In my volunteer work at the Morton Arboretum, I am methodically going through my grandfather's scanned papers (mainly correspondence) from his career there. Some of the letters lean monotonous—reams of plant orders and seed requests that are interesting in some ways but repetitive. Other letters are more interesting to me, providing a glimpse into the relationships between Arboretum staff and outlining day-to-day operations. I’ve acquired quite a list of letters that have piqued my interest for one reason or another, so I thought it could be interesting to find one such piece of correspondence that correlates to the current week to share with the class.
The standout letter for this week is a back-and-forth between E. L. Kammerer and Ralph H. McKee from January of 1938. My grandfather first wrote to him inquiring about some hybrid Poplars that Mr. McKee had recently patented. He writes that the Morton Arboretum would very much like to obtain some of these Poplars to conduct research, something they were already doing with Poplars developed by Dr. A. B. Stout of the New York Botanical Garden.
Mr. McKee wrote back a few days later, on paper with a Columbia University Department of Chemical Engineering letterhead, noting that when he attended Lake Forest College, the Mortons lived nearby, and he had the opportunity to make their acquaintance. Interestingly, he writes that despite having met the Mortons, he was unfamiliar with the Morton Arboretum before receiving my grandfather’s letter!
He goes on to write that he developed the Poplars the Arboretum had already received while he was head of the research department at the Oxford Paper Company. He notes that even after leaving his work with the paper company, he continued hybridizing Poplars and developed an astounding number of additional hybrids.
He notes locations where some of his patented Poplars are growing near the Arboretum: a few on the estate of Mr. William R. Carney in Lake Forest, some on land owned by Mr. Quintin Johnstown in Oak Park, and a notable specimen at his brother’s land in Watertown, Wisconsin.
Mr. McKee writes that he would be happy to provide cuttings of his new hybrids as long as the Arboretum agrees not to distribute them to anyone else.
My grandfather replied to Mr. McKee, expressing the Arboretum’s enthusiasm about having an opportunity to test out these exciting Poplars. It’s clear that my grandfather and his colleagues were ready to jump at any opportunity to test new species and hybrids to observe how they would grow in Chicagoland.
Searching the Library’s archives for Poplars, I came across this image of Clarence Godshalk standing amongst the Arboretum’s experimental plot of Poplars, likely the same ones referenced in these letters written the following year!
Seeing back and forths like this between my grandfather and other tree enthusiasts hammers home their passion for the field. Their excitement for tree science shines through in their correspondence, and despite being an area I have little expertise in, I can’t help but feel excited with them while reading about their discoveries and opportunities!
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