| |
Recipes, About Us, WMMS BBS, Mushroom FAQ, Newsletter, Local Report, Foray Info, Photo Gallery, Links
WEST MICHIGAN MYCOLOGICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER
Vol. 12, March 1999, No. 1
CONTENTS
West Michigan Mycological Society 1998 recognition banquet
We welcome these new members to W.M.M.S.
Blodgett Poison Center gyromitra or "beefsteak morel" project
=>> Go back to current newsletter
The 1999 organizational meeting will be held on Saturday, April 10 at 1:00pm in the Ludington Senior Center at 308 S. Rowe St., Ludington. (From Ludington Ave, turn south just past the Courthouse - the Center is 3 blocks down on the right.) Come one, come all and help us elect this year's slate of officers and plan some great forays. Your input is important and this is the best time to suggest new activities, change anything you don't like and make sure we keep doing the things you do like. Refreshments will be served. Hope to see you there!
Hi all you family members of the Mushroom Club! With all our ups and downs since the banquet hope the past year has been pretty fair. I want to thank all of you for helping in any way you have, last year. It makes me feel like we are one family as everyone pitches in. I thank you all.
OK - now come up with new places to hunt, how about a float in festivals, something in Pentwater during their celebrations? Sorry about our loss of dear Willis McCoy - good to see Nancy Rossi back - hope others are going strong for another season.
Well, I'd better make this short as Steve has to get it into the newsletter. Meeting April 10 - one P.M., come or send ideas and any input you may have.
See you soon. Love you all,
Milda 845-6496
WEST MICHIGAN MYCOLOGICAL SOCIETY 1998 RECOGNITION BANQUET
Thirty nine members and guests of the West Michigan Mycological Society gathered for its end-of-the-season party October 24th to celebrate the years's activities, to review the season's program and to give recognition to those members who excelled in learning and those who contributed most to its success.
The celebration began with a social hour where members and guests renewed acquaintances and viewed the many educational displays, consisting of an unusually large supply of mushrooms brought in for identification and labeling, photographic records of the club's activities, a display of the most popular mushroom texts, craft items and also a supply of recommended mushroom books and club T-shirts which could be purchased.
Following the traditional mushroom oriented potluck dinner President Milda Martz conducted a short business meeting where Catherine Schilling of Walhalla and Ron and Joan Wilson of Ludington were unanimously voted Honorary Life Memberships in the society and presented with certificates of appreciation for their many years of hosting the club's field activities.
Nancy Rossi of Ludington was chosen to receive the coveted "Golden Morel" award for superior contribution to the society and was "crowned" by Julia McCoy of Albion, the 1997 recipient. The following members were presented gifts of appreciation for superior service: Jay and Charles Martz, Steve Oliver and Pat and Clarence Willick of Ludington, Don and Milda Martz and Pauline Pfefferle of Scottville, Ed Zalis of Branch and Donna Wheeler of Timberlake Resort, Hart.
Guest, Mary Blocksma of Beaver Island and author of nature books "Naming Nature" and "The Fourth Coast" told of her travels to the many islands of the Great Lakes region collecting information for her books and announced that she is currently researching a book on introducing the reader to mushrooms. Our other writer, Linda Irons, of Chippewa Lake reported that her book is in the hands of the publishers and will be released soon.
The educational program for the evening consisted of two videos featuring Mariam Rice's: "Making Paper from Mushrooms" and "Making Dyes From Mushrooms", presented by Pat Willick and Education Chair, Obe Schrader. A drawing for Milda Martz's numerous door prizes concluded the evening's activities.
Chairing the event were Jay and Charles Martz, asissted by Pauline Pfefferle, Ed Zalis, Pat and Clarence Willick and Peg and Jim Hagan.
Mary Macklam served as hostess. Jim Hagan, club photographer, recorded the affair with a steady hand and his trusty Konica with the super-fast lens.
We were very sorry to receive word from Julia McCoy of Albion that her husband, Willis, died on Dec. 28 following heart surgery complications.
Willis and Julia, long-time members of our club, have been two of the most active participants in our activities. They were awarded the club's prestigious "Golden More" Service Award in 1997 and they have faithfully returned to Ludington each fall, for several days, to help tend the club's "Educational Mushroom Exhibit" at the County Fair. Willis will be remembered for his cheery greetings and his unique and innovative mushroom canes he sported at his numerous forays. He will be sadly missed.
We extend to Julia our sincerest condolences.
Her address is: Julia McCoy 216 Erie Albion, MI 49224. (517)629-4203.
WE WELCOME THESE NEW MEMBERS TO W.M.M.S.
John McAinsh 5688 E. Filmore Walkerville, MI 49459
Don & Beth Reinders 534 E. Pine St. Fremont, MI 49412
We also welcome back Bill & Donnely LOCKARD of Spring Lake who have been on a year's sabbatical. Needless to say, we have sorely missed their wealth of knowledge at the identification table. Look for some of Donnely's photos on the WMMS website some time later this year.
Those of you who include the national organization (NAMA) in your membership and wish your name entered in the NATIONAL DIRECTORY are reminded that we must send them your $17.00 dues by March 1, so act accordingly each year. Those of you who wish only local membership (WMMS)($10.00/members), have until May 1 before our new membership list is printed.
Please send all dues to: PAT WILLICK, Treasurer
6532 Virnetta Dr., Ludington, MI 49431
Phone (616)843-8273
BLODGETT POISON CENTER GYROMITRA
or "Beefsteak Morel" Project
Last spring we were invited by John Trestrail III, our NAMA Toxicology Chairman and Managing Director of the Blodgett Regional Poison Center, to participate in a research project in which they hoped to quantitate the concentration of MMH poison in the Gyromitra species of mushroom in Michigan and elsewhere. Many members helped out by collecting and sending in samples. When Ben Kuslikis, who runs the Toxicology Lab, and assistant Leo Liang came up for the morel foray we were able to send them back with a big box full of "beefsteaks". Too bad the morels weren't as plentiful!
Ben says the project will continue this year. However, Leo has returned to China and they're a little short handed at the lab , so they may not be able to handle as many samples this year. (Any members in the GR area with lab experience and some spare time to donate to a good cause please call 774-7856). He'll keep us informed about the progress of the project and should have more information regarding sample requests in the next newsletter.
Morel season is fast approaching. Although most members are by now familiar with the hazards of eating Gyromitras*, some may be unaware that morels themselves can be dangerous if not thoroughly cooked. The following article was taken from the US FDA website that deals with mushroom toxins.
"An outbreak of gastroenterititis {big word for abdominal irritation -Ed.} during a banquet for 482 people in Vancouver, British Columbia, was reported by the Vancouver Health Department in June, 1991. Seventy-seven of the guests reported symptoms consisting of early onset nausea (15-30 min), diarrhea (20 min-13 h), vomiting (20-60 min), cramps and bloated feeling. Other symptoms included feeling warm, clamminess, numbness of the tongue and extreme thirst along with two cases of hive-like rash with onset of 3-7 days. Bacteriological tests were negative. This intoxication merits special attention because it involved consumption of species normally considered not only edible but choice. The fungi involved were the morels Morchella esculenta _and M. elata (M. angusticeps), which were prepared in a marinade and consumed raw. The symptoms were severe but not life threatening. Scattered reports of intoxications by these species and M. conica have appeared in anecodotal reports for many years. "
So strive for safety and cook your catch carefully, (or give them to me to "sample" to make sure they're safe to eat :-)
-SRO
* The "beefsteak" or Gyromitra esculenta, while eaten by a lot of people, contains toxins that can be extremely dangerous. The poison is water soluble and volatile, so boiling them and discarding the water can reduce the amount of poison in them. The quantity of toxins is quite variable and can change from year to year even in fungi picked in the same area. There also seems to be a "threshold" level for the toxin - no effect is noticed with small doses. then when the level is reached, severe poisoning may occur. WMMS strongly suggests avoiding the consumption of Gyromitras.