The Beaver Tale January 2011 1

January 2011 Meeting

The January meeting of CSSSN will be Thursday, the 6th, at 6:30 PM.

Please note the earlier start time for the business meeting. Some items of discussion include:

• completing the election

• membership renewals due
• finding a new Newsletter editor
• and finding a new meeting place while the Garden Club Center is being renovated.

The speaker for this meeting is Elsie Koerwitz, who will give a presentation on Euphorbias. This
should start about 7 PM.

Just a reminder that your membership renewal for 2011 is due ($15 for singles and $25 for couples).
You can pay at the meeting or send a check (payable to CSSSN) to Phil Lawton, 3649 Maria Street, Las
Vegas, NV 89121.

2010 Holiday Party

The CSSSN Holiday Party was held at the Garden Center at 6PM Thursday, December 2. It was
potluck with the club furnishing turkey and ham. As usual, the good cooks in the club provided all
sorts of side dishes and desserts. The fifteen or so attended had a fine meal.

Tim Soldan had contacted a friend of his, a professional comedian named Slammin' Sammy Gartner,
who entertained us with his humor at the end of dinner.
The Beaver Tale January 2011 2

Doc, Ken, Sol, Liz: We Miss You

April is the cruelest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.
--T. S. Eliot

Those opening line from The Waste Land will outlive anything I write here, but for me, December has
sure got April beat when it comes to losing loved ones, at least for the Cactus and Succulent Society of
Southern Nevada.

For years those of us in the club who have been around for a while and qualify as “long-time
members,” we are more than just aware that we are part of an “aging membership.” But it really hit
home this year. It started when Bob Lynch, known to everyone as “Doc” died December 3, 2009, and
culminated—I’m not sure that’s the right word but I can’t use “ended” since there are still a couple of
days left in 2010—when I got the following e-mail from Dick Askew just before Christmas.

LIZ ASKEW PASSED AWAY TODAY [December 21, 2010] . SHE HAD BEEN
SUFFERING FROM CANCER. I HOPE THAT YOU WILL KEEP HER IN YOUR
MEMORIES. SHE REALLY LIKED ALL OF YOU.

THANK YOU

Not exactly the Christmas message I was hoping for from my fellow CSSSN Board Member.

In between those dates—December 3, 2009, and December 21, 2010—Ken Campbell and Sol
Kleinman both died on December 3, 2010, (which just happens to be my birthday). What a horrible
way to end the year! I’m reminded of the words of Queen Elizabeth when she called 1992 “annus
horribilis.”— the year that the marriages of her two sons Charles and Andrew broke down and Windsor
Castle caught fire.

Of the four members we have lost in these last 12 months, I knew Doc the least well even though he
lived less than a mile away from us here in the east end of the valley. He was a member of the club
before Mary and I joined in the mid 90’s. Doc was a very independent guy, always came on his own
and lived by himself as best I could determine. I offered to drive him once, to our monthly meetings at
the NGC, and he politely declined. He got the nickname “Doc” because he was a licensed vet.
According to his obituary he was born in 1919 in New York; and “served in World War II, taking care
of war dogs.” After the war he had a veterinary license since 1953 and had a veterinary practice in
Gardnerville and Ely before moving to Las Vegas where he worked for the Dept. of Agriculture. The
obit. mentioned that he was a member of the Cactus Club. I guess that’s us. It ended by saying, “Doc
will be missed by many longtime friends and hunting buddies.” Amen to that.

I knew Ken Campbell pretty well and we go back a few years. We had several mutual ties. He was a
The Beaver Tale January 2011 3

fellow Air Force vet—stationed at Nellis as an MP in the mid 1950’s—before joining the Las Vegas
Police Department and retiring as a captain in 1983. Ken was also a member of the Las Vegas Track
Club and that’s where we first met, back in the 1970’s. His obituary noted that he was a “Senior
Olympics Gold Medalist many times, having gone to national as well as international Senior Olympics
competitions.” Also, “He became a lover of desert succulent plants and joined the Las Vegas Cactus
Club…growing many types of cacti, which became one of his biggest hobbies in later years.”

I can add to that. Several years ago Ken, along with Jim Peters, was one of the keepers of our “cactus
corner” in the Garden of Pioneer Women next to the NGC building. On more than one occasion Ken
and I put in time together cleaning up and tending succulent plants in the northwest corner of the
Garden. And whenever Ken came to club meetings we would always discuss running and baseball as
well as cactus and succulents. He, like me, was a Dodger fan.
We in the club will all miss Sol Kleinman. His passing away, even at age 94, came as somewhat of a
shock to me. Sol and Mari were Lifetime Members of the Club and probably—I don’t know for sure—
were among the original members of the club when it was formed in 1976. His obituary, written by his
daughter, included:

Sol loved to work and was the chief electrician of the Sands Hotel for 35 years,
while growing exotic cactus and succulents. He loved life, always had a perfect
song for the moment and was a wonderful father.

Sol and Mari would always come to our annual Holiday Party, often accompanied by their daughter,
and when in recent years Mari’s health prevented her from coming to meetings Rick Holmes would
bring Sol to meetings, as recently as this spring, when Sol seemed to be in good health and good spirits.
Here is what fellow club-member Joey Betzler wrote about Sol in the Visit Guest Book at his funeral:

I knew Sol as a plantsman, his fascination in the unusual succulents was contagious.
His enthusiasm crossed generation boundaries and he loved to share. I knew him as
a mild mannered guy with a passion for plants. He was an inspiring speaker who
spoke quietly to an attentive audience. Those of us from the Cactus and Succulent
Society of Southern Nevada will miss the sparkle in his eye and his keen wit.

I can’t improve on that. However, I will add this regarding his desire to share. About seven or eight
years ago the club had one of those “tour of member’s homes” and we visited Sol and Mari’s home
near Pecos and Patrick Lane. Sol had a greenhouse overflowing with exotic plants and his back yard
was filled with wonderful specimens, so much so that he barely had room for many of his succulents.
At some point in the “show and tell,” Sol insisted that I take one of his agaves and find a home for it. It
was an Agave ferox, not yet the “Agave Giant,” but still big enough that I had to come back the next
day and, with Sol’s help, struggle to get it into my van. Here is picture of that same plant—taken this
morning—now 3’ x 4’. It will always remind me of this kind, gentle, generous, man.
The Beaver Tale January 2011 4

Finally, last but not least, Liz Askew.

Dick and Liz missed the last couple of meetings. I knew Liz was suffering from cancer, but it was still a
shock to have her taken away so soon. She had continued her duties as our Membership Chair and
Newsletter Editor right up until this past month.

Dick and Liz joined the cactus club about the same time Mary and I did, back in the mid 90’s. We were
good friends and the four of us kept in touch regularly. When Dick was still working for OceanSpray in
Henderson he would always bring a couple of bottles of Cranberry Juice cocktail for refreshments at
our monthly meetings. Liz even had a Facebook page and she and I were “friends” and kept in touch
that way too. The four of us traveled together to CSSSN functions on several occasions, one comes to
mind in particular. We drove up to Ash Meadows one Saturday on a joint CSSSN-Garden Club outing
to see the pupfish and enjoy the other unique features of this National Wildlife Refuge near Death
Valley. On the way `back Liz insisted that we stop in Alamo because they were having a book sale, or
some such thing, at the Pahranagat Valley High School. Liz loved books and was always seeking out
rummage sales and used book stores. We spent at least an hour there and all of us came away loaded
down with numerous hidden “treasures.”

Liz and Dick served in many capacities. Dick was—technically still is—our Librarian, and Liz, as I
said, was Membership Chair and Editor of the Newsletter. They both loved plants and Liz, in particular,
was truly an expert when it came to her knowledge of succulents. She and Rick Holmes were, in fact,
the winners of the Cactus Quiz that I generated for the 2009 Holiday Party. Liz was an excellent writer
too, with a keen eye for detail. Here is an article that Liz wrote for the Beavertail a few years back.
The Beaver Tale January 2011 5

Forty-Four Days Over 100 degrees

By Liz Askew

I don’t know how our plants can take it, but they can. In our garden all the cacti & succulents that

were in the ground did just fine out in that hot sun. We had temperatures up here on Sunrise

Mountain up to 119 degrees. The plants came through it all.

Now about plants in pots, they did not fare so well. A large Euphorbia that was in the semi-shade

for years just dropped dead in one day. Needless to say our Echeverias all succumbed to the

intense heat. Some of the smaller Aloes turned to mush. I rescued the Jade plants by bringing

them in the house. They are not all-year outdoor plants in Las Vegas I guess. All the Haworthias

did fine as did plants with a caudex, Euphorbias (all but one), Gasterias, and many others.

I have been growing cactus and succulents since the 60’s, mostly in California. When we moved

here we moved many of my plants. The sedums perished the first summer along with many other

succulents.

Over the years I have learned what can make it in this land of extreme heat and in some year’s

extreme cold.

Let's share our successes and failures so that we all can become better Las Vegas area desert

gardeners!
The Beaver Tale January 2011 6

I’ll end on that. I miss you already, Liz. Your no-nonsense way of getting things done, your sense of
humor, and your zest for life inspired all who knew you.

All four of you, Doc, Ken, Sol, and Liz: you all gave much more than you took, and you will be missed
by those family and friends you left behind. It was, indeed, annus horribilis.

(Phil Lawton)

Puzzle (Cactus Alphabet)

Put the correct letter of the alphabet next to the number. Answers are on the last page.
25__ is for - Rose, common name for Aeonium arboreum, whose clusters of dark leaves do have a rose
like shape. [To get you started, the correct answer here is: “B” for “Black Rose”.]
13__ is for - cholla, the common name for Opuntia bigelovii, which may look soft and cuddly, but it is
not.
23__ is for -, also known as the Dragon Tree, which is very slow growing but also long lived.
20__ is for - Cactus, the common name for Epiphyllum, who have long flat stems and amazing - like
flowers.
19__ is for - whose name comes from the Latin for stomach which refers to their "stomach-shaped"
flowers.
15__ is for - chin-cactus, the common name for Gymnocalycium leeanum.
3__ is for -, common name for Crassula ovata whose think green leaves do indeed resemble -.
17__ is for -, which look like little green elephant toes.
7__ is for -, a family of distinctive succulent trees and shrubs which often have fat trunks topped with
small leaves.
6__ is for - Euphorbia tirucalli, which many thin stems topped with red, making them look like sticks
glowing with fire.
9__ is for -vine, the common name for Crassula rupestris, a succulent with leaves who's habit
resembles Catholic - beads.
11__is for -, the common name for Umbilicus rupestris, which have roundish leaves with a --like
indentation in the center.
24__ is for -, common name for Delosperma cooperi, the tough succulent ground cover with pink or
yellow flowers.
12__ is for -, a genus which includes several succulents with vibrant flowers of different colors.
The Beaver Tale January 2011 7

21__ is for -, which is landscaping without irrigation - perfect for succulents.

16__ is for - plant, common name for Hoya carnosa, a vine with fragrant clusters of star shaped
flowers.
18__ is for - Drought Resistant, which describes most succulents.
5__ is for - tongue, the common name for Sansevieria trifasciata, which have swordlike leaves that are
often variegated.
1__ is for -, common name for Sempervivum, who spread from the mother plant with adjacent small
"chicks."
4__ is for -, a large genus of plants many of whom are succulents, and includes Euphorbia milii or the
Crown of Thorns.
26__ is for -, which include many beautiful cascading plants including the popular Donkey's Tail.
2__ is for - which is one of the most commonly known succulent genus, and which includes the burn
healing - vera.
10__ is for -, which seems like it would make a great common name for a succulent but does not seem
to be.
14__ is for -, which are white or yellow markings on green leaves, of many succulents .
22__ is for - Plant, the common name for Haworthia fasciata, which have distinctive - like stripes.
8__ is for -, the prickly king of the succulent plants.
The Beaver Tale January 2011 8

Answers to the Puzzle

2 A is for Aloe, which is one of the most commonly known succulent genus, and which includes the burn healing Aloe vera.
25 B is for Black Rose, common name for Aeonium arboreum, whose clusters of dark leaves do have a rose like shape.
8 C is for Cactus, the prickly king of the succulent plants.
23 D is for Dracaena draco, also known as the Dragon Tree, which is very slow growing but also long lived.
4 E is for Euphorbia, a large genus of plants many of whom are succulents, and includes Euphorbia milii or the Crown of
Thorns.
6 F is for Fire Sticks, or Euphorbia tirucalli, which many thin stems topped with red, making them look like sticks glowing
with fire.
19 G is for Gasteria, who's name comes from the Latin for stomach which refers to their stomach-shaped flowers.
1 H is for Hens and Chicks, common name for Sempervivum, who spread from the mother hen plant with adjacent small
chicks.
24 I is for Ice plant, common name for Delosperma cooperi, the tough succulent ground cover with pink or yellow flowers.
3 J is for Jade Plant, common name for Crassula ovata who's thick green leaves do indeed resemble jade.
12 K is for Kalanchoe, a genus which includes several succulents with vibrant flowers of different colors.
17 L is for Lithops, which look like little green elephant toes.
5 M is for Mother-in-law's tongue, the common name for Sansevieria trifasciata, which have swordlike leaves that are
often variegated.
11 N is for Navelwort, the common name for Umbilicus rupestris, which have roundish leaves with a navel-like indentation
in the center.
20 O is for Orchid Cactus, the common name for Epiphyllum, who have long flat stems and amazing orchid like flowers
7 P is for Pachypodium, a family of distinctive succulent trees and shrubs which often have fat trunks topped with small
leaves.
18 Q is for Quite Drought Resistant, which describes most succulents.
9 R is for Rosary vine, the common name for Crassula rupestris, a succulent with leaves who's habit resembles Catholic
rosary beads
26 S is for Sedum, which include many beautiful cascading plants including the popular Donkey's Tail
13 T is for Teddy bear cholla, the common name for Opuntia bigelovii, which may look soft and cuddly, but it is not.
10 U is for Unicorn, which seems like it would make a great common name for a succulent but does not seem to be.
14 V is for Variegation, which are white or yellow markings on green leaves, and many succulents have.
16 W is for Wax plant, common name for Hoya carnosa, a vine with fragrant clusters of star shaped flowers.
21 X is for Xeriscaping, which is landscaping without irrigation – perfect for succulents.
15 Y is for Yellow chin-cactus, the common name for Gymnocalycium leeanum, which produces
22 Z is for Zebra Plant, the common name for Haworthia fasciata, which have distinctive zebra like stripes.