Primroses Vol. 47 Spring, 1989 No. 2 PRIMROSES The photograph on the front cover Quarterly of the shows Ethel and Wallace Balla on one American Primrose Society of their trips to (he West Coast. Spring, 1989 Volume 47, Number 2 Published April 10,1989 Ethel Jarrett Balla (1921-1989) Entered 2nd Class, Graham, WA Many of us are saddened, and all opened after the war. She was a mem- of us diminished, by the death of Ethel ber of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Baila — a lovely person, a great lady Association. and an enthusiast about life who was In addition to Hying, Mrs. Balla's with the APS all too briefly. The fol- other main interest was gardening, in lowing account appeared in her local particular primroses and lilies. She was In this issue paper on January 16, 1989. a member of the Greenwich Woman's "Ethel Jarrett Balla, an award* Club Gardeners, the American Prim- rose Society, the New England Lily Ethel Jarrett Balla winning gardener and member of the .41 Society and the American Rock Gar- On the Trail of Primula Domensis Civil Air Patrol during World War II, died Monday at the Green wich- den Society. Over the years, she won by Larry Bailey .43 many awards for the best in show in Following the Marsyandi in search of Primulas Laurelton Nursing Home after a long illness. She was 68. a number of flower shows, her husband by Brian and June Skidmore .48 said. How To Write a Book - Part II She was born in New York, City and grew up in Stamford, where she In addition to her husband, she is by Sherre Calouri and Richard Abel ,55 survived by a daughter, Joan E. Balla The Genus Primula attended local schools. She and her husband, Wallace ). Balla, moved to of Greenwich; a son, Bruce W. Balla by Joset Halda ,65 Greenwich in 1954. Prior to her mar- of Kent, Washington." Lenses More and More riage, she worked as an executive sec- In a poignant letter to friends in the by Bruce G. Gould .68 retary at Lithium Corp. of American in Society Wallace, Ethel's wonderful and The Secret Life of the Primula New York City. faithful husband, tells of happier days by Stephen Lacey 72 She was an accomplished pilot, hav- before her final illness, ending with APS Information 75 ing learned to fly in 1936 at the Stam- these words. ford Seaplane Base. During World War "a wonderful and warm-hearted II Mrs, Balla served as a lieutenant in woman. We had her viewing locally, the Civil Air Patrol of the U.S. Army and she has requested being in her Air Corps, on anti-submarine duty. For WWII Civil Air Patrol Lieutenants uni- her wartime service, she received the form, and was very proud of the two National Commander's Commenda- National Commanders Commenda- tion Medal and Wartime Service Medal tion and Wartime Service Medals, so PRIMROSES (ISSN 0162-6671) is published we had those on her tunic, too. As she quarterly by American Primrose, Auricula as an active belligerent. Mrs. Bella owned a number of requested, we mixed her ashes in with and Primula Society, 28111 - 112 Ave. E., planes, and one of her planes, an the soil of her beloved flower garden Graham, WA 98338. Second-class postage Aeronca Chief, was the first plan to be paid at Graham, WA and additional mailing based at Westchester Airport when it We shall miss her." offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to PRIMROSES, 6730 West Mercer Way, Mercer Island, Washington 98030. American Primrose Society Page 41 On The Trail of Primula Domensis The exciting newly discovered Primula from Utah Larry A. Bailey Edmonds, Washington Sawtooth Canyon, on the evening temperature had plunged during the of the 6th of June, 1988 was not the night and the wind drove the chill most pleasant place to get a good through to the bone. night's rest. Two of us were trying to Waiting for the sun to warm the get comfortable, lying in the back of canyon, we stood in awe and watched my little Nissan pickup; with sleeping the first rays of light explode in rich bags, oversized air mattresses, camping browns, rusts and golds on the canyon gear poking in ribs, and the wind walls. With a sharp edge, the light blowing incessantly. All day and into slowly worked down the towering the night, while driving through the cliffs, and crept onto the canyon floor, plains and deserts of Idaho, Nevada signaling departure time from our base and into the western part of Utah, we camp. had fought and wrestled with the tre- The first time I was in Sawtooth mendous winds and dust storms Canyon, I was with Joe Conner and created by a gigantic weather turbu- it was later in the season (June 17th), lence along the Pacific Coast. Now, not only in calendar days but in lying in pitch darkness, with the canopy temperatures. At that time we started shudderingand rocking, wecould hear up the dry wash of the canyon before the winds screaming through the the sun had a chance to begin its daily pinyon pines and howling off the cliffs baking action, when temperatures of the canyon. What a contrast to my soared to the limits of the therometer. first visit to Sawtooth Canyon two years By mid-day, the only animals not taking previously; where after the usual wind siesta or refuge in shade were humans shifts at dusk caused by the rapid and flies. After hours of hiking and temperature changes between the climbing the steep canyon inclines we mountain and desert areas, the night did find a few Primula plants, but the became unearthly still and one could blooms were spent and the leaves hear noctunal animals foraging for rapidly drying for the summer dor- food, hundreds of feet from camp. mancy; little reward for the aching and Finding it useless to attempt sleep bruised muscles, altitude dizziness, in a nearby vehicle, Lee Bower and parched mouths, and rattlesnake his wife, Chris Bogard, were up before encounters. dawn, rattling pots and pans, getting Eons ago, the House Range (at the the camp stove fired up and trying to southern edge of the Great Salt Lake get that first cup of coffee brewed. By Basin) was formed by a massive uplift- the time I worked myself of the back ing of sedimentary rock out of the of the pickup through the menagerie ancient and mammoth Lake Bonneville of gear, Lee and Chris were bundled during the Mesozoic era and into the up, hunched over with their backs Miocene period. Thousands of feet against the wind, stomping their feet thick, the Cambrian and Ordovician for circulation and making a futile limestone rock now rises out of the efforts to prepare a warm breakfast, The desert forming towering cliffs to over American Primrose Society Page 43 9,000 feet in elevation and creating the for the stalks and delicate flowers to By now the sun's presence was rapidly bright yellow miniature Cruciferae added drama to the magical setting. unique environment of the House stop their rhythmic swaying and rapid : warm ing our surround ings and our legs Range. vibrations. were letting us know they were not It quickly became apparent the Looking towards the west, up the Towards the western head of the used to such strenuous exercise. We plants in shady locations were far more gradual incline of the canyon floor, one canyon, full of apprehensions, we were happy we had left our heavy viable and much more prone to flower is struck by the vast contrast between started up a steep incline towards the winter coats back at the base camp. than those receiving direct sun light. What really surprised me was the wide the towering north-facing limestone base of the limestone cliffs. Two weeks While Danny Lajoie and I were range of colors (from dark vermilion cliffs protruding above the dark gray- before, Jay Lunn had briefly visited the stopped under the shadow of a pine to light blue), the different sizes of pips greens of junipers and pines on the area of Sawtooth Canyon Notch Peak to regain stamina, my heart started to (up to 2-1/2 cm across), the variation left, and the rounded, washed and and reported before our departure that jump beats as I noticed a small plant inhospitable bleak hills to the right. A although he was able to find some of familiar characteristics in the shade in the shape of the petals (pointed, to rounded, to ruffled), the amount of wide range of flora is encountered, Primula domensis, there were few of a rock outcropping. I was quite shading on the petals (from a very beginning at the mouth of the canyon plants and very sparse flowers. The surprised and delighted to find Primula where it spills out to the east into the plants he did find were already show- domensis at this lower elevation, down distinct dark center and light edges to no shading at all!, and the configuration vast wastelands and barren desert of ing signs of going into summer dor- the incline from the base of the lime- of the yellow eye (star to circular). True the Sevier Basin with its ghostly, hazy, mancy, even with cooler temperatures stone cliffs, and among the grasses and to the genus Primula, the colonies had turquoise lake, through the canyon and still remaining signs of snow. Jay phloxes in fairly exposed locations. both thrum and pin-eyed pips, and with its steady rise in elevation, ending had taken the ridge route towards Further examination of the area farina could be seen on the stems, calyx in the clear, crisp and dry sage-scented Notch Peak, where the plants were in revealed more small colonies in and and seed pods.