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Rose society hosts 54th annual show
From left Oleta Dolen of Proctorville, Carolyn Mullens and her husband Richard Mullens, of Lavalette, look over the rose diplays of the annual Huntington Rose Show Sunday, Sept., 7, 2008, at the Huntington Mall in Barboursville.
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Stopping optional, it was hard not to smell the roses Sunday at Huntington Mall during the Huntington Rose Society's 54th annual Rose Show.
"We had over 270 entries this year, and each entry had between one and 10 roses from not only Huntington, but as far as Columbus as well," said Monica Rankin, the president of the Huntington Rose Society.
The competition offered more than 40 categories for anyone who grew roses in a private garden. A sweepstakes prize was given to the grower with the most blue ribbons.
Rankin won the miniature division sweepstakes, and David Ackers of Lancaster, Ohio, won the large division.
"I have 230 rose bushes," Ackers said. "I got started with roses when my mother gave me two. They didn't grow until by accident. I moved them in to better soil. Then, I went the Ohio State Fair and saw a rose competition there. Soon, I went from two rose bushes to 22 and then 222."
Bobby Nelson from Buffalo, W.Va., who was looking at the roses, said he used to grow his own on his farm.
"The display is fantastic. There are roses here I had never seen before," Nelson said.
The horticultural judges of the rose show are accredited by the American Rose Society. The volunteer judges came from Kentucky, Virginia, Maryland, Ohio and West Virginia.
The winners received trophies donated by local people and businesses, and some received certificates from the American Rose Society. Rankin said the competition is not about the awards.
"The entrants do it for the competition and to know they had the best," Rankin said.
Ackers said he came to the Huntington show for the tough competition.
"This is a good group of people, and there were a lot of great entrants," Ackers said. "Growing the roses and competing is just something that really gets in your blood."
