As Valerie referenced in the August 2021 newsletter, we now have our chapter newsletters from January 1994 – February 2001 on the website. Betsy Farris, former NPSOT Collin County Chapter president and long-time member, was kind enough (and very organized) to provide us with these newsletters that were originally in paper format.
“The Coneflower Courier”, as the newsletter was originally named, offers fascinating insights into the early years of the Collin County Chapter. As mentioned earlier, Valerie discussed a September 1999 article that still resonates today on the “Landscaping Revolution”. Some other items of interest from perusing the newsletters include:
- A great drawing of a native plant bundle was displayed in most of the newsletters.
- From the May 1996 newsletter, a note for “adventurous” gardeners with links to native plant internet sites.
- In the earliest years, a sign of how things change, phone numbers without area codes.
- From the March 1997 edition, a smile-inducing “Foxy Tale” from the Heard Museum.
- Our driving directions before Google Maps.
- A prescient prediction on the coming trouble from the invasive Field Scabiosa in the March 1999 newsletter.
- A wonderful Native Plant Portrait of the Maximillian Sunflower (Helianthus maximillani) by Betsy in the August 1999 edition.
We hope you enjoy having these pieces of our history available and take advantage of the fantastic information contained in The Coneflower Courier.
