Closing the gates at DP West
Closing the gates at DP West
Closing the gates at DP West
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Employee has a passion for orchids<br />
by Ternel N. Martinez<br />
Let’s say a friend comes over to your house, knocks on your<br />
door and asks, “Hey, did you know you have Phragmipedium<br />
besseae and Angraecum Veitchii on your property?” Do you<br />
a) call <strong>the</strong> HAZMAT Team?<br />
b) call <strong>the</strong> police?<br />
c) get out your bug spray?<br />
d) make sure <strong>the</strong>y get plenty of food, w<strong>at</strong>er and light?<br />
e) tell your friend never to use such foul language again?<br />
If you chose <strong>the</strong> letter d, you’re right. While just looking <strong>at</strong><br />
<strong>the</strong> above-mentioned words might make you think th<strong>at</strong> <strong>the</strong>y<br />
mean something bad, hearing those same words brings<br />
images of beauty to orchid grower Lois Dauelsberg, a staff<br />
member specializing in inform<strong>at</strong>ion systems in Quality,<br />
Str<strong>at</strong>egy and Resource Planning (FSS-1). Incidentally,<br />
Phragmipedium besseae is <strong>the</strong> name of an orchid species,<br />
while Angraecum Veitchii is an orchid hybrid.<br />
Found throughout most of <strong>the</strong> nonpolar world and especially<br />
abundant in tropical regions, <strong>the</strong>re are anywhere from<br />
400 to 800 genera of orchids and <strong>at</strong> least 15,000 species,<br />
perhaps as many as 35,000. And th<strong>at</strong> number does not<br />
include orchid hybrids.<br />
While <strong>the</strong> 28-year-plus Lab employee always had family<br />
members who grew a few orchids <strong>at</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir homes, it was<br />
during a 1971 business trip to Hawaii th<strong>at</strong> Dauelsberg<br />
decided to try to grow her own.<br />
“I saw some orchids <strong>the</strong>re th<strong>at</strong> were very different from<br />
wh<strong>at</strong> I had seen before,” she recalled. “And I just wanted to<br />
grow some of those.” Still, Dauelsberg wouldn’t actually<br />
begin to grow her own orchids until three years l<strong>at</strong>er, when a<br />
colleague gave her four to grow. She bought four more just<br />
three months l<strong>at</strong>er, and thus began a passion for <strong>the</strong> exotic<br />
plants th<strong>at</strong> would eventually lead her to places she never<br />
thought she’d visit and a career on <strong>the</strong> side.<br />
In 1975, Lois’ husband built a “wardian case” for her to<br />
March 1998<br />
12<br />
place her orchids. Her first growing area for <strong>the</strong> flowers, it was<br />
situ<strong>at</strong>ed above <strong>the</strong> washer and dryer in <strong>the</strong> garage of <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
home, under fluorescent lights. This case, though, was just a<br />
prelude to <strong>the</strong> 150 square-foot lean-to greenhouse th<strong>at</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
Dauelsbergs <strong>at</strong>tached to <strong>the</strong>ir home in 1976.<br />
She has moved two times over <strong>the</strong> years, and each new<br />
dwelling has had a 300 square-foot greenhouse built onto it.<br />
Dauelsberg currently has about 800 orchids in her greenhouse;<br />
<strong>at</strong> one time, she had as many as 1,000. But this story<br />
goes beyond merely growing <strong>the</strong> colorful plants.<br />
After a while, Dauelsberg no longer was s<strong>at</strong>isfied with<br />
just presenting orchids — she now wanted to judge <strong>the</strong>m<br />
<strong>at</strong> shows and events. So she began a six-year training<br />
program under <strong>the</strong> auspices of <strong>the</strong> 30,000-member American<br />
Orchid Society.<br />
Judges must perform research and give present<strong>at</strong>ions to<br />
o<strong>the</strong>r judges, be experienced growers, have a growing collection<br />
of orchids and maintain an extensive orchid library.<br />
“A judge looks to see if <strong>the</strong> orchid has improved from its<br />
parents,” said Dauelsberg. “We also check <strong>the</strong> orchid’s form<br />
for roundness and fullness, its colors, growth p<strong>at</strong>tern, texture,<br />
size and number of flowers.”<br />
Her duties as a judge have taken her to several cities n<strong>at</strong>ionwide,<br />
as well as to Canada and Ecuador. Dauelsberg goes to<br />
<strong>the</strong> regional shows 10-to-12 times a year. And she currently is<br />
center chair for <strong>the</strong> Rocky Mountain Judging Center in Denver,<br />
where her duties include educ<strong>at</strong>ion and judging.<br />
But again, being a grower, center chair and judge wasn’t<br />
enough to s<strong>at</strong>isfy Dauelsberg’s passion. No, this time she wanted<br />
to bring <strong>the</strong> society closer to home. “I helped start <strong>the</strong> Escalante<br />
Orchid Society for <strong>the</strong> Santa Fe/Los Alamos area. It’s an AOSaffili<strong>at</strong>ed<br />
society th<strong>at</strong> meets once a month, altern<strong>at</strong>ing between<br />
<strong>the</strong> two cities,” she said. The Escalante Orchid Society is planning<br />
an exhibit, to be held in May in downtown Los Alamos.<br />
Additional inform<strong>at</strong>ion about <strong>the</strong> American Orchid<br />
Society and orchids in general are available online <strong>at</strong><br />
http://www.p<strong>at</strong>hfinder.com/vg/Gardens/AOS/Welcome/ on<br />
<strong>the</strong> Web.<br />
Reflections<br />
Mail Stop C318<br />
Los Alamos, NM 87545<br />
LALP-98-2<br />
Reflections<br />
Lois Dauelsberg of Quality, Str<strong>at</strong>egy and Resource Planning<br />
(FSS-1) shows a vanda hybrid <strong>at</strong> a November 1997<br />
Albuquerque show. Photos courtesy of Dauelsberg<br />
Nonprofit Organiz<strong>at</strong>ion<br />
U.S. Postage Paid<br />
Albuquerque, NM<br />
Permit No. 532