MEMORIES OF VALLEY TOLE
as told by Rosalie Fraley

 Valley Tole's Beginnings was in May of 1979, the first meeting was held at Sobey School on the northwest side of Flint.
It wasn't until the second meeting at Sobey
School that the chapter name was decided.
VALLEY TOLE and DECORATIVE PAINTERS OF MICHIGAN
An election of officers was held:
President:  Pat Petro
Vice President:  Pam Walmsley
Secretary:  Tammy McGregor
Treasurer:  Barb Dorman
Editor:  Shelly Hershberger
Meetings and paint-ins were held in people's homes.  Sometimes the paint-ins had to be cancelled because they couldn't be filled. "I for one didn't go to many, because I was a new painter and lacked confidence."
Sometimes the paint-ins had two teachers, one taught in the morning and the other in the afternoon.
It wasn't until March, 1980 that the emblem was designed.  It was designed and painted by Irene Kramer.  Irene also found the legend of the Lily of the Valley.

The Lily of the Valley Legend
The dainty lily of the valley is a fragrant herald of spring, thanks to the fairies and the gnomes.  On the eve of May Day, the fairies were preparing for a grand party and they recruited the gnomes to gather nectar for refreshments.  But gnomes are notoriously unreliable.  They had collected only a few drops before they tired of the task and decided to dance in the bright moonlight for awhile.  So they hung their buckets on blades of grass and soon forgot about them completely.
Hours passed in merrymaking and before the gnomes knew it dawn was breaking and the fairies were assembling for the party. The gnomes suddenly remembered their undone chores and hastened to retrieve their buckets.  Alas, the bails on the pails had grown fast to the blades of grass!
Luckily for the naughty gnomes, the queen of the fairies merely laughed and with a wave of her magic wand changed the porcelain pails into pearly white bells tolling merrily in the breeze!
If you doubt this is how the lily of the valley began, look into one of its bells.  You will find there the drop of nectar gathered by a gnome before he hung up his pail to join the moonlight dance on the eve of May Day.

For more information on the Society of Decorative Painters, contact SDP at www.decorativepainters.org

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