As one of the relatively few American companies that has been in existance for more than a century, Park Seed holds great interest for historians. I've talked here several times about the amateur historian in Ohio who is documenting great stories from Wayside Gardens, back in its original home of Mentor, Ohio. Well, today, I get to introduce you to another historian. In this case, a professional historian--Yale University graduate student Helen Anne Curry. She is a serious scholar, working on her doctoral dissertation. She is also a delightful young woman who loves gardening, running, and her family. We first met via email:
Dear Park Seed:
I'm a historian writing a dissertation on techniques used to produce new varieties of flowers and crops between 1930-1960 in the United States. Some of the scientists and horticulturalists that I'm writing about were enthusiastic about the use of radium, x-rays, chemicals, nuclear radiation, cosmic radiation, etc., in the production of new varieties, and I have a lot of materials on this.I'd really like to find an American seed company that was also using some of these techniques, and to do some archival research into what techniques were used, when they were used, and how successful they were. I know that Park Seed has been involved in the "Seeds in Space" program for some time (an example of the idea of cosmic radiation being used to hopefully produce beneficial changes in plants). When I contacted you earlier, it was in the hope of learning what other methods the company used in the 30s - 60s. Is this information that you have available? Do you think that the corporate archive would contain information on this subject?
Helen Anne Curry
As it turns out, Park Seed really didn't do very much plant hybridization during that time period. And Seeds in Space wasn't really about intentionally using cosmic radiation to mutate plants. Happily, in exchanging emails about all this, Helen confided that her interests extend beyond the narrow confines of the dissertation:
I am interested in the history of 20th century gardening in general -- it is how I came around to my current project on plant development. In addition to my dissertation, I'm writing a paper now on the intersection of modern science and amateur gardening; this is why I'm interested in the Seeds in Space program despite the fact that it doesn't fit into the same period as my dissertation. And I've in general been disappointed in much of the literature on the history of gardening in America in the 20th century. So to be able to look at the records of a company (and I have been to Burpee and am heading to Ferry-Morse) and things like the Park's Floral Magazine is helpful in getting a sense of what seed companies were doing and what consumers were looking for.
Aha! Now those are some topics the Park Seed Corporate Archive and I can definitely help with! WIth a clear conscience, I told Helen to come on down to Greenwood and use our resources. She did just that, and we had a grand time having her here! I introduced her to Dr. Jim Alson, our Seeds in Space champion, and gave her free rein to burrow around in our Library and archives.
When she departed, Helen assured me that she had found her time with us to be useful. And she's going to keep us posted as her research and her career unfold. I'm expecting great things from soon-to-be-Doctor Curry! Just imagine how proud we'll all be if someday a publication by a Yale scholar mentions lil' ol' us!
The Park Seed Corporate Archive is open to professional scholars and amatuer historians alike. Contact me at ckuhl@parkseed.com if your research might benefit from the materials we have available.
