April of this year marks the forty-first anniversary of the mounting of the first Glide Wildflower Show in the Glide Community Club building. What began as a modest effort that attracted a mere handful of visitors has come to be recognized as the largest exhibit of wildflowers in the Pacific Northwest, attracting thousands of visitors during its annual two-day run on the last weekend in April.

The show actually had its roots in a fund-raising project to provide money for maintenance of the Glide Community Club building which had once been the old Glide High School gymnasium, moved to its present location in the late 1950s. In 1965, the club was looking for a way to raise money for building maintenance, and three women, Audrey Young, Mona Riley, and Reggie Miller suggested a benefit that would include as entertainment a wildflower slide show presentation by Reggie, who was involved in the North Umpqua Garden Club. Reggie had always wanted to do a wildflower show, and in three days she collected seventy-one specimens from her home on Buckhorn Road, arranged them in vases, and labeled them with botanical and common names. The event was actually held in the newly opened Idleyld Lodge and hosted by the owners, Mr. And Mrs. James Hanson. Thirty-five people came to the show, enjoyed it, and raved to their friends.

The following year Reggie was invited to repeat her performance, and so it was that in 1966, the show was moved to the Glide Community Club building and scheduled for the last weekend in April, when the greatest number of blossoms would be available. Reggie and several volunteers collected ninety-one specimens and put on the show, but only twenty-five people came to see it. Understandably discouraged, the volunteers were inclined at first to give up the idea, but after a discussion of publicity and promotion, the Community Club voted to try for one more year.

In 1967, Molly Grathaus of the Portland Journal wrote glowing reports of the Glide Wildflower Show, and her publicity attracted the attention of the Native Plant Society of Portland, forty of the society’s members coming en masse in a bus to attend the show. Reggie and her crew of volunteers exhibited one hundred and ninety-one varieties of wildflowers that year, and the improved publicity brought four hundred guests from Oregon, Washington, California, Alaska, and Arizona. The first offers of botanical assistance arrived too, in the persons of Mildred Thiele, Lois Wesley Hopkins, and Joan Fosback.

There is no question that Reggie Miller was the dynamo that drove those early shows, and the Glide Community Club unanimously agreed that as a tribute to Reggie, the show should be named in her honor. With typical modesty, however, she declined that honor and insisted that the official name should be the Glide Wildflower Show. Thus the event was named, and it has been held annually the last weekend in April ever since. The early shows served tea, coffee, and cookies to the visitors.

In subsequent years local residents joined in, volunteering to open the building, set up and decorate tables, and supply a list of the previous year’s specimens. The Glide Community Club operated a snack bar featuring a variety of local homemade pies, and that tradition has been maintained. People kept coming back for more.

By 1968, after obtaining permission from landowners, the volunteers enlarged their collecting range to include the Siskiyous and Curry, Coos, Jackson, and Josephine Counties. They gathered two hundred and forty-five specimens from different elevations and microclimates. Special exhibits included native trees, lichens, mosses, edible plants, and a fern grotto. A Sunset Magazine article drew thirteen hundred visitors from as far away as London and Amsterdam. In addition to slide shows, the Society of American Foresters arranged for sightseeing tours of local points of interest. The U. S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management had exhibits at the show, and, despite rising costs, the Wildflower Show Council was determined to keep admission free to the public. A donation basket was placed unobtrusively at the entrance. Hundreds of local residents continued to volunteer, and the show attained a measure of acclaim for its beautiful flowers, individually vased, and delicious pies.

In 1972, collectors gathered three hundred and eighty specimens, and the show broke all records as forty-five hundred visitors flocked into Glide to see the fabulous wildflower display. The North Umpqua Garden Club offered domestic plants for sale, and the Veterans of Foreign War post 4316 sold baked goods to raise money for local scholarships.

In 1973, Reggie Miller died, and several councils continued the rich legacy of the Glide Wildflower Show. Over the years, council members included Mona Riley, Yvonne Knouse, Mary Powell, Audry Young, Mary Carlson, Jean Cross, Jane Talcott, Ina Serafin, Marilyn Sams, and Jeanne Moore. Of all the early council members, Jeanne Moore is the only one still actively involved.

Preparing for the show is a daunting task, organizing collectors, vasers, botanists, set-up and clean-up crews, greeters, speakers, book sales, and endless details, and today the responsibilities are shared by the Glide Wildflower Show Council consisting of many dedicated and hard-working volunteers. In the late 1970s, a Students’ Day was added to the agenda. Held the Monday following the show, local elementary school students are invited to learn about wildflowers through a variety of activities designed and supervised by additional volunteers.

The Glide Wildflower Show is a resoundingly successful community effort emphasizing the richness of our environment. It carries on a long tradition of caring and preservation and echoes the words of Reggie Miller spoken four decades ago: “Wildflowers are often abundant, but they are not indestructible; many of our loveliest ones are in danger of extinction by our carelessness. By knowing our wildflowers, we can better preserve them for ourselves and for the future."

Traditionally the show opens from 8 to 9 am Saturday and Sunday for photographers only, then from 9 to 5 for the general public. Admission is free, donations are encouraged. The show is wheelchair accessible. Flora books and food are available at a nominal cost. Monday is Children’s Day with activities for organized groups; as Reggie once said, “To open the eyes of youngsters, to show them some of the small wonders they may find in their own backyards, to learn how to play a part in this environment, to help nurture appreciation, to give promise to our future.”

Wildflower Show main page

Slides of 04 & 05 Shows
photos by Jim Corrado & Kay Bilton

Slides of 2003 Show
photos by Jim Corrado

Slides of 2002 Show
photos by Jim Corrado

Slides of 2001 Show
photos by Chuck Telford