Calendar stance out of date

Oh, for peat's sake.

The muckety-mucks at Washington State University are refusing to promote the Kitsap County Master Gardener Foundation's new fund-raising calendar because it features people — including KING-TV's Ciscoe Morris — naked. The "Gardening Au Naturel" calendar features tasteful shots of 25 of the county's 250 master gardeners, done by photographer Winifred Whitfield of Poulsbo. The models range in age from 35 to 85.

It's so nice that Barnes & Noble featured the calendar as its "Star of Washington" product for the month of August.

"Very artistic, high-quality paper and printing," explained foundation spokeswoman Heidi Hottiger. "No shortcuts."

Well, there are certainly cuts, and in the right places. Ciscoe — who will forever be my "Mr. November" — is shown standing behind a desk, holding a pointer.

And while the women featured in "Waiting for the Plant Sale" are wearing clear ponchos, you can't see a thing.

Hottiger said that as far as nudity goes, it doesn't even compare to firefighters' fund-raising calendars.

Hottiger did her research before the gardening gloves came off. The Peninsula Friends of Animals on the Olympic Peninsula did a nude calendar; as did the Seattle-based Dames of Democracy, a political-action group.

The gardeners' 5,500 "Gardening Au Naturel" calendars will raise money for area horticulture education, community gardens, youth and elder programs, and printed materials for the public. They'll even pay for the gardens at the veterans cemetery and home.

And if they all sell, the $12.95 calendars (available at www.kitsapgardens.org) could raise some $25,000 beyond what they cost to make — that's three times what the annual plant sale usually makes.

That's great, says Linda Fox, director and dean of the Washington State University Extension Administration, which benefits from the foundation's efforts. She wishes it well and is grateful for its support.

But WSU doesn't want to be associated with the calendar, so it will not be displayed at WSU's extension offices or at the horticulture program's display at the Kitsap County Fair.

It's not a matter of not promoting it or allowing it, Fox told me: "People just should not confuse the calendar as a WSU product," she said. "We would rather distribute educational bulletins.

"WSU has an educational mission and when we produce calendars, it is about our programs."

Fox needs to know that our state's hallowed halls of higher education are not averse to what can be gained from those who indulge in fleshy pursuits.

Earlier this year, Eastern Washington University hosted porn star Ron "Hedgehog" Jeremy, who spoke to students about freedom of speech and the porn industry.

In this case, though, Hottiger found her inspiration from another kind of film: "Calendar Girls," in which a group of women posed nude to raise money for a hospital.

"They suffered from bad publicity, too," Hottiger said.

But they, too, dug in their heels and raked in the cash.

Nicole Brodeur's column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Reach her at 206-464-2334 or nbrodeur@seattletimes.com.

Green thumb? She's all thumbs.