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Linda Holder

History of the Jackson County Master Gardener Association

By Beet 2024 12 December

In 1862, the Morrill Act, which was signed by President Abraham Lincoln, created a nationwide system of land-grant colleges and universities to provide education in agriculture. The purpose of these institutions was to provide access to a liberal, practical higher education for people who could not otherwise afford to attend the private colleges of the time (i.e., the working or industrial classes). The land-grant focus was defined in statute, “…to teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and the mechanical arts.”

In 1868, Oregon State University, formerly Oregon Agricultural College, was established as the designated land-grant college in Oregon. In 1914, the Smith-Lever Act established the Cooperative Extension Service in order to distribute objective, scientific-based information developed by land-grant colleges and research stations to citizens.

In January of 1979, Donald W. Berry, Area Extension Agent, and Peter Giffen, Home Horticulturist, offered area garden clubs and other experienced gardeners in the Jackson County area the opportunity to receive 60 hours of training over a 10-week period. No fees would be charged, but students agreed to volunteer 60 hours of service time to the community in the new Master Gardener program. Volunteers would then become leaders in horticultural community service and/or garden educational programs.

Peter Giffen was quoted as saying, “This training program has been developed in response to the recent overwhelming interest in home gardening by the public and the resulting flood of questions received each gardening season by the Extension office. A single horticulturist cannot handle all these requests – over 8,000 calls last year alone.” Although the program had been successful in the Eugene area for two years and had been instituted in 18 other states, this was the first time it had been offered in Southern Oregon.

Over 30 community members took that first class in 1979 and were certified as OSU Master Gardeners. A new group of gardeners has been trained every year since then, except during the Covid pandemic of 2021. Today the non-profit Jackson County Master Gardener Association has a membership of nearly 300 volunteers providing unbiased, research-based information on sustainable gardening to their communities through educational outreach programs.

Interested in joining us? Please see our website for information about all our programs (you don’t need to be a Master Gardener) and how to become a Master Gardener.

 

How Did the Jackson County Master Gardener Association Get Created?

By Beet 2024 04 April

 

The Jackson County Master Gardener Association is one of many programs in all 50 US states, the District of Columbia, several Canadian Provinces and South Korea. How did this program come into being?

In 1862 the Morrill Act, signed by President Abraham Lincoln, created a nationwide system of Land Grant Colleges and Universities to provide education in agriculture. These institutions provided access to liberal, practical higher education for people who could not otherwise afford to attend the private colleges of the time (i.e., the working or industrial classes). The Land Grant focus was defined in statute, “…to teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and the mechanical arts.”

In 1868 Oregon State University, formerly Oregon Agricultural College (OAC), was established as the designated Land Grant College in Oregon. In 1914 the Smith-Lever Act established the Cooperative Extension Service to distribute objective, scientific-based information developed by land grant colleges and research stations to citizens.

In 1973, Dr. David Gibby of Washington State University created the first Master Gardener Program to meet the high demand for gardening advice, particularly for the urban setting. The program began training volunteer gardeners in King and Pierce Counties in Washington state and the concept quickly spread.

In January 1979, Donald W. Berry, Area Extension Agent and Peter Giffen, Home Horticulturist, offered area garden clubs and other experienced gardeners in Jackson County the opportunity to receive 60 hours of training over a 10-week period at no charge with an agreement to volunteer 60 hours of service time to the community in the new Master Gardener program. The volunteers would then become leaders in horticultural community service and/or garden educational programs.

Peter Giffen was quoted as saying, “This training program has been developed in response to the recent overwhelming interest in home gardening by the public and the resulting flood of questions received each gardening season by the Extension office. A single horticulturist cannot handle all these requests – over 8,000 calls last year alone.” Although the program had been successful in the Eugene area for two years and had been instituted in eighteen other states, this was the first time it had been offered in Southern Oregon.

Over thirty community members took that first class in 1979 to achieve certification as OSU Master Gardeners. A new group of gardeners has been trained every year since, except during the Covid pandemic of 2021. Today the non-profit Jackson County Master Gardener Association has a membership of nearly 300 volunteers who provide unbiased, research-based information on sustainable gardening to their communities through educational outreach programs.

Interested in joining us? Please see our website for information about all our programs (you don’t need to be a Master Gardener) and how to become a Master Gardener.

Garden for Life!

 

 

References

Jackson County Master Gardener Association, About Us

Wikipedia, “Master Gardener Program”

Extension Master Gardener Program (national)

 

Jackson County Master Gardeners Archivist Open Position For 2025

By Beet 2024 03 March

Now you can become a part of the permanent history of the Jackson County Master Gardener Association!  

 

Our archival collection of records, photographs, scrapbooks, newsletters, and much more dates to our beginning in 1979. The role of archivist is to curate this important collection by directing researchers to needed information. By selecting and storing new information of day-to-day activities, the archivist also captures the ongoing work that is accomplished by our wonderful gardening members.  

 

The archivist-elect position is open next year, working first with our current archivist, Pam Hillers, then moving into the archivist position in 2025.  

 

For additional information, please contact either: 

  • Pam Hillers, archivist at pamhillers@hotmail.com  
  • Linda Holder, previous archivist at lholder@charter.net.   

 

We’d love to talk to you! 

 

Claire Hanley Arboretum

By Beet 2024 01 January

This article originally appeared in the Garden Beet, March, 1998. Knowing that major changes are now in the works for the beautiful Claire Hanley Arboretum, we thought you might enjoy learning some of the history of that area. Today, when you see the pink ribbons in the Arboretum, think about the meaningful beginning of those beautiful trees.

In the mid-1950’s, a group of farmers* approached the Jackson County Court with a request for a new site for the Southern Oregon Research Center. Prior to this, research grounds were at two locations; 47 acres on Colver Road, and a smaller site on Highway 99 where the Jackson County Animal Shelter now stands. These sites were eventually relinquished, to be used by other county services. This request came in happy synchronism with the Hanley sisters’ (Martha, Claire, and Mary) decision to sell a portion of their land, with the intention that it be used for agricultural research. The County Court said “Yes” to the farmers, the Hanley sisters said “Yes” to the Court, and the sale of 81.2 acres, for a cost of $50,000, was finalized in the fall of 1957.

Leveling the terrain in preparation for horticultural trial grounds began in the spring of 1958, and a full slate of research orchards, vegetable and field crops were planted in the wake of the bulldozer wheels. The official move to the new site occurred in the fall of 1958. The original structures were the Research Station, the student residence, and one greenhouse, all still standing.

Claire Hanley was the most avid of the gardening Hanley sisters, and, although she was the first of the sisters to die, she did live long enough to see her dream of an Arboretum become reality. In 1958 she was President of the Southwestern Oregon Organization of Garden Clubs, and it was at her urging that the Arboretum was created. Funding for the project was provided by the Garden Club Organization, and many of the trees donated were planted as memorials, of family or friends, by members of that organization.

The actual labor of planning the landscaping and planting the trees however was done by John McLoughlin. John was then the Ornamental Horticultural Agent for the Extension Service. The trees were acquired and planted in 1961 and 1962.

Some shrubs and trees have been added to the original Arboretum landscape. Many of these are living memorials of loved ones. Some were planted because of their rarity or singular beauty, a few in hands-on learning experiences for Master Gardeners.

*   Special thanks to John Yungen, Professor Emeritus of the OSU Research Center, and Maureen Smith, from the Jackson County Historical Society, for providing this information.

Claudia Law MG96

Editor’s note: In 2023 dollars, $50,000 in 1957 is now worth about $520,000.

 

Jackson County Master Gardeners Archivist Open Position

By Beet 2023 11 November

Now you can become a part of the permanent history of the Jackson County Master Gardener Association!

Our archival collection of records, photographs, scrapbooks, newsletters, and much more dates to our beginning in 1979. The role of archivist is to curate this important collection by directing researchers to needed information. By selecting and storing new information of day-to-day activities, the archivist also captures the ongoing work that is accomplished by our wonderful gardening members.

The archivist-elect position is open next year, working first with our current archivist, Pam Hillers, then moving into the archivist position in 2025.

For additional information, please contact either:

  • Pam Hillers, archivist at pamhillers@hotmail.com
  • Linda Holder, previous archivist at lholder@charter.net.

We’d love to talk to you!