The Stickerville

Tree Project

2023-24

Note to campers: Please keep tent stakes at least four feet from these new trees and the from three Catalpas now having irrigation. Each tree is surrounded by a roughly three-foot diameter drip line, buried a few inches down. We want to avoid punctures!

Weiser Friends of the Fiddle, a non-profit educational charity, promotes music, music education, and the fellowship and learning that takes place in jam sessions. WFOF owns and manages this 3.5-acre camping site, affectionately known as “Stickerville.” Most of the jamming occurs here in June, during the time of Weiser’s Old Time Fiddle Festival and Contest. Indeed, WFOF was formed in part to promote and encourage participation in this signature Weiser event.

Over the decades, Stickerville has attracted many loyal musicians who camp here each June for a week or more to enjoy the Fiddle Contest and to play music together. They come from all over the country, bringing an astonishing level of musical talent and commitment to swing, western swing,  vintage jazz, blues, country, bluegrass, Gypsy jazz, Hawaiian, Irish, and, of course, the old time fiddle music that has made Weiser famous. Each summer, WFOF stages workshops on a wide variety of topics, styles and instrumentation.

As a camping area, Stickerville has been short on shade for these activities, so in 2023 the WFOF Board of Directors voted to raise funds to plant trees and install a drip irrigation system. Right away the idea arose that we should dedicate some trees especially for the musicians and other Stickerville supporters who have passed away. These ideas ignited an outpouring of support, and now volunteers have finished a three-phase project in which they installed some 600 feet of irrigation line and planted twenty-two trees: sixteen small, but fast-growing, Hybrid Poplars (aka Cottonless Cottonwoods) and six larger trees, all served by the drip system. The project also extended drip irrigation to three existing Catalpas.

The six larger trees are Sun Valley Red Maple, Honey Locust, a Box Elder variant (which was discovered on an abandoned Idaho homestead), Kwanzan Cherry, Catalpa, and Tulip Tree. These six were designated “Memorial Trees” in honor of Zeke Little, Phil and Vivian Williams, Brad Pinkerton, Nancy Thorwardson, Gene Gimble, and Whale Szepanowski. This initial effort may lead to additional memorial trees and enlargement of the irrigation system.

The WFOF Board has not yet decided what type of marker or plaque should be used to honor these departed friends. One marker on each tree, a single marker with all names included, or something else? We encourage suggestions, and hope to have a plan for naming the honorees by the end of summer 2024. 

Donations to this effort are welcome. Donation form below.

Donate to the Tree Project

NOTE:  We use the Company Zeffy for donations and payment processing. Zeffy does not charge Weiser Friends of the Fiddle a fee for using their service, so 100% of your payment will go directly to Stickerville. A voluntary contribution to Zeffy will be suggested before the payment step of this transaction. This contribution is NOT a requirement to continue with your payment, though the contribution allows Zeffy to continue providing this service free of charge to non-profits.

Unlike other donation platforms, Zeffy does not charge transaction fees, so your entire donation goes directly to Weiser Friends of the Fiddle. However, the platform does give you the option to add a tip to help Zeffy keep running its services. If you do not wish to add a tip, in the confirmation message, just choose ‘Other’ in the drop-down menu and then enter $0.