Flowers and Art
Gorgeous artwork has been linked with the show since its early days. The
first publicity posters were undated and used for multiple years. Years
later the posters, designed by some of the finest artists in the area, have
become sought-after souvenirs each year.
Alice Parker Quilt
The magnificent quilt which hangs each year at the Glide Wildflower Show was a gift from Alice Parker in 1999. For many years she and her husband, Fred Parker, traveled the wild areas of Oregon, discovering where rare wildflowers grew and photographing them. Her wildflower quilt features transfers of their stunning photographs, lovingly stitched into brilliant textile art.
Alice had earlier created a bird quilt for the Audubon Society.
Its raffle raised $400. Although the wildflower quilt was also intended to be
raffled, the Council unanimously decided it was
“too important to let it go to just one person.” Instead, they created an annual
tradition of displaying it at the show. To fulfill Alice’s intention of raising
money for the show, a photo was taken of the quilt and made into notecards, sold
in the show’s bookstore.
In addition to the quilt, Alice donated to the Glide Wildflower Show dozens of photographs of rare flowers that cannot be collected. These are displayed along the north wall each year. The rest of the thousands of wildflower photographs taken by her and Fred have found a home in the archives of the OSU Herbarium.
A remarkable woman
Not only a wildflower expert, she was widely known for her birding. The Douglas County bird checklist was compiled by Alice and Fred from their birding records. For 27 years she taught four bird identification classes a year, sharing her knowledge and love of birds with hundreds of people, among them BLM and U.S. Forest Service staff who integrated her lessons into resource management plans. She and her fellow “bird ladies” drove 200 miles weekly each spring and summer and compling a census of birds for the Diamond Lake Ranger District.
Alice was part of a team that surveyed rare plants at Limpy Rock, near Steamboat. She helped establish both the Limpy Rock Research Natural Area and the Boulder Creek Wilderness. Integrating her knowledge of birds and plants, she helped write a plan to restore Thorn Prairie to its unique habitat of fruiting shrubs for rare calliope hummingbirds and green-tailed towhees.
In addition to her naturalist activities, Alice served thirty years on the Roseburg Park Commission and two terms on the Douglas County Museum Board. She served on the board of the Oregon Field Ornithologists and as president of the Umpqua Valley Audubon Society, Zonta, and the Umpqua Valley Stamp Club, and also volunteered at the Umpqua Valley Art Center.
Alice died in 2014, but the gifts of her beloved birds and flowers live on in her quilts, her photographs, and the knowledge that she shared so generously.
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