"During its early stages the Massachusetts Chapter soon realized that communication was the lifeblood of any organization and the desirability of a newsletter. Thus it was one giant step when in 1972 (on our second birthday) the first issue -- four mimeographed pages -- appeared. While the limitations of any newsletter were apparent from the onset, never the less the intention was never to limit it to "who served what at which meeting". Its purpose from the start was to present new and interesting information for its readers, an adjunct to the Quarterly Bulletin [now Journal of American Rhododendron Society] and similar publications." -- Dr. Max L. Resnick as editor of The Rosebay 1980
The Rosebay's Editors
"It is the editor who is chief cook and bottle washer. He or she works with the stories to fit them into the allotted pages in an attractive and meaningful arrangement. The lifeblood of The Rosebay is those many authors who feed their creativity to us for publication. The Rosebay would be nothing, however, without the thirty-plus volunteers over the years who have done the advertising sales, keyboarding, proofreading, layout and art work, and transportation, mailing, and labeling grunt work. Without them, there would not have even been issue one of The Rosebay back in February 1972."
"The number of volunteer hours that these 50 issues containing 450 plus articles and reviews by more than 230 different authors over 30 years of publication represent must be staggering. The effort to merely reformat this enormous wealth of information for publication on the web represents more than 250 plus person hours. We, the members of the American Rhododendron Society Massachusetts Chapter, thank each of you." -- Ian E. M. Donovan as editor of The Rosebay 2002
"This newsletter takes its name from the Rosebay rhododendron(Rhododendron maximum), which is the only evergreen rhododendron native to the Bay State. The Rosebay is found all along the East Coast, growing as far north as Quebec, Ontario, and Nova Scotia, and reaching its greatest abundance in the Smoky Mountains. In the South it grows in thickets of 'hells'. Interestingly enough, the northern forms of the Rosebay are not as vigorous as the southern forms,though some nurseries have plants which are both vigorous and compact. The Rosebay is not especially ornamental as a flowering shrub, but it is extremely hardy and makes a good background (for those with abundant land) for more interesting rhododendrons. The Rosebay blooms in July and can tolerate damper conditions than most rhododendrons." -- Jonathan A. Shaw as editor of The Rosebay, Volume 1 Number 1 February 1972
The Rosebay's Online Editors
