By Susan Thompson | Lake Panorama Times
With each new year, volunteers at the Lake Panorama National and Panorama West golf courses plant, weed and water throughout the golf season to provide additional beauty to the fairways, greens and tees.
At Panorama West, there are raised brick planters on each tee box. Volunteers for 2024 are Virgil and Barb Hoehne, first hole; Bill and Karen Eby, second hole; Lyle and Paula Hansen, third hole; Chan Rivera, fourth hole; Trent and Sheryl Crawmer, fifth hole; Dick Ellis, sixth hole; John and Sue Crawmer, seventh hole; Jim and Emily Spradling, eighth hole; and Jay and Sue Merryman, ninth hole.
Each spring, the Panora Garden Club does a general cleanup around the clubhouse. Virgil Hoehne manages the bluebird houses on the course. Another volunteer at Panorama West is Steve Brannan, who creates the wooden plaques given to golfers who have a hole-in-one on the course.
Those interested in helping in 2025 can contact Maureen Lubeck, Panorama West clubhouse manager, at mlubeck@lakepanorama.org, or call the pro shop at 641-755-2250.
At Lake Panorama National, volunteers Shanell Wagler and Bill Winkleblack removed much of the overgrown vegetation surrounding Spikes and incorporated perennials and mulch. In 2023, they planted three trees, one south of Spikes, one north of the scoreboard, and a third between the putting green and the first hole. Clean up in this area continues.
More volunteers are involved in planting and maintaining other areas around the LPN course and near the event center.
This spring, Wagler coordinated a group of volunteers to do a general clean up near the first tee. Volunteers included Danielle Navarro, Dawn Anderson, Doug and Dee Eckley, Bill Winkleblack, Sherri Miller and Sue Greiner.
Tricia Steffen handles the area on the back tees on the second hole. Doug and Dee Eckley manage the tee box on the third hole.
Sherri Miller keeps annual and perennial flowers growing on both tee boxes on the fourth hole. Bill Winkleblack manages the flower bed that runs along the rail fence behind the back tees on the fifth hole. Dave and Nancy Clawson manage perennial plantings along the pond on the fifth hole. Darwin and Janet Luing care for the forward tees on the fifth hole, plus the back tee box on the seventh hole.
The Kluster Klub has taken on the forward tee box on the sixth hole. Kathy Moline handles the front tee box on the seventh hole. Chris Duree tends the ninth tee box. He also has pots of pink petunias at Spikes and the east side of the event center.
Moving to the back nine, Ann Appleseth is managing the forward tee box on the 10th hole. Shanell Wagler has both tee boxes on the 11th hole, and Kim Kent has tee boxes on the 12th hole. Barb Wollner plants flowers behind the forward tee on the 13th hole. Jolene Wright adopted the 14th hole in 2022. Rod and Pam Robson adopted the back tee on the 15th hole, and Carla Fitzgerald has the forward tee on that hole. Matt and Marilyn Schultes have the 16th tee, and Dee Tometich and Deb McDermott manage the tees on the 17th hole.
Near the east entrance to the LPN event center, volunteer Sue Merryman and Chris Cox, LPN maintenance, continue to manage the area where two new trees and several perennials were planted in 2023.
Merryman also tends to the landscaped area next to the building and the Irv Gerlich Memorial area north of the building. Mare and Rick Langel manage the area under the LPN sign on the east side, plus two landscaped areas on the west side of the building near the pro shop.
Bill Winkleblack cares for landscaped beds around the swimming pool, and Shanell Wagler cares for areas along the sidewalk to the pro shop.
Anyone interested in helping with landscaping at Lake Panorama National can contact Wagler at Shanell.wagler@gmail.com.
Shanell Wagler manages the landscape beds near both tee boxes on the 11th hole at Lake Panorama National. This bed adjacent to the forward tee box includes both perennials and annuals.
This cardinal and gold flower bed on the ninth tee box at Panorama West was planted and is being maintained by Iowa State University supporters Sue and Jay Merryman.
John and Sue Crawmer planted and maintain this flower bed on the seventh tee box at Panorama West.
This raised flower bed on the fifth tee box at Panorama West features both garden art and colorful annuals and is maintained by Trent and Sheryl Crawmer.
Chris Duree planted and maintains these three pots of marigolds leading up to the ninth tee box at Lake Panorama National. Duree also has pots of pink petunias both at Spikes and the east side of the event center.
Jolene Wright adopted the 14th hole at Lake Panorama National two years ago. She has perennials growing in several areas, plus pots filled with annual flowers for extra color.