| PHOENIX BONSAI SOCIETY : CLUB HISTORY HIGHLIGHTS |
| c.1955 — Paul and Edna Matsusaki opened shop just southwest of 19th and Glendale Avenues. Their nursery was named Toyo (“Oriental”). He had originally learned bonsai in Japan from his grandfather, and had been practicing it again the past few years. Paul also ran a landscaping business. A young man named Hideo “Leroy” Fujii learned landscaping and formal bonsai training from Paul. Leroy then set up his own landscaping business with Paul’s blessings.
A small group of students met informally at Toyo Nursery to study the art of bonsai. At the time, relatively few people in the country had heard of this gardening art. 1957 — Leroy Fujii visited San Gabriel Nursery & Florist in southern California where his brother Tad worked. While there, Leroy saw a demonstration by a rising teacher, John Naka. John’s tree was closer to the ones in the early books than Paul’s were. So began an intense and ongoing study. Brother Tad Fujii also had the good fortune of having to chauffeur visiting workers from Japan who came to San Gabriel Nursery to style trees for sale. They would be picked up at San Francisco harbor. When their temporary work visas expired, Tad drove them back up to the city by the bay. While doing so, he would ask them many questions concerning bonsai. The resulting answers would be relayed to Leroy, who combined them with his own experience and observations. 1958 — Leroy Fujii attended the California Bonsai Society’s Spring show for the first time. This was the second show the eight-year-old club had presented. Leroy would attend most of the club’s shows during the next forty years.
1960 — By this time some of Paul Matsusaki’s students were holding occasional bonsai displays at the Heard Museum north of downtown Phoenix. Paul learned about and contacted rising California Bonsai Society teacher and youngest founding member John Naka. John came over to present a demonstration.
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| 1962 — The Phoenix Bonsai Society was founded by Paul in the Fall following a well-attended interest meeting at the Heard. About eleven others were co-founding members, including early exhibitors Leroy Fujii, Edward “Bud” Jacobson, and Chet Hutchinson, who would become the club’s first president. The initially informal meetings and workshops continued to be held at Toyo Nursery. The first club show of trees was held at Town & Country Shopping Center, 20th St. & E. Camelback Rd. Over the next three decades the club would exhibit at several other area malls and get many local mentions in print and on TV.
John Naka came over annually for digs, workshops, and shows (through 1978 when his then international lecture and demonstration schedule had fewer openings). He demonstrated tree design for the Phoenix club at the opening of the Scottsdale Civic Center, and at the Desert Botanic Garden and Valley Garden Center.
1965 — Per pg. 52 of an otherwise uncited Phoenix Gazette article c.April, (“Gazette Staff Photo by Richard Wisdom”), this picture accompanied a four paragraph “Bonsai Showing Begins Saturday”:
“Demonstrating the art of bonsai on a pine, which is in the process of becoming a miniature, is Harry Roark, center. Members of the Phoenix Bonsai Society, Mrs. Dennis McCarter of Paradise Valley, left, and Bill Jamieson, Bonsai president, observe. Such dwarfed trees are to be displayed at the annual Bonsai Exhibit at Heard Museum on the Palm Patio.”
1967 — The American Bonsai Society was founded. Among its ninety-nine charter members was Phoenix member Roseanne Elwinger. Paul Matsusaki taught an evening course in bonsai for Phoenix College. 1968 — A mimeographed semi-annual News 1968 was edited by co-founding member Joan McCarter. The club met at the Desert Botanic Garden in east Phoenix, having put on annual shows there for a few years. This had been due to the help of co-founding bonsai club member Alice Feffer, who had also been displaying award-winning entries in the separate DBG Annual Shows. |
| 1970 — Paul Matsusaki died of a sudden heart attack on the eve of an April show at the Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum. Soon after that Toyo Nursery closed when its lease expired. As a tribute to Paul, with the new season in September a club yearbook was first published. (It continues to be published today.) Leroy Fujii was given the teacher’s mantle for the club’s nearly sixty members.
1971 — A Memorial garden was dedicated to Paul at the Desert Botanic Garden. Per pp. 11 and 16 of the May issue of Bonsai Clubs International Bonsai Magazine, the club’s logo was thus:
1972 — David and Judy Meyer established the Tucson Bonsai Society after a favorable response to an early June show the Phoenix club assisted with at El Con Mall. (David first became involved with the art after seeing the 1967 show Phoenix put on at Town & Country Shopping Center.) John Naka began giving annual workshops also in Tucson, as did Leroy. 1973 — Phoenix club meetings were held at the Valley Garden Center near downtown beginning in the Fall (and running to the present day, for most of that time three Tuesday nights per month September through May). Also this year, John Naka’s Bonsai Techniques was published in California, based on his beginner’s class mimeograph. The book would quickly become one of the most valuable guides in the field. The basic coarse soil mix formula in use today was developed based on what was successfully working in southern California. The December issue of Bonsai Clubs International Bonsai Magazine included the following otherwise unattributed “Ume in Bloom – sketch from Phoenix Bonsai” (pg. 29; also reproduced on pg. 5 of March 1974 issue and pg. 27 of October 1974):
1974 — A “Japanese festival of the Living Arts” was held at the Valley Garden Center in April. Developed around the club’s Spring show and sale, it would be held annually for five years. That summer Phoenix set a new record with 18 consecutive days of temperatures at or above 110°F. 1975 — The March issue of Bonsai Clubs International Bonsai Magazine included the following by Tom Heitkamp, OH (pg. 48) “To The Late Paul Matsusaki…” Green glare into white glare Shifted banded shadows Where he moved Beneath the lattice, Paused to muse On tender workings Of each Bonsai. Green man into white bands broken, Broken the broad back, branches, benches, All down into banded earth alike, He strode, a moving coil, amid impossible light, white arms, Green hands under branches turning Clouded growth into clear meaning. The mind holds fast this green and white, Caught in a strange calligraphy. Wherein the vital figure is no more, yet still both green and light endure.
1979 — The Memorial garden for Paul Matsusaki was moved to the Valley Garden Center and redesigned on a smaller scale. Less than twenty years after Paul built the pond there, it was now a part of a tribute to him.
1980 — The July/August issue of Bonsai Clubs International Bonsai Magazine included an article by Mae Sage about her early experience with bonsai and involvement in the early days of the Tucson club, “How It All Started” (pp. 211-212) 1981 — The club was a co-sponsor of the reborn Japanese Festival of the Living Arts, now held at the downtown Civic Plaza. 1982 — John Naka’s Bonsai Techniques II was published, further extending the art’s possibilities in this country. (Both of his books went on to be translated into four languages by decade’s end.)
1984 – John’s masterpiece eleven tree juniper forest, Goshin, became the first resident of the new North American Bonsai Pavilion at the National Bonsai Collection in Washington, D.C. 1985 — The Japanese Festival here was now called by its name Matsuri. John Naka was honored in Tokyo by the Japanese Emperor for his international promotion of the art of bonsai. 1986 — Matsuri was held for the first time at Heritage Square, 6th and Monroe Streets. Held there every year (except 1995 and 2020), this is the site of the club’s largest annual show.
1989 — Founding member Elsie Andrade was one of thirteen hundred people from twenty-right countries who attended the first World Bonsai Convention by the World Bonsai Friendship Federation in Omiya, Japan. Thirty-three members were listed in our yearbook.
1990 — The club’s Plant Hardiness Survey was first conducted. 1991 — Forty-five members were listed in our yearbook. 1992 — The Payson Bonsai Club was founded by one of our members, Larry Mueller. 1993 — John Naka sketched a new black-on-white club logo for us using one of Leroy Fujii’s trees. (Earlier in the year Elsie Andrade had asked Naka-san to do so.) The first of a continuing series of August workshops featuring a California teacher was held with Mel Ikeda. Subsequent years would see Jim Barrett, Ernie Kuo, Roy Nagatoshi, and Ben Oki. All of these had been students of John Naka and others. Sixty-one members were listed in our yearbook. 1994 — A five-color version of our club logo was created for us by Grand Slam Productions of Phoenix on silk-screened T-shirts and polo shirts. 1995 — Matsuri was held at Patriot’s Park downtown due to construction at Heritage Square about a mile to the northeast. The club began fully-sponsoring shows in the Coliseum at the Arizona State Fair for the first time since Paul Matsusaki’s death. Fujii Notes, the club’s quarterly newsletter, was first published. Eighty-seven members were listed in the yearbook. 1996 — A suiseki, a naturally-shaped viewing stone, collected by long-time member Elsie Andrade, was nominated for and accepted by the National Bonsai Collection at the National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. The Japanese Friendship Garden at the Margaret T. Hance Deck Park was dedicated. Leroy’s large four-man olive was positioned just outside the entrance to the traditional teahouse and our sensei put on a one-man show on five long tables going to the tea garden’s main gate. 1997 — Elsie Andrade was elected to a two-year term as president of the American Bonsai Society. She had also held that position twice for the Valley Garden Center and once for the Phoenix Bonsai Society, among many other offices. The new season yearbook cover was orange. Ninety-eight members were listed. Designing Dwarfs in the Desert, the club’s commemorative 35-year history, was published in late November. (The cover is a black-on-green version of our club logo.) An estimated 500 persons had been members of the Phoenix Bonsai Society from its start up till this time. |
Other material up to this point which was not included in Designing Dwarfs has been put in this font and color.
And the club’s history continues:
1998 — The Matsuri display in February was followed the next week with a one and a third page article in the “Desert Nesting” section of the Tribune newspaper. One b&w and four color photos illustrated the article featuring Max Miller and briefly covering all aspects of our art. Robert Baran also contributed to the article [Feb. 28, pp. 1, 4] by Jeri Livesay (who would become a club member a couple of years hence.) The summer workshop again featured John Naka protegé Ben Oki as our visiting teacher. The new season yearbook cover was purple. For the first time, email addresses were beginning to be added to member contact information in the yearbook. On November 1, Leroy Fujii died suddenly shortly after his demonstration on the last day of the club’s display for the Arizona State Fair. A standing-room-only assemblage of those he touched gathered later that week to bid him farewell. Other club members passing on this year included: co-founding member Alice Feffer (January), Edna’s sister Frances Takemoto (March), and new member Ann Hunter (March).
1999 — A memorial calendar was published in January containing pictures of Leroy’s trees. The club had February displays for both Chinese Week (Chinese Cultural Center, 44th Street, just south of the 202 Freeway) and Matsuri. At the end of April/early May, the Tucson Bonsai Society hosted the American Bonsai Society’s Symposium “Diversity in the Desert,” with assistance from Phoenix. Six of Leroy’s best trees were among those exhibited. The Phoenix club had an Internet World Wide Web site set up as the latest forum by which it could meet its objectives. Several of the pictures from the memorial calendar were republished on the web site as “Leroy’s Trees, Parts I” and “II”. Ernest Hasan, in the club since 1993, was elected president. The Huntington Botanical Gardens in Pasadena accepted the donation of Leroy’s large (four-man) olive, which had also stood at the entrance to the ABS Symposium. The curator of the Huntington’s Bonsai Collection, and club friend, Ben Oki conducted the workshops in Phoenix, now held in late October instead of August. The new season yearbook cover was green. Eighty-seven members were listed. A photo of Max Miller’s superb creosote bonsai finally made it to the cover of the American Bonsai Society’s Bonsai Journal (Fall 1999). The tree was selected by Chase Rosade at the Symposium in Tucson to receive the Rosade Bonsai Studio’s Design Award. Also to be seen in that issue was the BCI President’s Award-winning elephant’s food bonsai of Doug and Gail Acker (pg. 115). The club had a display at the Horticultural Exhibition Building of the Arizona State Fair, concluding with a demonstration by Max Miller and Bill Mooney. A trip to the Laughlin area was held to gather permit California junipers and other stock. John Naka created Goshin II at the Golden State Bonsai Federation’s convention in Anaheim in November. Several Phoenix and Tucson members were in attendance and were participants in the many workshops led by Naka-san’s key student-masters. Members passing on this year included Gail Acker (March) and John Kinoshita (September).
| 2000 U.S. President: William Clinton (Jan. 1993-Jan. 2001) Arizona Governor: Jane Dee Hull (Sep. 1997-Jan. 2003) Phoenix Mayor: Skip Rimsza (Nov. 1994-Nov. 2004) U.S. Population: 281,421,906 Arizona Population: 5,130,632 Phoenix Population: 1,321,045 Size of City of Phoenix: 456.7 sq.miles |
2000 — In January, Cindy Read from California presented a lecture/demo on making saikei. Also that month Mike Hagedorn from Crataegus Containers in Oracle, AZ presented an excellent lecture on the start to finish of pots. The display at Matsuri took place in February. That month a second club was formed in the Valley, Bonsai of Scottsdale. Phoenix member Fairlee Winfield was the founder and became the club’s first president. Meetings were the first and third Saturday of the month at the Scottsdale Senior Center, and that club’s first show was held in early April. Jim Claycomb and Bill Mooney conducted a short seminar as part of the VGC Spring Festival, “The Art and Philosophy of Bonsai.” The Phoenix club acquired its own domain name for the Internet: www.phoenixbonsai.com. Rosarian Ken Jones gave a lecture on local fertilizing requirements. The club participated in the Berridge Nursery “Art in the Garden” in late April. Max Miller was elected Valley Garden Center President and Bill Mooney became its Treasurer. For the first time in memory, no summer get-togethers were held after the End of Year Party. In late June the club picked up a donation of 101 trees from the Mesquite Valley Growers nursery in Tucson, mostly junipers. The new season yearbook cover was bright yellow. Ben Oki conducted the early October workshops in Scottsdale as a joint offering of the Phoenix and Scottsdale clubs. The club had a display at the Arizona State Fair, concluding with a demonstration by president Ernest Hasan and Robert Baran. In early December, another Laughlin area dig was held and members in Phoenix had a small show of trees as part of a local Neighborhood Open House south of the Garden Center.
2001 — Mary and Peter Bloomer of Flagstaff gave an excellent slide presentation on suiseki in January. The following month, the club displayed 45 trees, one suiseki, and one Chinese Scholar Stone during the weekend of the Chinese Week festival at the Chinese Cultural Center. Fred Carpenter gave a brief interview to one of the local TV stations regarding our hobby. Near month end our Matsuri display was presented. In early April, long-time Tucson Bonsai Society member Areta Johnson passed away. An article featuring interviews with George Cole and Robert Gustafson was published in the May 2 issue of the West Valley News ( “bonsai, satisfaction is bigger than the trees” by Beth Kristin Ott, pg. A3 ). It included two b&w photos, one of Robert trimming a tree. A member since at least 1988, Jim Claycomb was elected club president. Enthusiasts from Scottsdale, Phoenix, Tucson, Mesa, and Flagstaff met in late July to discuss the possible formation of an Arizona Bonsai Federation. (The idea turned out to be premature.) The new season yearbook cover was light blue. Sixty-nine members were listed. The club participated in the Berridge Nurseries Fall Show & Demo in September. Ben Oki conducted joint workshops for Scottsdale and Phoenix the following month. The Arizona State Fair again saw a Phoenix Bonsai Society display, Oct. 11-28. A December demonstration was put on at the Chinese Senior Citizens Center.
2002 — Chinese Week and Matsuri displays again were presented. A Matsuri-timed article featuring Elsie Andrade was published in the Feb. 22 issue of the Arizona Republic ( “Small rewards, Patience pays off in perfect bonsai” by Janie Magruder, pg. E1-E2. Color photo of Elsie admiring her 40-year-old olive and two b&w photos. ). (The city tied its 1970 record with 28 days of temperatures 110°F+.) September 21 had a demonstration for the Fall Festival at Berridge Nurseries. The new season yearbook cover was red. (Jim Baker of Baker’s Nursery continued his long-time friendship with and sponsorship of the club. So indebted to Baker are the country’s 500 master gardeners that in October the group’s first scholarship was established in his name ( “Nursery owner quietly nurtures” by Janie Magruder, The Arizona Republic, June 25, 2003, pp. E1, E8 ). The club had a display with demo at the Arizona State Fair. November 16 and 17 we had the Ben Oki Workshop and Show at Baker Nursery. (Phoenix for this year tied 1956 as the driest year on record with only 2.82″ of precipitation.)
2003 — Chinese Week and Matsuri displays were presented. In late March we held a one-day Bonsai Seminar at Berridge Nursery. A member since at least the year 2000, Mike Apostolos was elected club president. Also in May, member Mark Sharples passed away. At month’s end the club participated in a desert dig just past Globe, AZ. (The city’s highest low temperature record was set on July 15: 96°F.) In September a Silent Auction was held of the trees and pots from and in the memory of Mark Sharples. The club had a display with a demo at the Arizona State Fair from Oct. 9-26. A little late this year, in November the new season yearbook cover was white with black spiral binding and slick paper inside. (Previous years’ bindings had been what is termed “perfect,” with two staples.) The standard 32 pages were now followed by eight pages of b&w photos of representative club trees and displays from our website. Sixty-nine members were listed. November 22 and 23 we had the annual Ben Oki Workshop and Show at Baker Nursery.
2004 — A Mini-Matsuri was held on Jan. 24 at the City of Phoenix Japanese Garden at the Deck Park. Chinese Week and Matsuri displays were presented in February. The Inaugural Gathering of BIG (Bonsai In the Garden) was held on March 6 at the home of Fred and Edie Carpenter with a potluck brunch and collection viewing. The Phoenix and Scottsdale clubs participated on April 24 in the Berridge Nurseries’ Art in the Garden Show & Display. On May 19, our honorary teacher, Grandmaster John Yoshio Naka, passed away. Doug Acker was quoted along with the Phoenix Bonsai Society[‘s web site] as a source for information on our sensei‘s life in the Los Angeles Times‘ obituary. The club had a display with demo at the Arizona State Fair from October 7-24. The new season yearbook cover was dark green, again with spiral binding. November 13 and 14 we had the Ben Oki Workshop and Show at Baker Nursery.
2005 — Chinese Week and Matsuri displays were presented. PBS founding member Edward “Bud” Jacobson passed away on March 4th (a memorial service would be held in April at the Phoenix Art Museum) and Richard “Dick” Selkirk also died this month. Our multi-color club logo replaced the black-on-orange version background on the club menu page of our website. In late March we held a one-day Bonsai Seminar at Berridge Nursery. In May, Marcia Colliat, a member since at least 1994, was elected club president. (Tucson tied its 1987 record with 39 days of temperatures 100°F+.) The Phoenix club had a display with a demo at the Arizona State Fair from October 14 to November 6 (closed on Mondays). The new season yearbook cover was medium/dark blue with spiral binding. For the first time ever, NO pasted-up paper draft was used: the final electronic draft of the yearbook was downloaded to the printer’s computer and produced therefrom. Fifty-nine members were listed. November 19-20 saw another wonderful workshop headed by Ben Oki.
2006 — A smaller-than-usual 2-day Chinese Week display was presented at the end of January, as well as the usual large Matsuri one a month later. Roy Nagatoshi conducted a late April workshop. After a few years of work by several club members, the IRS finally granted our society 501(c)(3) status in May. The Golden State Bonsai Federation voted to allow clubs from adjacent, bordering states to join, and PBS promptly took the steps to join the GSBF. Over the summer Max Miller presented a series of Beginner bonsai classes at the main Phoenix library. (On July 21 the official recorded high was 118°F.) Doug Acker died at the end of September, and a memorial service was held at the VGC. The club had a display with a demo at the Arizona State Fair from October 13 to November 5 (closed on Mondays). Ben Oki conducted two workshops and the club had a display at Baker’s Nursery on November 18-19. The new season’s yearbook cover was red, and this edition was dedicated to the memory of Doug Acker. Joining us as a sponsor this year was Kim’s Bonsai Nursery in Phelan, CA.
2007 — The Chinese Week and Matsuri displays were presented in February. We had two tables at Berridge Nursery for their annual Art in the Garden event in April. In May, Ken Roberts, a member since 2004, was elected president. In June Mike Magee, Kerry Boehmer, Max Miller, and Jamie Sims constructed a new stand used to display the large bonsai trees at Baker’s Nursery. These large trees were styled by Leroy Fujii and Doug Acker. Mr. Baker’s large pistachio was also in the grouping. The club yearbook was vetted by an editorial board during the summer. (The city gained a new weather record in late August with 29 days of temperatures 110°F+ this year.) Available at the first meeting in September, the 48-page black spiral-bound yearbook’s white cover had our four-color logo tree and there was a color photo inside of Doug (with Frank Goya and Ben Oki). New sponsors this year included Bonsai by the Monastery (GA) and Green Desert Bonsai (AZ). Sixty-nine members were listed. A dinner in honor of Max and Shirley Miller (soon moving to Iowa) was held in late September. The club had a display with a demo at the Arizona State Fair from October 11 to November 4 (closed on Mondays). Ben Oki conducted three workshops and the club had a display at Baker’s Nursery on November 10-11.
2008 — The Chinese Week and Matsuri displays were presented, and former member and long-time enthusiast Chuck Wiegand passed away in February. (The National Weather Service decided to have the monsoon season here officially run from June 15 to Sept 30, no longer just starting on the third consecutive day when the dew point averaged 55 degrees or higher.) During the summer a committee reviewed our plant list and a major revision resulted, presented in the salmon-colored cover yearbook that also had color photos of our nine mentors. The changes were also brought to the web site, along with a handy “To Join” button. Also in August, Joan McCarter and Elsie Andrade presented a short workshop. The club had a display with a demo at the Arizona State Fair from October 10 to November 2 (closed on Mondays). The Valley Garden Center held a one-day Fall Festival in which we participated in early November. Ben Oki conducted two workshops and the club had a display at Baker’s Nursery the following week-end. The December issue of the Desert Botanical Garden‘s Sonoran Quarterly included an article with photographs on “Miniature Desert Trees” by member Tom Gatz. Also this month, member (since 2002) Jim Jeffries passed away at his home in Santa Clara, NM.
2009 — The Ted Matson Critique and Lecture was held in January. Ken and Carol Roberts were interviewed for a small article, “Graceful, serene bonsai trees are small wonders” by The Arizona Republic‘s Laura Trujillo. The Chinese Week and Matsuri displays were presented in February. The Southwest Flower Garden Show at the University of Phoenix Stadium in March hosted a display by us. Our alternating-year display for “Art in the Garden” at Berridge Nursery took place in April. In May, Jamie Sims, a member since 2002, was elected club president. June saw the on-line archiving of many past copies of our Fujii Notes newsletter. July was the hottest month in observed weather history here (since 1896), having 15 days with a high of 110 degrees or more and every day with a high over 90 degrees. The average of the high and low temperatures was 98.3 degrees, a record. The July/August issue of the Golden State Bonsai Federation magazine contained an article on pp. 15-16 about the bonsai history section of our web site. Long-time club friend and sponsor James R. Baker of Baker’s Nursery died on August 31 at age 86. (See 2002 above and Designing Dwarfs in the Desert, pp. 34 and 68). Our 50-page yearbook this season had a pale green-gray cover, and included two new sponsors: Reed’s Woodworking and West America Import and Export, Inc. Ninety-one members were listed. The club had a display with a demo at the Arizona State Fair from October 16 to November 8 (closed on Mondays). At the GSBF Awards Dinner in early November in Riverside, CA, Joan McCarter and Elsie Andrade (along with Tucson’s David Meyer) received their Bonsai Basics Teacher Certifications. Ben Oki conducted two workshops and the club had a display at Baker’s Nursery on November 14-15. Long-time and former member Sunao “Rex” Tsutsumida died at age 87 on December 12.