P. Buckley Moss e-newsletter

Dear Friends:

The Moss Heaven Chapter of the P. Buckley Moss Society hosted a wonderful fundraising dinner at the Indian Hills Community College this past Friday evening and grossed $3,690 between the dinner, the live auction, and the silent auction. Chapter President Karen Holt made a beautiful quilted wall hanging around one of my hand-painted fabric centerpieces for the auction, and it brought in $900 toward the total proceeds for the evening. The amount for the quilt will be divided equally between the Chapter’s charitable endeavors and the P. Buckley Moss Foundation for Children’s Education. Thank you, Karen and the Moss Heaven Chapter! The rest of the proceeds will help fund the Chapter’s scholarship to the Indian Hills Community College and help support the Keokuk County (Iowa) Hospice.

Pictured with me is Karen Holt, President of the Moss Heaven Chapter. Karen made this beautiful quilt to raise funds for both the Chapter and the P. Buckley Moss Foundation for Children’s Education, and her husband Ronne was the high bidder. I think he made Karen very happy!

I tried to bid on that quilt, but Karen’s husband Ronne was determined not to disappoint Karen for Christmas. It turns out that she had become so attached to the quilt she had worked on that she just couldn’t bear to part with it. I can’t say that I blame her; I wanted it, too!

The dinner was delicious and was prepared by Tom Shepherd and the Culinary Department at the Community College. Music was provided by Patty Babb and the Ottumwa High School Chamber Ensemble. It was a very nice evening.

I was delighted to see so many of my Iowa friends there, and I’m very proud of how the Society chapters support one anothers’ fundraising events. One of the people there was Mary Ann Tayloe, who serves on the Foundation’s Board of Directors. Mary Ann is one of the Board members who reads the scholarship and grant applications the Foundation receives. They received sixty such applications last year and over 200 this year! I am very grateful for your support of the Foundation’s programs, and the teachers and students who receive the grants and scholarships are also grateful.

L. to R.: Aleta Mottet, Phyllis Fox, Connie Robertson, Karen Holt, and Ellie Shumaker, all members of the Moss Heaven Chapter who volunteered to help with M & J’s show. Note their Moss aprons, which I embellished as a thank-you. Ellie celebrated her 82nd birthday Friday night at the dinner, and she is also a charter member of the P. Buckley Moss Society.

My show with M & J Art & Frame Gallery in Ottumwa, Iowa, was great. Everyone, staff and customers alike, was happy and upbeat. Gallery manager Anne Arduser and volunteer Tony Yencsik decorated the gallery beautifully. The framing was superb, too; the quality and the finished product were outstanding. I’m finding that we have exceptional framers in our business!

M & J’s wonderful team! L. to R.: LeeAnn Kjer; Bill & Chris Abigt, owners of M & J Art & Frame Gallery; me; Gallery Manager Anne Arduser; and Tony Yencsik.

My dear friends Scott and Tami Buchwalter came all the way up from Highland, IL, to surprise me. I was delighted to see them both. Scott is a past member of the Society’s Board of Directors.

How good it was to see Dizzy the Clown (a.k.a. Desi Payne) again! I first met Dizzy during my May, 2006, show with M & J. She was the inspiration for my Clowning Around print.

I stay with and meet the most wonderful people everywhere I go, but I really need to tell you about the Oak Meadow Delight Bed & Breakfast in Ottumwa. My room had a view of a lake with ducks on it, a fireplace, and an enormous bed—it really was huge! It was such a delight and appropriately named! I was the only one for breakfast in the mornings, but I enjoyed the companionship of my hostess Tracy Boyer and her friend who teaches learning different children. Tracy home-schooled her own children, and the three of us really had a great time talking about children and education.

This week I’m in beautiful St. Petersburg, Florida, where I’m having a show with the Finn Gallery this Friday through Sunday. For more information on the show, please contact gallery owner Tim Finn at 727-894-2899.

I’ll return to Virginia just in time for Thanksgiving with my family; and, the weekend of December 2-4, I’ll be in Waynesboro for my Museum Open House and Barn Show.

Winter Tryst will be released during my December 2-4 Museum Open House and Barn Show in Waynesboro, VA. For more information, please call the P. Buckley Moss Museum at 1-800-343-8643 or 540-949-6473.

Love,
Pat

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