out of their shell.
(22:54):
Like you said, you can May you can start a life,
even though it's a little bit later in life. You
can start a lifetime friendship with this flight.
Speaker 4 (23:03):
It is. That is probably one of the greater things
it comes out of the flight. I mean, it's nice
for them to go and see the memorial, but to
really make a true friend, it's going to you know,
meet them and talk to them, listen to their stories.
I mean, a guardian is going to spend a whole
day focusing in on that veteran, a whole day. The
(23:27):
last time I had somebody spend the whole day focusing
on me was my honeymoons.
Speaker 2 (23:33):
Hey wait a minute, Steve, now let's stop getting too
personal on that stuff.
Speaker 4 (23:36):
Okay, what it is, it's a day when somebody really
focuses in and there's questions and I want to hear
the story. Well what about this? Well what was that?
Who did you get love letters from while you were
in the service besides your wife? You know, I mean
those those questions, they have wonderful questions and they get
and what really happens. In many many cases, the guardian
(23:58):
will say, now, don't forget. You've told me some great stories,
but you need to go back to your family and
tell them the stories. And some families say, it's the
first time we heard these stories after they got back
from the after they got back, so it's a time
when there's nobody to judge them. The ib everybody's or
with these guardians who are eager to see them. They're
(24:20):
just going to have a good time and they can lie.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
Well you know what, it's therapeutic.
Speaker 4 (24:28):
Well, they don't really lie, they just leave out parts
and stretch the others. You know, it kind of like
going fishing.
Speaker 2 (24:34):
Do the guardians just meet the veteran that they're on
just on the flight that day, or is there a
little bit of lead time before the flight?
Speaker 4 (24:41):
There is ten days before we have a meeting for
where all of the veterans and their guardians they get
a chance to meet each other. We'll tell them a
little bit about this. We'll send the veterans home and
then we'll talk to the guardians and we'll give them
some training. Things that they may not think about, things
that they have have to do. You know, lots of
(25:01):
little odds and ends that will teach them, to help
them have a really wonderful day, help them with the
question questions you might want to ask. Remember, if they
get a bottle of water, you need to unscrew it
because with ours litis.
Speaker 2 (25:14):
Well you think about this. If it's a veteran before
nineteen seventy five, so that probably means that veteran most
cases is in their seventies at least.
Speaker 4 (25:23):
Yeah. Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
Now for people that are just tuning in. Steven Garrington,
hub director Honor Flight at the Quad Cities, he's talking
to us.
Speaker 4 (25:30):
They just need to go to our website, download their
application and we'll take care of it. They have a
good time, they really really Some of the guys come
back and say it's the best day of their whole
life other than their wedding. I mean, this is a great,
great time for them. They just really have enjoy it.
And many of the guardians come back into the exact
(25:53):
same thing.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
Okay, so Flight sixty two, we're still looking for veterans
to fill it, and we're also looking for guardians to
help out. They need their real ID, but the main
thing is fill out the application. When you can find
it at the website when you do a little search
on or fly to the Quad Cities and you get
right to it. But we would certainly think volunteers or
(26:15):
maybe people that are listening now just want to donate.
How can they do it?
Speaker 4 (26:18):
Sure? Oh yes, again, there's a app address on the website.
You can just send a check or drop it by
Richcrest Village. That's where we have our office and they
can just put in our mailbox. But that's always great
and we do so much appreciate it. A lot of
(26:41):
other groups have fundraisers and then they and then they say, hey,
we had a fundraiser and we're going to give you
the money. Well that's well, I mean that's great. I
love having doing it. And we have people from way
down in southern Illinois. We have people over and Stealing
and Rock Falls and Dixon and people over in h Iowa,
(27:05):
up and down the river. We have lots of friends,
lots of groups that help. We had a school at
uh Sabulah, Illinois, just did a bicycle thing. Sinnus gave
us the money. I mean, it's wonderful. This is always
say Quad Cities, but we're the Quad City area we
(27:26):
go way out in the area. We just love it.
Speaker 2 (27:29):
Uh, we just I would say instead of the Quad
City area, let's just call it the Quad City region
because it's like one big welcome at.
Speaker 4 (27:38):
We actually have a veteran from Minnesota. His daughter lives
here in town, so he's gonna drive drive down from Minnesota,
stay a couple of weeks with his daughter and son
in law, and go on the flight.
Speaker 2 (27:52):
Wow, that is it's fantastic. And again we're talking to
Stephen Garrington, Hub Director Honor Fly to the Quad Cities. Stephen,
as we wrap this up here today because I still
feel like we could talk another ten to fifteen minutes
on all the great things that are happening. If people
want to find out more as they get ready for
that first flight, there's going to be three this year,
(28:14):
sixty two, sixty three, and sixty four. But give us
the date and how they can be a part of
this in one way or the other.
Speaker 4 (28:22):
Well, the date is May May thirteenth is the flight.
And of course if they and some people I can't
give with this time I can't go, that's fine, come
out to the airport on that date and will we'll
have aig information out about that later, but it's May thirteenth.
Come out about nine thirty ten o'clock that night and
(28:45):
welcome the guys home. Say thank you to these deferences
for their service. I mean, let them know how much
they're appreciated. That is, if nothing else, that is a
great thing to do. Come out and say thank you
as they as they come home. You know, it's a
big party.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
It's a big party, and it's we're already preparing for
it on May thirteenth. But again, to do the search
to find out more, where do they go to?
Speaker 4 (29:13):
Again, Google on a flit Quad Cities on a f
like QC and you'll find us. We're there.
Speaker 2 (29:19):
You're not going anywhere either, right, Yeah, it comes.
Speaker 4 (29:22):
Up every time. Luckily my picture is not on it.
Speaker 2 (29:25):
So you'll be sa always Stephen, always with the humor,
keep doing the great work there with the honor flight
and we'll see you May thirteenth.
Speaker 4 (29:35):
We're looking forward to it.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
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