Celebrating our 20th year!

A Brief History of Prairie State  Bonsai Society

 The Society is an educational, non-profit organization with roots going back to the Triton
College Bonsai Club.  Triton College in River Grove, Il. , with its extensive horticultural department, is where Harold Lenz, one of the true pioneers of bonsai in the Chicago area, began classes in the little known art of bonsai.  The club was organized in 1975 as an extension of those classes.  College politics and a lack of cooperation caused a steady decline in membership. 

A new meeting place was needed.   Upon seeing the facilities at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Il. during a bonsai demonstration by Ivan Watters, it was decided that the Arboretum was a natural place for a bonsai society.  An exploratory meeting was held in February 1983 with 19 individuals in attendance.  The group decided to organize formally, selected a steering committee, and began regularly scheduled meetings.  The Morton Arboretum Bonsai Society had a total of 21 charter members when it first adopted by-laws in May 1983.  Membership grew to 150 by 1990.    

The Society began to outgrow the Arboretum's facilities and, in 1993, it became evident that the group must again seek a new home.  One of the many alternative sites was the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Il..  The College was contacted and meeting space was reserved.  1993 saw the dissolving of the Morton Arboretum Bonsai Society and the birth of the Prairie State Bonsai Society.

Several charter members of PSBS were members of the Triton club, carrying on an unbroken legacy of bonsai interest, appreciation, and knowledge going back to the "grand old gentleman of bonsai"... Harold Lenz.

The two previous clubs are symbolized in our club logo as the first two branches of the cascade tree.