Repeat winners claim trophies at annual flower, vegetable show

Nellie Shybyski doesn’t remember winning the flower trophy 25 years ago but she certainly remembers doing it again just last week.
“There were tears in my eyes. I couldn’t believe it,” she said. “Tears in my eyes–it really is something.”
Shybyski, 84, was one of 22 exhibitors in the annual Fort Frances Horticultural Society Flower and Vegetable Show, which took place last Wednesday at the Robert Moore School auditorium.
She entered 54 exhibits, including a rose, gladiolus, dahlias, cosmos, and petunias. She took home 24 first prizes, 15 seconds, and 11 thirds–earning her not only the flower trophy but also the aggregate one for accumulating the most points overall.
“It was a big surprise for me. I always put in lots of entries but you don’t always get the prize for it,” said Shybyski, who has been gardening since she was in her 30s or 40s.
“It’s something for me and I love it,” she affirmed. “[The garden’s] where I spend most of the summertime.”
Meanwhile, Boris Katerick also set a record–he won the vegetable trophy for the fifth year in a row and seventh overall.
“It feels good, anyways,” reflected Katerick, who said he’s been gardening for most of his life.
“I started when I was a teenager–the potato club for Kiwanis. I was maybe 15, 16 years old,” he recalled. “I’ve been happy. You don’t make money off it.
“When you plant a garden, you just watch it grow.”
Other categories in the show included annuals, perennials, lilies, dahlias, roses, vegetables, horticultural collections (including displays like terrariums), fruits, houseplants, “children-only,” and a special entry marking the year 2000.
Another special category was “Recipes for the Year 2000,” in which exhibitors had to make a flower or vegetable-and-herb arrangement that resembled a certain food. They included strawberry parfait, marshmallow cream, lemon chiffon, fruitcake, devil’s food, and vegetable stir fry.
Astrid Sobkowicz won with her marshmallow cream.
“It was gorgeous,” enthused Viv O’Donnell, who is president of the local horticultural society. “She had two huge white lilies. It was so pretty, you’d never believe it.”
Exhibitors could enter only one plant or arrangement per section, and earned points depending on what place they took (first earned three points, second two points, and third one point).