More than fifty club members celebrated the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Western Carolina Botanical Club at our final indoor meeting of the 2022-2023 season. Information about the program can be found on the History page.

• We started with a time of celebration and memories of the club’s history including display tables for club memorabilia, books authored by club members, and a display of old field and nature guides from the late 1800s !
• Our guest speaker was Gary Kauffman, the botanist/ecologist program manager for the National Forests in North Carolina since April of 2007. Gary spoke about “Twenty-five Years of Botany in the National Forests in North Carolina”.
• Then our very own Cindy Carpenter entertained us with her musical talent !

• Betty,

• Ken,

• Juanita,

• and Bonnie shared memories and highlights of the club’s history.

• There was a repeating TV slideshow of club moments covering 2003 – 2022.

• Then…. we enjoyed sandwiches, fruit, veggies, drinks… and a Birthday Cake !!

Photography by Ken Borgfeldt, Penny Longhurst, and Joe Standaert (Click on any picture to zoom & enter the slide show).