the dirt final - Sarah P. Duke Gardensgardens.duke.edu/sites/default/files/dirt-summer-fall12-web.pdf · THE DIRT SARAH P. DUKE GARDENS VOLUNTEER NEWSLETTER IN MEMORIAM: EDMUND ALBRECHT

THE DIRT SARAH P. DUKE GARDENS VOLUNTEER NEWSLETTER

NEWEST

VOLUNTEERS DONNA ALLISON

LEAH BLOCKOLIVIA BRUECKNER

ISAIAH BRYANTALISA BULLOCKJOYCE BUMANNCLAIRE CARNEY

KIMBERLY CHERRYJUSTIN CHING

SUZANNE CLARKJUDITH CLARKSON

PEGGY FEEPATTY FORSTER

AYUMI HAKAMATASAM HELWIG

MARY PAULETTE HENSENIRENE HWANG

MATTHEW JACOBSDEVORA JOFFEAMANDA KAYEAMBER KNIGHT

BRAXTON LLOYDJOHNATHAN MALDONADO

AKARI MATSUURAYUMIKO MURAYAMA

LOGAN MURRAY ZELMA MYERS

AUSTIN OWENS GRACE PANG

GERARDO PEREZEMME REDICK

MYSZKA REECKKATHERINE REITER-

LAVERYLESLIE RICHARDKRISTINA RIEBE

NANCY ROBERTSZACHARY SMITH

ZAYNE SMITHKYOKO SPEAR

HOWARD SYKES

TOMOMI THORBJORNSENDELORES TRAEGER

NINA TU

AUBREY WHITEBENJAMIN WRIGHT

HITOMI YOKOYAMA

BENEATH THE WISTERIA By: Chuck Hemric

A Grand Celebration! The public opening festivities of the Charlotte Brody Discovery Garden were held on September 8th and 9th. Volunteers played a major role in the

successes of this weekend. In all, 52 volunteers gave of their time and talents to welcome over 800 attendees over the two day celebration. Kavanah Anderson, Education Program Coordinator, stated “It was wonderful to see such strong support from Duke Gardens’ volunteers and the excitement of the Durham community come together for a truly grand opening weekend”.

During the weekend festivities, the Story Circle was dedicated in honor of Annie Nashold for her vision and creativity in developing the children’s education program at Sarah P. Duke Duke Gardens.

2012 has been a very productive year for the Volunteer Program. Through the publishing of this article, 70 Volunteers have enlisted in the program during the calendar year 2012. One goal this year was to strengthen the volunteer support throughout horticulture. With the expansion of the white Garden and Discovery Garden over the past two

years, it has become necessary to specifically target those areas while maintaining the strong support in other areas of the Gardens. Over the past year, volunteers have recorded over 2000 hours in the Gardens of the Doris Duke Center, which is the equivalent to 1 full time staff person. With your support, we are attaining the necessary numbers to keep all areas to the standards of maintenance that are expected at Duke Gardens.

The volunteer program received significant recognition when Mary Dawson, who was the first volunteer to enlist at Duke Gardens, was awarded the Charles A. Dukes Award for exemplary volunteer service. The Charles A. Dukes award was instituted in 1982 and named after the first director of the Duke Alumni Association, who built his reputation on his volunteer leadership. Since then, the award has been presented to nearly 300 longstanding volunteers who have served with distinction in leadership roles and gone beyond expectations to help Duke further its mission.

When asked: Why do you serve as a volunteer for Duke? Mary responded,"I enjoy beyond description working (and just being) in the Duke Gardens. The staff are without exception

great people to be with and work with." It was an honor to nominate Mary and we are filled with pride that she was selected.

Congratulations Mary!continued next page column 2

THE DIRT SUMMER - FALL 2012

THE DIRT


IN MEMORIAM:EDMUND ALBRECHT

DECEMBER 30, 1917-AUGUST 20, 2012

Ed Albrecht, the Duke Gardens Photographer since1994, passed away in August after a valiant battle with cancer. Ed and his wife Joyce moved to Durham and the Forest at Duke in 1991. Shortly thereafter, he became a Duke Gardens Volunteer. He created a comprehensive

photographic record of the Gardens used in many Gardens’ publications and slide shows, which included The Garden Guide with text by former Director William Culberson and more than ten years of photographic calendars which he guided to publication; many with his photographs exclusively. He was particularly fond of camellias and each December featured a photograph from the camellia gardens. Ed also served on the Duke Gardens Board of Advisors.After a 39-year career with Dupont Chemical Company, he devoted his retirement to his passion for photography. Previous to his position as Duke Gardens’ photographer he volunteered at the Gulf Islands Seashore as the official photographer, a position he held for 13 years.A memorial service and celebration of his life was held on October 20, 2012 at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Chapel HIll.

(Beneath the Wisteria continued from previous page)

As this year comes to a close and we reflect on the many accomplishments, I would be remiss if I did not mention those whom the program has lost. We said “So Long” to longtime volunteer, Charity Cole who is moving out of NC. We intentionally did not say good-bye as she knows there is a standing invitation to visit as often as she can. She goes with our gratitude and best wishes.

Ed Albrecht, the original volunteer photographer at Duke Gardens passed away in late summer. Please note the tribute to him later on in this issue.

The entire staff of Sarah P. Duke Gardens sends their best wishes to each of you for a fantastic holiday season! We look forward to working with each of you in the New Year.



The Gardens Japanese Tea ProgramBy: Nancy Hamilton

At the Duke Gardens teahouse, we celebrate the turning of the seasons with a number of events each month. For the first time this year, Duke Gardens invited the community to a fall Asian Festival which featured free drop-in performances and participatory experiences for families. These ran the gamut from origami, haiku, and story-telling to dance, drumming and martial arts! At the teahouse, we hosted a large open-air tea gathering for 30 guests, including a tearoom full of children. This event was followed by open-house style tea seatings during which over 70 guests enjoyed a moment of

autumn respite in the teahouse on a beautiful day.

Our annual moon-viewing tea was well-attended. This much-anticipated event follows a centuries-old custom of reveling in the mystery of the full moon by enjoying poetry over tea. The moon’s disappearance behind clouds on a suddenly rainy night seemed to add only more inspiration to the evening, as our guests shared from the heart their moon-inspired poetry to the sound of rain spilling over the eaves. We continued our series of monthly tea events with our Autumn Grasses Tea on October 20 and our Dancing Leaves tea on November 2. This year, we were pleased to host a visiting class from Durham Technical Community College studying world religions. We also received a lovely visit from 22 high school students from Greensboro studying Japanese art. It’s a true joy to bring the studies of art, literature, philosophy, and history alive for our many young visitors through the experience in the teahouse. We were especially pleased this year to receive a visit by our very own Duke Gardens children's docents who do so much to enrich the lives of our young visitors to the Gardens.


Docent Training 2013

Mark your calendar and plan to participate in Docent Training 2013 at Sarah P. Duke Gardens. The focus for this recruitment and training will be specific to the Children’s Education Programming.

Become a Children’s Docent at Duke Gardens and:!

-Learn the history of Duke Gardens-Learn about plants and wildlife in the Gardens-Learn to lead inquiry-based, outdoor education programs-Spend time sharing the beautiful outdoors with children

Sarah P. Duke Gardens has partnered with Durham Public Schools and the Nasher Museum of Art to provide the opportunity for every 2nd Grade Student to visit in the Spring. year’s training will focus on a new 2nd grade program about insect life cycles.Did you know butterflies taste with their feet?Did you know dragonflies live most of their life under water?Did you know worker bees are all female?

Dates of Training: There are two sessions. You only need to attend one complete session.

Session IFebruary 5th; 9:00 – 3:00 (lunch provided)February 7th; 9:00 – 12:00

Session IIFebruary 11th; 9:00 – 3:00 (lunch provided)February 13th; 9:00 – 12:00Interested persons can contact Chuck Hemric; [email protected] 919-668-1705 or Kavanah Anderson; [email protected] 919-668-1708

Please spread the word about this training to your friends and neighbors and help us recruit new docent trainees. This is an exciting time to get on board with Children’s Education.

mailto:[email protected]





What do slime, fern spores, honey, fossils, and folk tales have in common? These are all things children learned about over the summer and fall at Duke Gardens!

Over the summer more than 100 children participated in camps. They watched dragonflies and ducklings hatch, saw plants that have been around since dinosaurs walked the earth, baked cookies using the power of the sun, and explored nearly every inch of the Gardens. This fall, visiting schools and family classes have covered topics from flower anatomy to butterfly life cycles. Nature for Sprouts, an early childhood outdoor exploration class, focused on a different garden creature each week. They built spider webs, dug for earthworms and learned how dragonflies fly.

Several new children’s classes have been added since the grand

opening of the Charlotte Brody Discovery Garden in September. One of the new programs, Nature for Seedlings, is a 6-week introduction to vegetable gardening for 5 and 6 year-olds. This class will be offered every fall and spring. During the class this fall, the young participants planted seeds, pulled weeds, used

the cisterns to water their plants, looked at different root systems, saw pollinators and decomposers, and got to eat a

salad they had grown on their last day of class.

At Family Fun Days, children of all ages made craft stick catapults, experimented with color chromatography and visited the microscope station for an up-close look at objects from nature.

All of the children’s programs at Duke Gardens share the goal of encouraging children to spend time outside playing, exploring and learning. As Rachel Carson wisely wrote, “Those who dwell, as scientists or laymen, among the beauties and mysteries of the earth, are never alone or weary of life.”

Children’s programs are gearing up for a busy spring. School programs will be expanding to include a visit from every 2nd grader in Durham Public Schools! It’s a great time to become a

children’s docent!

Summer and Fall Children’s Programs



Volunteer Celebration Up On The Hill

BY: JERRY SHEEHY, EDITOR

The annual Volunteer Recognition Celebration was held October 18, 2012 at 4:00 p.m. at the Charlotte Brody Discovery Garden, “up on the hill” under threatening skies. When guests arrived, some by trolley, others by foot, they discovered a picnic set-up on the outdoor tables with delicious food and drinks. The

celebration included friends of all ages; volunteers with the Sarah P. Duke Gardens for many years. Friendly conversations prevailed. The festivities began with Chuck Hemric, our friend and leader introducing the Gardens Executive Director, Bill LeFevre. He welcomed everyone, citing the growth of the Volunteer Program, while giving high praise to the many volunteers who have been involved since the program began over 20 years ago. As the other staff members began to express their appreciation, the threat of rain became a reality and the festivities moved indoors. Safe from the elements, Chuck Hemric began the Awards presentation.

Somehow, I missed swinging from the loft of the barn, didn’t get to visit chickens, and even did not get to see the inside of the Barn due to the rain! Oh, well another day will come! I did, however, see the raised beds for planting vegetables that the Children enjoyed. A good time prevailed for all!! Congratulations on another year of service to all Volunteers.

10 years 15 years 20 years

Larry Daniel Suzanne Powers Barbara Kremen

Lu Howard Cheryl Prather

Jerry Sheehy MaryAnn Ruegg

Wendy Smith

Ann Stock

Take Thyme for Yourself Award

Volunteers who logged the most hours

Barbara Branson Nan Len

Sueyoshi Chizuko Donna Owens

Mary Dawson Cheryl Prather

Cynthia Eckroth Jeff Prather

Judith Fortson Cheryl Sanford

Diana Spock

THE DIRT SUMMER - -FALL 2012

Margie Watkins Volunteer Spirit Award

Award

Cavett French

Charles Dukes Award

Mary Dawson

GehmanAward

Karen Webbink



The following is a timeline of Louis’s life.

1869 – August 2. Louis is born in Brooklyn to Hamilton W. and Caroline Hoopes Shipman. He had an older brother David Hamilton Shipman (born about 1862).

1893 – October (age 24). Marries Ellen McGowan Biddle.

1894 – August 7 (age 25). Daughter Ellen is born.

1896-1904 (ages 27-35). Writes and has produced several plays including his most noted, “D’Arcy of the Guards” (1899).

1904 – October 28 (age 35). Son Evan is born.

1907 – February 28 (age 38). Daughter Mary is born.

1910 – January-February (age 41). Goes to London to discuss plans to produce “D’Arcy of the Guards” at the St. James Theatre (opened September 27th and was played forty-eight times. It was not a hit).

continued next page

This is(a bit more of)

your life, Ellen Biddle Shipman

By Nan Len

The last time I wrote about Ellen Biddle Shipman, designer of the Terraces, I had recounted her life until 1909. Ellen was forty years old with three children and a late-eighteenth century homestead called Brook Place that she was remodeling to suit her tastes. She and her husband Louis lived in a beautiful part of New Hampshire and were established members of a community of creative and talented people in the town of Cornish.

This brings us to 1910. In Judith Tankard’s book “The gardens of Ellen Biddle Shipman”, she writes “In 1910 or thereabouts, Ellen Shipman decided to become a professional landscape architect. Her precise motivations are not recorded, but Louis’s departure for London that year left the family without visible means of support” (pg. 27). As I have read about Ellen and her family, I’ve developed a fondness for Louis, and I bristle a bit at Tankard’s implication, perhaps unintentional, that Louis abandoned Ellen and their young children.

My aim in this article is to rehabilitate Louis’s reputation. I am basing my case on public documents and have no insights into the dynamics of their marriage. My opinion (and I may be something of a romantic on this) is that they started to drift apart as they followed their talents in different directions in order to make a living. They each had high expectations for their children which meant private schools and Harvard for Evan. Louis spent more time in New York City as a writer and, as her reputation grew, Ellen travelled throughout the country working on projects. They divorced in 1927.

Evan’s father Louis Shipman in front of his home at Boury-en-Vexin (photograph from Shipman Family Archive, found on the web page for the book Grace under pressure: the life of Evan Shipman by Sean O’Rourke. www.evanshipman.com).

http://www.evanshipman.com

http://www.evanshipman.com



continued from previous page

1920 – January 17 (age 50). The census shows Louis, Ellen, Evan, and Mary living in Beekman Place in New York City. Also living with them is Louis Hoopes, age 87, Louis’s maternal uncle. In the 1910 census, it appears that Louis’s mother Caroline had moved in with her brother after her husband died. By 1920, Caroline presumably had died and the uncle moved in with his nephew. When Hoopes died, he left Louis a trust fund.

1922-1924 (ages 53-55). Louis is editor of “Life”, a humor magazine (1883-1936). The magazine was purchased in 1936 by Henry Luce so that he could take the name and turn it into a photojournalism magazine.

1924 – November (age 55). Louis has moved to France to write.

1927 (age 58). Ellen and Louis are divorced.

1928 – September (age 59). Louis marries actress Lucile Watson (age 49) in Paris.

1933 – August 2 (age 64). Died in Bourg-en-Vexin (France) of complications after surgery to treat cancer. His ashes are buried in Mount Hope Cemetery, Hastings-on-Hudson, New York.

Photograph of daughter Ellen with husband Montgomery B. Angell (from: freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~stevestevens/all/26684.htm)

The Terrace Garden ShopBy Leola Smith and Donna Owens

Remember “Grumpy” from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs? Well, you won’t find him in the Terrace Garden Shop!!! We try to greet all our customers with a smile and welcome as you enter our shop. Many of our patrons stop by just to cool off from their stroll through the gardens only to find that there are so many goodies in our shop they just have to buy something. If you are a regular in our shop (as many of you are), you know that our goodies move all about the shop from shelf to shelf and new items are added regularly. We are like a caterpillar – changing all the time!

We would like to say a special thank you to all our volunteers who help staff our spring and fall plant sales. You are here in rain (as the Fall Plant sale) and the sunshine. Your loyalty and commitment makes our plant sales so successful. Thank you for your dedication. And, we do not want to forget all of our Terrace Shop volunteers who are so dedicated to making the Gift Shop a cheery and warm place for our patrons.

The frogs, plants, spring bulbs, pots, fountains, bird baths, and all the other goodies are just waiting for you to add to your gardens for the spring. Mark your calendars now to come in and browse around. Oh and don’t forget – AND BUY!!!!

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~stevestevens/all/26684.htm





This year’s fall plant sale took place on Saturday September 29th and for the 2nd year was held on the tent lawn behind the Doris Duke Center. This location seems to be working out very well for this event, since it’s a smaller version of the spring plant sale. Once again, the sale was supported wonderfully by a strong volunteer effort both in the setup, sales, and breakdown, unfortunately the weather did not support us much that day. A forecast of intermittent showers turned into a morning of heavy downpours and washed away our hopes for a big day of plant sales. Never-the-less a hardy group of customers donned raincoats and boots and at the end of the day sales exceeded $8,000; which was much more than anticipated in that kind of weather. Real gardeners certainly are not afraid of a little nor a lot of rain and know that wet weather is the perfect time to get new plants in the ground. Maybe we should hope for rain every sale? Probably not, but despite the rain, we all enjoyed ourselves and made the best of what Mother Nature provides, which is what we do every day as gardeners.

Fall Plant Sale

By: Bobby Mottern

Charlotte Newby


GARDEN GUILD SALES HIT NEW HIGH

For more than 13 years, the Garden Guild Volunteers have been crafting success for the benefit of the Gardens. This year was the most successful year ever with sales of $5,500. Saturday, November 10th found the Doris Duke Center festively decorated for the holiday-themed sale. Especially popular were the ‘little cat” ornaments made from gourds and the iconic tobacco stick angels and Santas. We are

always recruiting new members, so if you would like to join us for creative play/fun for a good volunteer experience contact Chuck for more information. See you again at next year's sale (2nd Saturday in November) and if by chance you missed the day check out the Terrace Shop as they are continue to sell our unique botanically themed items. You will be glad you did.

The DirtSarah P. Duke Gardens Volunteer Program NewsletterSarah P. Duke Gardens 420 Anderson StreetBox 90341Duke UniversityDurham, NC 27708-0341

CALENDAR:Upcoming events

2012

November 26-30 – Holiday decorating of the Kirby Horton Hall

December 13th 2:00 – 4:00 Volunteer Holiday Party, Kirby Horton Hall

2013

February 5th and 7th – Docent Training (see notice for details)

February 11th and 13th – Docent Training (see notice on Page 2 for details)


MORE ON MY LOVE AFFAIR By JERRY SHEEHY, EDITOR

Do you remember my article about my love affair with Boston Ferns in a previous issue of The Dirt? I have had many people asking if the relationship is still ongoing. Indeed, it is! Again, this year I have 16 ferns living quite happily under

the big trees in my yard. If you remember, each year I visit the flower shops in late Spring to purchase their Boston Ferns that have been reduced in price and left in the sun. I buy, water them heavily,and sit them under my big,

shady, crape myrtle trees. You can almost hear them breathe a sigh of relief — home again! At this time the Ferns are stately with long and beautiful fronds of green ready now to go to their Winter homes. I keep some for my sunroom, disperse the others to friends who vie for them, and we wait inside for Spring to start the cycle again.

I must, however, admit to being “fickle.” I have been casting my eyes upon the Rex Begonia family. (Reminiscent of a very handsome suitor I had in my teen years named Rex!) I plan to enlarge my collection of begonias this Winter. I have finally learned to water begonias sparsely and then leave them alone. In other words—Admire from Afar!

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Documents

the dirt final - Sarah P. Duke Gardensgardens.duke.edu/sites/default/files/dirt-summer-fall12-web.pdf · THE DIRT SARAH P. DUKE GARDENS VOLUNTEER NEWSLETTER IN MEMORIAM: EDMUND ALBRECHT