Terry elected Dirt Dauber president for ninth year

The Dirt Daubers Garden Club has dedicated a number of years to improving Newcastle through beautification since 1952, and Bernie Terry has been a driving force behind their more recent efforts. 
As an active member of the club, Terry recently made history when she was re-elected the club’s president for her ninth term, the longest time anyone has served in this position since the club began. 
“Bernie is very active in the beatification of Newcastle and singlehanded(ly) or in conjunction with others works very hard to present our town in a good light,” said Barbara Knaus, a longtime member of the Dirt Daubers. 
Terry accepted the honor with some reluctance because she said she was not initially planning on running again for president because she feels the club needs someone else in the position to bring in new, fresh ideas. 
“We need to have someone else … besides me all the time,” she said. “I told them this is my last year.” 
However, no one else wanted to run, and Knaus said that Terry’s connection to the community makes her a great fit for the position. She is always at the right place at the right time, and according to Knaus, the club doesn’t want to worry about who will fill Terry’s shoes when she eventually leaves. 
“Bernie does such a good job. She knows who to contact, and she has a lot of energy.” Knaus said. “She’s very artistic and very personable.” 
Terry said she doesn’t mind staying because she loves doing it. She also enjoys interacting with the other club members because they are “a really awesome bunch.”
“They’re so nice and easy to work with,” Terry said, adding that she couldn’t do the job without them.
The club meets on the second Tuesday of every month, usually at someone’s home or the meeting room at the Weston County Library, when they aren’t having a special breakfast or luncheon. The meeting always begins with dessert, a tradition started by original club member Jean Franz, who has since passed away.
“It’s always scrumptious,” Terry said. 
When they’ve finished enjoying their desserts, the members have the opportunity to learn from an educational gardening program, planned and scheduled a year in advance, which is about anything and everything related to gardening. 
The club also has various committees responsible for photographing, scrapbooking, receiving phone calls, sending out cards and other club duties. However, the most important thing to Terry as president is to make sure all the members feel comfortable and have fun together while making Newcastle beautiful, fitting with the club’s motto of “growing together by learning and doing.” 
“It’s their club, not my club,” Terry said. 
Terry’s interest in the club first started over 10 years ago when she wanted to learn more about planting seeds. She attended her first meeting with a neighbor at the Franz home and has been attending meetings ever since. While she enjoys a variety of gardening, her specialty is flowers. 
“I just like to bring happiness to people’s lives with flowers,” Terry said. 
“She doesn’t do it for the recognition, which is usually unnoticed, but because she is proud of the town. So, congratulations, Bernie,” Knaus said.
One area of the club that Terry has specifically played an instrumental role in is Special Club Projects. Although unsure of their origin, Terry said, these projects most likely began shortly after the club was organized. The Dirt Daubers established the Welcome to Newcastle sign on the east side of town, and they still maintain it. Terry is particularly proud of the Blue Star Memorial Highway tribute, on U.S.  Highway 85 North, to the U.S. Armed Forces. It is sponsored by the Wyoming Federation of Garden Clubs and the Wyoming Department of Transportation because the Dirt Daubers helped start that. The sign can be seen at the Mule Creek Junction rest area.
“I’m pretty tickled about that,” Terry said.
Some of the club’s other projects include setting up the crèche on the Weston County Courthouse lawn during Christmas, upkeeping the greenery at Dow Park (with the
help of Newcastle’s other garden club, the Flowering Fingers) and replacing the flowers in the coal carts at the corner of U.S. Highways 16 and 85, Decker’s Market and the post office. 
“We actually grow the flowers that go into the coal carts,” Terry said. 
The group mixes up the color scheme from year to year, but petunias and zinnias are the “tried and true” flowers for the area. Knowing how deep to plant the seed, what type of soil and fertilizer to use and how often to water are all part of the learning process, as well as working around Newcastle’s short growing season. The unpredictable weather and frequent hailstorms can make it especially difficult, but Terry said she enjoys figuring out what works and what doesn’t.
“The weather in Newcastle is scary,” she said. “I’ve had a few failures too. It takes time, (but) once you get it, it’s a lot of fun.” 
The Dirt Daubers partner with the Flowering Fingers for the annual flower show at the end of July, trading off the responsibility every other year to choose a new theme and set up the event. Terry said this is their main source of revenue for the club because the proceeds from the show and selling of the flowers are split between the two clubs. The money is used to buy garden supplies, host garden-related programs and provide for other needs the club may have. 
Anyone interested in joining the Dirt Daubers can attend the meetings held the second Tuesday of the month. Terry said she loves teaching people about gardening, so no amount of experience in gardening is required, and annual membership dues are only $5.
For more information, contact Terry (307) 746-2156 or any of the other club members.