Abstract
The advent of horticulture, backed by research, teaching, and extension in the State of Minnesota during the 1800s, had long-term ramifications for initiating opportunities for the newly formed University of Minnesota, the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station, and the Minnesota State Horticultural Society—all of which worked closely together. The founding of the horticulture department in 1888, then known as the Division of Horticulture and Forestry, provided long-term commitment to address the needs of the horticulture field. The integration of female students in 1897 provided inclusivity of gender perspectives in horticulture and enabled essential services during World War I (WWI), when male students, faculty, and administrators were drafted into military service. After the sudden death of Dr. Samuel Green, the first Department Head, in 1910, Dr. LeRoy Cady (who served as an Acting Department Head) instituted a novel idea at the time of having weekly departmental seminars. These formally commenced on 13 Jan. 1913, with the first seminar entitled “Organization of the Seminar.” A survey across the country of horticulture or plant science-based departments revealed its uniqueness as being the oldest seminar series in the country and, undoubtedly, the world. An early seminar tradition included taste-testing of fruit. Early seminars were conducted in the department office of the newly built Horticulture Building (opened in 1899). This idea of the seminar format—as a valuable mechanism of exchanging ideas and increasing department associations—was spread by faculty and Dr. Cady at national and regional meetings of the American Society for Horticultural Science. The seminar concept stretched across the country to other universities and colleges with horticulture programs to make such a forum commonplace to convey research, teaching, and outreach findings in academic settings. Knowledge of the history of the seminar series remained obscure until the record book was discovered in 2010, which provided documentation of its founding and the early years of knowledge-sharing in seminar format. To mark this unique event in horticultural science, a centennial celebration of the seminar series occurred on 13 Jan. 2013. An estimated total of 1899 seminars have been presented during this century-long period. However, a gap in the seminars during 1916 to 1925 was unexplained in the record book. Examination of the departmental, college, and university archives during this time period revealed two primary reasons for this: WWI and the 1918 influenza epidemic. The War Department’s takeover of all college and university campuses in 1918 resulted in the decimation of the faculty and student body by mandatory service (all males age 18–45 years), the institution of a wartime curriculum (which limited the number and types of horticulture classes), the takeover of essential departmental functions by nondrafted men and all female students/faculty, the building of barracks (many of which were on horticultural research plots), and the cessation of all activities, including the seminar. Concurrently, the 1918 influenza outbreak prohibited social gatherings, thus limiting interactions such as seminars. Only a few photographs exist of students wearing masks in 1918, but the impact of the flu seriously affected the ability of students to return to the University of Minnesota after WWI. One subtle benefit in 1918 was the first-ever admission of disabled students (veterans) to horticulture classes. The deaths of students, faculty, and administrators on WWI battlefields, in training camps, or by influenza, as well as post-traumatic stress disorder, devastated the department for years. Lessons learned from these tragedies resonate with the modern-day continuation of the seminar series in the context of the current Covid-19 pandemic.
Horticulture has been a vibrant component of life for citizens of the State of Minnesota since its establishment as a Minnesota Territory by the U.S. Congress in 1849, followed by statehood in 1858 (Alderman, 1962). Territorial legislation chartered the University of Minnesota in 1851, and the first commercial nursery in Minnesota, Groveland Garden and Nursery, was established that same year by Lyman M. Ford (Ford, 1897; Widmer, 1997). In 1858, an Agricultural College was established by the Territorial Legislature in Glencoe, MN; furthermore, land was purchased and funds were secured for a building that was never built because of the ensuing Civil and Indian Wars (Widmer, 1997). A College of Agriculture was established in 1867, after reorganization of the University of Minnesota and assignment of the Federal Land Grant status by the Morrill Act (37th Congress of the United States, Public Law 37–130) (United States Congress, 1862).
The first Professor of Agriculture at the University of Minnesota, Colonel Daniel A. Robertson, was appointed as head of the Experimental Farm on the Minneapolis campus in 1869 (Snyder, 1983). This appointment occurred 3 years after Professor Robertson became the first President of the newly formed Minnesota State Horticultural Society in 1866; he was also the Founder of and served as the first President of the Minnesota Fruit Growers Association (Widmer, 1997). Professor Robertson resigned in 1870, however, because he had no students to teach (Snyder, 1983). A series of other professors were hired thereafter; however, none of them could raise any crops on the Minneapolis Experimental Farm because it was too swampy or sandy for crop production. In 1882, the Experimental Farm land was sold, and 248 acres were purchased by the Board of Regents in St. Anthony Park, which is now the St. Paul campus (Snyder, 1983). In that same year, 225 students attended lectures at the School of Agriculture (as many as 1181 students in 1884); however, all students were from urban, rather than rural, settings. Classroom and administrative buildings were erected on the new St. Paul campus in 1883. The first Director of the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station, Professor Edward Porter, was appointed in 1885 to oversee the University Farm (Snyder, 1983).
Minnesota Pioneers in Coeducational Horticulture Education and Research
In 1888, the Division of Horticulture and Forestry was founded within the College of Agriculture (now the College of Food, Agricultural, and Natural Resources Sciences); this was one of the first horticulture departments in the country. Its founding was attributable to the direct lobbying of the Minnesota Legislature by the State Grange of Minnesota (Minnesota Historical Society, 2015). The first department head was Professor Samuel B. Green (1859–1910) (Fig. 1) who, along with five other colleagues, constituted the first staff of the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station (Widmer, 1997). Samuel Green was also the first photographer for the Experiment Station, documenting horticulture and forestry throughout and State of Minnesota as well as the St. Paul campus University Farm, its buildings, and horticultural-related research, teaching, and extension events. A complete compendium of his early lantern slides and photographs circa 1888 to 1910 (Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station, 1888–1910) and other early historical documents are maintained within the departmental archives deposited in the Department of Archives and Special Collections of the University of Minnesota Libraries (University of Minnesota Libraries’ Department of Archives and Special Collections, 2021).
Professor Samuel B. Green, the first Department Head of the Division of Horticulture and Forestry, University of Minnesota (1888–1910 term), in 1899. Photo credit: SWEM Photographers, St. Paul, MN.
Citation: HortScience 57, 8; 10.21273/HORTSCI16592-22
In the first year of its establishment, 47 students enrolled in the 2-year School of Agriculture degree program, which had sponsorship from the State Grange of Minnesota (Minnesota Historical Society, 2015). Although only male students were admitted at first (Fig. 2), within 9 years (in 1897), the School of Agriculture, as well as the Division of Horticulture and Forestry, became coeducational (Widmer, 1997). This change to being coeducational was the direct result of the Grange’s “continuous pressure” during this 9-year period, because the National Grange “was the first national organization to mandate leadership roles for women” (Minnesota Historical Society, 2015). Curricula remained gender-specific as late as 1913 (by then, it was a 3-year program); however, with specific courses taken only by the “boys” or men (Agronomy or Farm Management, Blacksmithing, Carpentry, Horticulture, Live Stock, Veterinary) vs. the “girls” or women (Cooking, Dairy Manufacturing, Field Agriculture, Fruit Growing, Home Management, Home Nursing, Household Problems, Meats, Plant Propagation and Ornamental Horticulture, Poultry, Sanitation, Sewing, Social Training, Vegetable Gardening). Other courses were coeducational and had identical course titles (Agricultural Botany, Arithmetic, Chemistry, Civics, English, Physics) or were comparably named (Gymnasium for boys, Physical Training for girls). Additionally, the men were required to attend Drill courses for 2 years for military training, which was useful for World War I (WWI) enlistments, and the women were required to practice music for 2 hours each week during their first year, and they were also schooled in Home Nursing.
Male students in Nursery Practice class budding trees at the University of Minnesota, School of Agriculture, Division of Horticulture and Forestry. Note that at least four students are wearing military uniforms. Photo credit: S.B. Green, ≈1890s, Lantern slide print #159.
Citation: HortScience 57, 8; 10.21273/HORTSCI16592-22
Early records of female horticulture students abound (Fig. 3), with pictorial documentation of a plant propagation class in the departmental greenhouse sifting soil and repotting plants. Miss Anna M. Strud (Fig. 4) was an award-winning student who won the 1913 Gideon Memorial Contest Prize for her essay, “The farm beautiful” (Strud, 1913). Although it may appear in some early photographs as though the class laboratories were segregated by gender, not all pictures from this time period show male or female students in separate laboratories (Fig. 5).
Female students Clara Wickstrom, Alma Elson, and Elizabeth Biery (left to right) examining cuttings in the glasshouse in the Greenhouse Practices course at the University of Minnesota, School of Agriculture, Division of Horticulture and Forestry. Photo credit: S.B. Green, 1900. Photo courtesy of the School of Agriculture and Gerald McKay (Widmer, 1997).
Citation: HortScience 57, 8; 10.21273/HORTSCI16592-22
Miss Anna M. Strud, winner of the 1913 Gideon Memorial Contest Prize for her essay “The Farm Beautiful.” Photo credit: The Minnesota State Horticultural Society (Strud, 1913).
Citation: HortScience 57, 8; 10.21273/HORTSCI16592-22
Coeducational students evaluating experiments in a 1912 Greenhouse Practices class in the 4000-ft2 glasshouse at the University of Minnesota, School of Agriculture, Division of Horticulture and Forestry. Photo credit: S.B. Green, 1912.
Citation: HortScience 57, 8; 10.21273/HORTSCI16592-22
The Division of Horticulture and Forestry (later renamed the Departments of Horticulture and Forestry, but now known as the Departments of Horticultural Science and Forest Resources), founded in 1888, was one of the first horticulture departments in the United States. Earlier-founded departments of horticulture included University of Illinois–Champaign-Urbana (1867), Texas A&M University (1879; Department of Agronomy and Horticulture), Michigan State University (1883), and Massachusetts Agricultural College (≈1887, where Professor Green had worked before becoming Department Head at the University of Minnesota). These were soon followed by the establishment of horticulture departments or divisions across the United States at the University of Wisconsin–Madison (1889), South Dakota State University (1895), Michigan Agricultural College in 1901 (now Michigan State University), the University of Maryland (1912), and Cornell University in 1913 (Widmer, 1997). The American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS) was not founded until 1903; this occurred after several horticulture departments were established to enable sharing of research-based information in a professional society. The first horticulture graduate degree at the University of Minnesota was granted in 1907 to Vincent Fulkerson for his Masters of Science thesis entitled “Plant Breeding” (University of Minnesota, 1907; Widmer, 1997). Therefore, Minnesota led the way for the country in educating students and conducting research of horticulture in a formalized way with the founding of the department and division and immediate interactions with ASHS.
In 1898, because of lobbying efforts by the Minnesota State Horticultural Society, the Minnesota Legislature appropriated funds for the construction of the first university Horticulture building on campus and in the United States (Fig. 6) (Snyder, 1983; Widmer, 1997). The building, along with a 4000-ft2 glass greenhouse, a nursery storage cellar, and a machine shed, opened in 1899 at a cost of $35,000 (Snyder, 1983; Widmer, 1997). Horticulture classrooms, laboratories, and offices were housed on the second floor (Fig. 7), whereas the Departments of Agricultural Botany and Physics occupied the third floor and the Sewing and Dressmaking Departments were housed on the first floor (Snyder, 1983). The close proximity of departments engendered opportunities for interdisciplinary cooperation and research teams and building collegiality, as illustrated by the 1910 picture of early faculty in these departments (Fig. 8A). During a subsequent building renovation (before 1921) when the chimneys were removed because of the installation of a campus heating system and the bricks, stonework, and facade were redone, the center portion of the building was reconfigured with the addition of the word “Horticulture” above the lintel (Fig. 8B). The lettering was carved in LTC Jacobean Initials B font. The former Horticulture Building still stands today (Fig. 8C), although the department moved to a new building, Alderman Hall, in 1971.
Grading the landscape before building the first University Horticulture building on the St. Paul campus of the University of Minnesota and in the United States. The building, along with a 4000-ft2 glass greenhouse, a nursery storage cellar, and a machine shed, opened in 1899 (Snyder, 1983; Widmer, 1997). Photo credit: S.B. Green, 1899.
Citation: HortScience 57, 8; 10.21273/HORTSCI16592-22
The completed University Horticulture building shown on this 1906 postcard, and its greenhouse, machine shed, and nursery storage cellar were quickly integrated into campus use by horticulture faculty, students, and staff. Horticulture occupied the second floor of the building, which was aptly named “Horticulture.” The building still stands and the lintel above the main door still bears this name (Fig. 8B). Photo credit: photographer and publisher unknown, although the photographer was most likely S.B. Green, and the publisher may have been the University Bindery (now the University of Minnesota Press).
Citation: HortScience 57, 8; 10.21273/HORTSCI16592-22
Later photographs of the Horticulture Building. (A) A 1910 photograph of interdisciplinary cooperation among departments located in the Horticulture Building, University of Minnesota. The caption notes: “A Rare Picture, Entrance to Horticulture Building, Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station, from a photo taken late in winter 1910.” Pictured from left to right are Prof. E.G. Cheyney, Forestry; Prof. A.R. Kohler, Horticulture; Prof. Samuel B. Green, Horticulture; W.L. Oswald, Asst. in Botany; Prof. Leroy Cady, Horticulture. Photo credit: The School of Agriculture. (B) During a subsequent building renovation (before 1921) when the chimneys were removed because of the installation of a campus heating system and the bricks, stonework, and facade were redone, the center portion of the building was reconfigured with the addition of the word “Horticulture” above the lintel, as shown here in this current picture (2022). The lettering was carved in LTC Jacobean Initials B font. Photo credit: Neil Anderson. (C) The former Horticulture Building as it looks today on campus. Photo credit: Neil Anderson.
Citation: HortScience 57, 8; 10.21273/HORTSCI16592-22
The first five college courses in horticulture commenced: Greenhouse Practices, Nursery Practices, Fruit Growing, Vegetable Growing, and Plant Breeding. Such courses continued in the curriculum and focused research and extension efforts on these commodities and disciplines. Today, the Department of Horticultural Science is well-known for established, rich traditions in plant breeding, plant physiology, teaching, and extension excellence.
Commencement of the Horticulture Seminar Series, 1913
In 1909, the College of Forestry was created from the Division of Horticulture and Forestry, and Professor Green became the Dean of Forestry and continued to serve as head of the Division of Horticulture (Snyder, 1983; Widmer, 1997). After the unexpected death of Samuel Green from a stroke (apoplectic) in 1910, at the age of 51 years (Latham, 1910a, 1910b), Associate Professor LeRoy Cady became the first Acting Department Head, a position he held through mid-1913 (Fig. 9A). A photograph of his office during this time period displays a rifle standing against the bookcases (Fig. 9B) because Cady also became a Ramsey County Deputy Sheriff in 1908, before serving as the Acting Department Head (Fig. 10). During ≈1913 to 1919, the department was overseen by Cady and a committee of three other faculty members (Professors W.G. Brierley, R. Wellington, and M.J. Dorsey) during 1-year rotations as Acting Department Heads (Snyder, 1983).
Professor LeRoy Cady, Acting Department Head. (A) In the 1918 college yearbook (University of Minnesota. School of Agriculture, 1919). (B) Sitting in his office chair along with a potbelly wood stove for heat; his rifle is standing next to the bookcases (Photo credit: Department of Horticulture Archives, no date). Professor Cady was also a Ramsey County (Minnesota) Deputy Sheriff at the time. Photo credit: Department of Horticulture Archives, 1910.
Citation: HortScience 57, 8; 10.21273/HORTSCI16592-22
Faculty member LeRoy Cady became a Ramsey County (Minnesota) Deputy Sheriff in 1908 before serving as the Acting Department Head. Photo credit: Department of Horticulture Archives, n.d.
Citation: HortScience 57, 8; 10.21273/HORTSCI16592-22
Because of the University of Minnesota’s pioneering efforts in horticulture, it is not surprising that other national trends were forthcoming from this department as part of the Land Grant mission. The year 1913 was of great significance to Minnesota horticulture and the department. Although the events leading to WWI seethed in Europe, the Society of American Florists and the Florist’s Transworld Delivery conventions and trade show were conducted simultaneously in Minneapolis and had large numbers of attendees (Widmer, 1997). It was at this time that the weekly Horticulture Seminar series was founded by Acting Department Head, Associate Professor LeRoy Cady. This series was the first in the nation and the world!
Oddly enough, the history of this seminar series as well as its founding and purpose remained absent from all historical records and institutional memories of the department until Professor Neil Anderson (the author of this article), who was the Horticulture Club advisor at the time (2010), discovered a record book of the seminar’s founding that had been archived within the Horticulture Club’s historical documents. This monograph, with the spine marked “Division of Horticulture, 1913–1948,” contains hand-written seminar titles, dates, fruit for taste-testing, signatures of all attendees, and typed lists of references for specific seminars (Division of Horticulture, 1913–1948).
The first Horticultural Seminar was conducted on the evening of Monday, 13 Jan. 1913, at 7:00 pm in the Horticultural Office, with 13 faculty and students in attendance (Fig. 11) (Division of Horticulture, 1913–1948). The topic for the inaugural seminar was, fittingly, the “Organization of the Seminar” (Table 1). This first seminar was “called to order by a temporary committee … for the purpose of deciding upon the general policy to be followed by the seminar” (Fig. 12). It was decided that, “The formal purpose of the seminar would be to bring together students and faculty members interested in horticulture for general discussions of the literature and the problems pertaining to this field of work” (Fig. 12) (Division of Horticulture, 1913–1948). A Chairman of the committee (W.D. Valleau) was chosen, as was a three-member Program Committee (Frank Daniels, Frank J. Primusel, and Alfred G. Perkins—one of whom was the Secretary-Treasurer); all held these offices for a single semester, except for the Secretary-Treasurer (two semesters). The election of committee members was “to be held the first Monday in January and May.” However, it should be noted that in 1913, an election of officers for the next term was held on 6 Oct. (Table 1). Frank Daniels was elected Chairman, with F. Weiss and W. Valleau as the Program Committee members, whereas A.W. Aamodt was the Secretary-Treasurer “for [the] whole year” (Division of Horticulture, 1913–1948). The seminar series became a permanent weekly event for the department after its successful initiation during 1913, when the following amendment was passed unanimously at the 52nd seminar on 2 May 1915: “It is recommended that the program committee consider the setting aside of a definite time for all seminar meetings” (Division of Horticulture, 1913–1948).
A list of the first (13 Jan. 1913) and second (20 Jan. 1913) weekly Horticulture Seminar (University of Minnesota) agendas and the attendees. Photo credit: Neil Anderson (Division of Horticulture, 1913–1948).
Citation: HortScience 57, 8; 10.21273/HORTSCI16592-22
Record of the minutes from the very first Horticulture Seminar held on 13 Jan. 1913, University of Minnesota, St. Paul campus, Minnesota (Division of Horticulture, 1913–1948). The purpose of the seminar is listed, as are the officers of the seminar committee, the meeting time and frequency, and the setup of fruit tasting (the first sensory evaluation panel). Photo credit: Neil Anderson.
Citation: HortScience 57, 8; 10.21273/HORTSCI16592-22
Sequential summary of the first year of Horticulture Seminars in 1913 (seminar numbers 1–25) of the Division of Horticulture and Forestry, University of Minnesota, illustrating the diversity of seminar topics: the 1913 seminar dates (all were on Monday evenings starting at 7:00 pm in the Horticulture Office), topics [presenter(s)], and fruits that were taste-tested (Division of Horticulture, 1913–1948).
The meeting day and time were set for “…every Monday evening at 7:00 pm,” with “the first meeting occurring on the first Monday in October and the last on the first Monday in May” in the Horticultural Office (Fig. 12). Interestingly, this tradition continued for the next ≈57 years, until the 1970s, when the horticulture seminar moved to being held weekly during the academic year on Wednesdays at 3:30 pm; this continues to the present time. However, the Monday evening seminar continued as a Graduate Student Seminar, with the new agenda featuring thesis proposal and research topic discussions. In 1999, this Monday evening seminar series expanded to include graduate students in the newly formed Applied Plant Sciences Graduate Program, a change precipitated by the graduate programs’ fusion of the Departments of Horticultural Science and Agronomy and Plant Genetics. The Applied Plant Sciences seminar was subsequently held weekly on Mondays at 3:30 pm, and it continues jointly with both departments.
By the third seminar, held on 10 Feb. 1913, the early structure of the Horticulture Seminar was instituted with “reviews of literature, assigned by the program committee, pertaining to the topic of the evening to be followed by a general informal discussion” (Fig. 13). Frequently, a typed list of references was circulated to departmental personnel via their campus post office boxes for attendees to read before the seminar for discussion (e.g., as done during the third seminar) (Fig. 13). The seminar committee had additional responsibilities, including the formulation of the horticulture curriculum for the department and, often, presenting them (e.g., at the special end-of-the-semester spring seminar 6:00 pm “luncheon” at the cafeteria on campus). It was noted that “The proposed curriculum for horticultural students, as outlined by the seminar committee, was presented by Freeman Weiss, chairman” (Division of Horticulture, 1913–1948). A seminar on 4 Feb. 1915, entitled “Systems of horticultural instruction” by Dr. M.J. Dorsey, focused on teaching techniques for horticulture; current and past faculty in the department are well-known for developing teaching pedagogy (Anderson, 2001a, 2001b; 2002; Anderson and Walker, 2003; Hoover and Foulk, 1996; Zambreno et al., 2004).
A mailing list of all people in the department was provided and listed a total of 19 personnel invited to attend; 13 people (68%) attended the first seminar (Division of Horticulture, 1913–1948). Attendance was taken during each seminar, with all individuals signing their names and the Secretary-Treasurer recording the final tally on the lower right side of each page (10 people in attendance; Fig. 13). Seminar attendance ranged from 6 (31.6%; 19th seminar, 3 Nov. 1913) to 16 people (84.2%; 21st seminar, 17 Nov. 1913) throughout the first year (1913) (Division of Horticulture, 1913–1948).
The minutes, agenda, attendees, and the first list of references to supplement the seminar’s topic of discussion, “Influence of Stock Upon Scion,” for the third Horticulture Seminar on 10 Feb. 1913 (Division of Horticulture, 1913–1948). Photo credit: Neil Anderson.
Citation: HortScience 57, 8; 10.21273/HORTSCI16592-22
For attendees “to become familiar with the varieties of fruit, Prof. Cady offered to furnish through the department some variety of fruit for each meeting. A discussion of the history, culture, and commercial value of the fruit will be given by one of the members, and the quality of the fruit listed by all members present” (Fig. 12). This may be the first, although informal, organized weekly series of sensory evaluations or taste-testing of fruits in the department, but there is no record of the quality rankings by the seminar attendees. As evidenced by the listing of fruit throughout the year taste-tested in 1913, the majority were apples, although a wide range of other fruit were included, oftentimes matching the seminar topic (Table 1). Surprisingly, for this time period, exotic fruits not grown in Minnesota such as citrus (13 Jan., 31 Mar., 28 Apr., 10 Nov., 1 Dec. 1913 seminars), kumquats (13 Jan.), pineapple (5 May seminar), and Japanese persimmon (8 Dec.) were taste-tested (Table 1).
In the second year of the seminar series, there were two marketing seminars (16 Feb. and 2 Mar. 1914), a discussion of commercial nut production (which included taste-testing hickory, butternut, black walnut, horse chestnut, and filbert or hazelnut—all of which can be grown in Minnesota—along with other nuts produced elsewhere), as well as a seminar on “making an aquatic garden” (9 Feb.) (Division of Horticulture, 1913–1948). It is fortuitous that in both 1913 and 1914, there were horticultural marketing seminars because the department currently has an endowed chair in marketing (The Todd and Barbara Bachmann Endowed Chair in Horticultural Marketing), Dr. Chengyan Yue. The seminar on “making an aquatic garden” was a revelation because water gardening had been thought to be a relatively recent phenomenon. Its presentation was prompted by an article about the topic published 1 year earlier by the Minnesota State Horticultural Society (Bunn, 1913).
The seminar series continued from 13 Jan. (44th seminar) to 16 Dec. (57th seminar) 1915, with topics covering the range of horticultural research of crops and commodities (Division of Horticulture, 1913–1948). Interestingly, four seminars that year were devoted to horticultural instruction and the curriculum (24 Feb., 14 Apr., 28 Apr., and 3 May 1915). Seminars on the horticultural literatures of France, England, and the Roman Empire occurred for several successive weeks in the fall, whereas a few seminars in Feb. 1916 and Mar. 1916 were about exotic crops (i.e., pineapple and citrus).
In 1916, the seminar was not held during the month of January because the 58th seminar was posted for 3 Feb. 1916, and then it was not held again until 6 Mar.; one more was held on 20 Mar. (Division of Horticulture, 1913–1948). Regarding what happened after the 60th seminar on 20 Mar. 1916, the seminar registry is strangely silent. There is no written record of subsequent seminars during the rest of WWI and the concurrent, ensuing influenza or “Spanish flu” epidemic during 1917 to 1920.
WWI Ended the Seminar Series, the Curriculum, and Other University Functions
WWI had significant effects on the university and ultimately ended the seminar series, although actions in 1918 proved to be the most devastating. In that year, in response to WWI, the U.S. War Department established the Students’ Army Training Corps (SATC) on the campuses of the University of Minnesota as well as those of all other colleges/universities across the country (University of Minnesota, 1919). The SATC temporarily replaced the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps and reorganized the university with drafted soldiers building barracks on both the St. Paul (Fig. 14A–D) and Minneapolis campuses. The barracks were built in and around horticultural research fields (Fig. 14A). The transformation of the St. Paul campus for military drill practices was evident by students marching to classes (Fig. 15). On 31 Aug. 1918, the draft law went into effect, resulting in the enlisting of “all males physically fit, between the ages of 18 and 45,” which included all male students (373 in the School of Agriculture), alumni, and many faculty or administrators, for the war effort, totaling more than 7500 draftees from the university (Thatcher, 1919; University of Minnesota, 1919; University of Minnesota Gopher Board of Editors, 1920), causing an utter desertion of more than half of the university personnel and students. As such, the University of Minnesota “ceased to function and in its place was established a military camp” (University of Minnesota, 1919).
Erecting the barracks on the University Farm in 1918, St. Paul campus, University of Minnesota. (A) Construction phase in the research fields, which included those of the Department of Horticulture. (B) Drafted university students, including those from the department, termed “military students,” shown building their future housing. (C) The completed two-story barracks with a long house architectural style (the Quonset style did not evolve until World War II). (D) The barracks after the end of the war (1919), already dilapidated in appearance from disuse and abandonment (University of Minnesota School of Agriculture, 1919, pp. 45–49).
Citation: HortScience 57, 8; 10.21273/HORTSCI16592-22
Pictures of drafted male university students, faculty, and staff at the University of Minnesota, St. Paul campus or University Farm in 1918. (A) During “physical training as well as drill—U of M” on the lawn in front of Drill Hall (now the university gymnasium). (B) Going to classes in the military curriculum and marching on the street in front of the College of Agriculture administration building, Coffey Hall (University of Minnesota School of Agriculture, 1919, pp. 47–48).
Citation: HortScience 57, 8; 10.21273/HORTSCI16592-22
The removal of every male student, faculty, and administrator 18 to 45 years of age from the university to be actual soldiers in the United States Army meant they were moved from their residence halls or homes to the military barracks built on campus. Pictures of student/faculty cadets practicing in Drill Hall and marching throughout campus abound in the department’s archives (Fig. 15). Drill Hall still stands today (although it became a gymnasium in the mid-1900s), whereas the barracks were removed after WWI ended. The School of Agriculture had a cadet band, and one of the drums was labeled with “S.A.U.M.” (School of Agriculture, University of Minnesota; Fig. 16). Students retained their status of being “enrolled” in an altered curriculum; drafted faculty were granted a leave of absence (University of Minnesota, 1919). One faculty member in the department who was an important instructor, Assistant Professor Richard Wellington, resigned that year; however, it is unknown if this was because of attrition or disagreement with the military curriculum. A memorandum was sent to Dr. LeRoy Cady, Head, Department of Horticulture, from Mr. A.M. Bull, Superintendent, Buildings and Grounds, St. Paul Campus, that requested he examine the barrack blueprints for his “suggestions or criticisms” regarding the location of the guard line around the barracks to (presumably) minimize the disturbance to horticultural research plots (Fig. 17) (University of Minnesota School of Agriculture, 1919).
The School of Agriculture, University of Minnesota (S.A.U.M.) World War I cadet band in Drill Hall, St. Paul Campus, with the department head, Professor Samuel Green, in the middle (back row). Photo credit: Unknown.
Citation: HortScience 57, 8; 10.21273/HORTSCI16592-22
A 1918 memorandum from Mr. A.M. Bull, Superintendent Buildings and Grounds, Department of Agriculture, University Farm, St. Paul, addressed to Mr. Cady, the Chief of the Division of Horticulture, asking for his opinion about the location of the guard line to be established around the military barracks under construction on campus (Photo credit: Neil Anderson; https://www.lib.umn.edu/collections/special, Horticulture, ua-0000–0030, box no. 12).
Citation: HortScience 57, 8; 10.21273/HORTSCI16592-22
Students followed a combined military and academic curriculum mandated by the War Department’s Committee on Education and Special Training. For the first time, 34 disabled veterans (“discharged and wounded soldiers”) were allowed to take horticulture and agriculture classes (Thatcher, 1919; University of Minnesota, 1919). Faculty and administrators who were not drafted provided technical (SATC, Division B; Fig. 18) or academic (SATC, Division A; not shown) instruction (University of Minnesota, 1919). Interestingly, in June 1918, the University Senate had already authorized granting credit for military service; this had been agreed on by the faculty of the College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Home Economics (University of Minnesota, 1919).
The military curriculum instituted in 1918 for the Department of Agriculture (college-wide during World War I) for “Division B,” meaning the technical courses including horticultural classes such as Fruit Growing, Vegetable Gardening, Plant Propagation, and Horticultural electives (Photo credit: Neil Anderson; https://www.lib.umn.edu/collections/special, Horticulture, ua-0000–0030, box no. 12).
Citation: HortScience 57, 8; 10.21273/HORTSCI16592-22
Female students had an integral role in the continuation of horticultural research during the military takeover of the university in 1918, including: (A) the harvesting of apples and (B) taking care of all plants in the horticulture greenhouses as well as field plots (University of Minnesota School of Agriculture, 1919, pp. 60, 134).
Citation: HortScience 57, 8; 10.21273/HORTSCI16592-22
The required male student/soldier military drill comprised 11 h every week (Fig. 15B) in addition to the academic schedules (Fig. 15A); female students (127 in the School of Agriculture) “…were given physical exercises in the form of military drill, for four hours per week” (Thatcher, 1919; University of Minnesota, 1919). Both resulted in continued interference in fulfilling academic requirements (University of Minnesota, 1919). All student activities, including departmental events such as the Horticulture Seminar Series, clubs, and student athletics, were “largely abandoned” (University of Minnesota, 1919). The university’s Minnesota Daily was published because of the heroic efforts of female students. Most of the fraternities “were taken over by the University for military purposes and for the housing of women students” (University of Minnesota, 1919).
The entire process of curricular revisions to accommodate the estimated 4000 to 5000 “enrolled students” in SATC was accomplished within 1 month (University of Minnesota, 1919). During Fall 1918, “very few classes in Agriculture were organized” because of the drafting or release of faculty and staff from teaching responsibilities to working in the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station, whereas others were “…loaned to other colleges or departments of the University to assist in the instruction of the collegiate section of the Student Army Training Corps…” (Thatcher, 1919; University of Minnesota, 1919). Fourteen special concentration courses were offered “for early preparation of men for agricultural service”; “regular courses … [in horticulture] were modified to fit wartime needs for food production and conservation” (Fig. 18) (University of Minnesota Gopher Board of Editors, 1920). Research themes were reorganized within the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station to concentrate on wartime needs, including horticultural research of alternative plant-based sugar sources and control of pests and diseases (University of Minnesota Gopher Board of Editors, 1920). Significant interest in home gardening, canning, and vegetable storage comprised the focus of Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station publications. The female students were primarily responsible for all horticultural research harvests, such as apples (Fig. 19A), or the upkeep of the greenhouses (Fig. 19B).
The subsequent armistice signing on 11 Nov. 1918, resulted in demobilization of the SATC and demilitarization of the university on 21 Dec. at the end of the fall quarter. Therefore, the SATC and university militarization lasted for less than one quarter. The University President, Dr. M.L. Burton, noted that “…a true university can not [sic] be a military camp. The underlying spirit of an institution of higher learning is freedom” (University of Minnesota, 1919). President Burton added that “…the work of the classrooms was demoralized” (University of Minnesota, 1919). All College Deans in the university unanimously agreed with the President’s assessment that “the S.A.T.C was an unqualified failure” (University of Minnesota, 1919).
The short-term and long-term effects of this militarization of the University of Minnesota lasted for a period of time because the Horticulture Seminar Series ceased until its resumption in 1925. This unprecedented academic crisis, devastation of the student body, and loss of the majors during 1918 undoubtedly caused significant losses to student learning within the majors. Many students, faculty, and administrators in the department and college (87 in total) were killed on the battlefield, primarily in France during the battle of Argonne, and 54 were seriously wounded (University of Minnesota, 1919; University of Minnesota Gopher Board of Editors, 1920; University of Minnesota School of Agriculture, 1919).
The Effect of the Influenza Epidemic on the Seminar Series and the University
The influenza epidemic reduced the number of soldiers scheduled by the United States government to be sent to live in the St. Paul campus barracks (Fig. 14) (University of Minnesota, 1919). Coupled with this and the corollary 1918 flu epidemic (lasting through Winter 1920), the University of Minnesota postponed its fall opening until 9 Oct. 1918. Fortuitously, the University Health Service was founded that same year (University of Minnesota, 1919).
Horticulture and agriculture student enrollment at the Crookston campus decreased by 25% (50/198 student attrition) in 1918, specifically because of the influenza epidemic. Students in the department and college died from the influenza outbreak, including Rupert C. Johnson, whose death in the University Hospital was noted in the 1919 Agrarian yearbook of the College of Agriculture (University of Minnesota. School of Agriculture, 1919). The seminar records are silent about the effects of the pandemic on the continuation of the seminar series and on the department personnel during this time period. A new, permanent department head, Dr. W.H. Alderman, was hired in 1919, but we do not know what happened to the seminar committee during this period of war and disease.
Several faculty remained active in research, teaching, and extension activities, providing leadership during the war efforts (excluding males 18–45 years of age and not drafted), with extension horticulturists creating initiatives published by the Minnesota State Horticultural Society, including the creation of “Liberty Gardens” in WWI (Mackintosh, 1917) as well as the “Boys and Girls Garden and Canning Clubs” (Erickson, 1917). The effects of the pandemic—both on the department, the seminar series, and horticulturists throughout the state—remain largely overlooked and undocumented after it reached Minnesota in 1918 (Nathanson, 2020); however, more than 10,000 people in the state died from the pandemic.
A ban of public gatherings in Minneapolis went into effect on 11 Oct. 1918, followed by one in Saint Paul on 4 Nov. (Nathanson, 2020). The wearing of masks was optional because the discovery of viruses and prevention of their spread occurred much later. Of the thousands of pictures housed in the university archives in the 1918 to 1920 influenza outbreak, only three photographs of students in the department and the College of Agriculture who were wearing masks were discovered (Fig. 20A–C).
The sole evidence of mask-wearing by the College of Agriculture, University of Minnesota students (including those in Horticulture) during the 1918–20 influenza outbreak. (A) Three female students, noted as “school marms—next,” pose outside of a St. Paul campus building entrance. (B) Three female students salute with the caption “Salute! One–two.” (C) The 1918 class of all-male military students posing with masks, captioned “The School of Agriculture Students in Disguise” (University of Minnesota School of Agriculture, 1919, pp. 102, 109, 161).
Citation: HortScience 57, 8; 10.21273/HORTSCI16592-22
The effects of the War Department’s takeover of the university and the flu pandemic of 1916–20 caused the complete cessation of the seminars in the department because at least half of the student body and faculty were drafted into service. Online or virtual options, computers, the worldwide web, mobile phones, satellite technology, and seminars via Zoom technologies were another century in the future (and were used most recently in the 2020–21 Covid-19 pandemic). There is no evidence that the seminars resumed in 1920 after the flu pandemic waned, perhaps because of the devastating loss of life, wounding of soldiers, and psychologically traumatic effects of WWI on the student population. Additionally, the founder of the seminar series, Professor LeRoy Cady, died in 1923 from pneumonia while preparing for a florist’s show (Widmer, 1997). His death may have influenced the lapse in the seminars as well.
The next record of seminar topics in the departmental archives are from 1925 to 1926 (Fig. 21). In 1925, instead of using the seminar registry book, the departmental office began to issue paper copies of announcements and communiques forward (Fig. 21). Then, oddly enough, the seminar registry book was used once again for a single seminar entry dated 2 Mar. 1938, with no record of the seminar meeting number (Division of Horticulture, 1913–1948). A total of 25 attendees signed the registry, including the department head, although no seminar topic was listed, nor was any fruit taste-tested. A typed list of seminars for the entire Fall 1938 quarter (as opposed to earlier weekly seminar announcements) included a wide range of seminar topics. In 1940, the first official taste-testing of fruit was embedded in a seminar. Typed announcements of seminar titles for 1939–49 are also in the archives, providing evidence that the series continued during World War II. It is unclear in what format the seminar committee continued or whether there was a designated Secretary-Treasurer. By 1946, there was a class associated with the Horticulture Seminar (Fig. 22) and as many as three undergraduate and 18 graduate students from the Horticulture, Plant Pathology, and Plant Breeding Majors were registered for this course and/or Advanced Topics. Trending research topics included a review of “New techniques for automatic watering in greenhouses” for a seminar presented by Ralph W. Richardson on 3 Dec. 1947 (Fig. 23). To the best of our knowledge, this may be the first report of automatic irrigation technology developed for greenhouse crops using “water-tight” and “V-bottom” ground beds, soil tensiometers, and an “automatic injection method” (Fig. 23).
The final entry in the seminar registry is the charter for the founding of the Horticulture Club during the Spring 1948 quarter; it listed the organizing committee, the charter member roster (24 students), and its officers for 1948–49 (Division of Horticulture, 1913–1948). The Horticulture Club participated in the 1948 Ag Royal (later termed Homecoming) and entered a float in the parade along with the Plant Industries Club, as well as “a large display of plants, coating media, illustrations, and garden equipment were presented in the Hort. building. Door prizes were given and also prizes for a contest on identifying vegetables.” These final entries explain why this volume of the seminar registry was kept in the Horticulture Club archives for nearly 70 years before its discovery in 2010.
The 100th Anniversary of the Horticulture Seminar Celebration, 13 Jan. 2013
After the discovery of the Horticulture Seminar Registry in 2010 by Professor Neil Anderson, Chair of the Departmental Seminar Committee (2012–13), he proposed planning and undertaking a special celebration of the 100-year anniversary of the founding of the seminar series. The seminar committee, consisting of Dr. Neil Anderson, Dr. Vince Fritz, Dr. Jeff Gillman, Dr. Gary Gardner, and graduate student Sun Li Tun, began the planning process, with several committee members spending countless hours examining historic records of the department housed in the University of Minnesota Libraries’ Department of Archives and Special Collections (2021). During this quest for information to plan the seminar, numerous discoveries were made, such as the photograph album of Department Head Samuel Green, research and technological advances in horticulture that had been forgotten (i.e., automatic irrigation systems) (Fig. 23), industry-sponsored graduate research assistantships, unique training systems for growing raspberries, and early research of seed tape.
“New techniques for automatic watering in greenhouses” handout for the 3 Dec. 1947 Horticulture Seminar presented by Ralph W. Richardson (Division of Horticulture, 1913–1948). Photo credit: Neil Anderson.
Citation: HortScience 57, 8; 10.21273/HORTSCI16592-22
The 100th anniversary celebratory seminar convened on 13 Jan. 2013, at 3:30 pm, in Room 310 of Alderman Hall on the St. Paul campus of the University of Minnesota. A total of 61 people attended the event (Fig. 24), which consisted of a formal seminar of the century-long history of the seminars presented by the Seminar Committee Chair, Professor Neil Anderson. The seminar title was: “Our 100 Years of Seminars (13 Jan. 1913–2013): honoring the Centennial and the Early Years” (https://conservancy.umn.edu/handle/11299/225828). Attendees included faculty, staff, graduate students, and alumni from the department (Fig. 24).
The 61 attendees at the 100th anniversary celebratory Horticulture Seminar, convened on 13 Jan. 2013, at 3:30 pm, in Room 310 of Alderman Hall on the St. Paul campus of the University of Minnesota. Names of the attendees are listed with the corresponding shadow drawing numbers. List of attendees: 1 – Dr. Cindy Tong, 2 – Dr. Karen Hokanson, 3 – unknown guest, 4 – Cecilia Gentle, 5 – Corbin Paul, 6 – Stephanie Betterman, 7 – Dr. Yuan Xu, 8 – Dr. Mary Meyer, 9 – Dr. Peng Yu, 10 – Mary Maguire Lehrman, 11 - Dr. Jessica Biever, 12 – Dr. Brian Horgan, 13 – Julie Borris, 14 – Daniel Halsey, 15 – Evonne Kuyper, 16 – Dr. Michael Wilson, 17 – Dr. Cari Schmitz Carley, 18 – Dr. Michael Nelson, 19 – Dr. Jennifer Boldt, 20 – Dr. Matthew Clark, 21 – Dr. Neil Anderson (Seminar Committee Chair), 22 – Eric Koeritz, 23 – Tom Nass, 24 – Valerie Price, 25 – Dr. Changbin Chen, 26 – Jayanti Suresh, 27 – Dr. Stan Hokanson, 28 – Alicia Rihn, 29 – Dr. Lindsey Hoffman, 30 – Dr. Hannah Swegarden, 31 – Dr. Joshua Friell, 32 – unknown guest, 33 – unknown guest, 34 – Annie Makepeace, 35 – Myra Pehowski, 36 – Erin Evans, 37 – Dana Lehigh, 38 – Julia Bohnen, 39 – xxx, 40 – Dr. Amanda Cecilia Martin, 41 – Clemon Dabney, 42 – Nik Prenevost, 43 – Brian Barnes, 44 – Dr. Paul Boswell, 45 – Calvin Peters, 46 – Dr. Mikel Roe, 47 – Dr. Adrian Hegeman, 48 – Maggie Reiter, 49 – Luke Hagerty, 50 – Dr. Molly Tillman, 51 – Echo Martin, 52 – Dr. Vince Fritz (Seminar Committee), 53 – Dr. Gary Gardner (Seminar Committee), 54 – Dr. Jeff Gillman (Seminar Committee), 55 – Dr. Jerry Cohen, 56 – Douglas Brinkman, 57 – Dr. Andrzej Noyszewski, 58 – Roger Meissner, 59 – Chad Giblin, 60 – Peter Olin, 61 – Dr. Thomas Michaels. Photo credit: David Hanson, Photographer, Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station.
Citation: HortScience 57, 8; 10.21273/HORTSCI16592-22
Historic artifacts from the century of seminars were displayed at the seminar for everyone to see and learn more about. This display included the original registry of seminars (Division of Horticulture, 1913–1948), Twig Bender (the weekly department newsletter) issues with seminar announcements, example lantern slides and prints from the turn of the century, historic seed packets from Minnesota nurseries, extension bulletins, and research-related signage. Champagne was uncorked, and all attendees raised their glasses to commence and celebrate the beginning of the next century of seminars within the department (Fig. 25). A special cake made by Wuollet’s Bakery (St. Paul, MN), which highlighted early horticultural crops in Minnesota, was served (Fig. 26).
Champagne toast by all attendees at the 100th anniversary celebratory Horticulture Seminar (13 Jan. 2013) led by the 2012–13 Seminar Chair, Professor Neil Anderson (right). All attendees raised their glasses to celebrate the first century of horticulture seminars and the beginning of the next century of seminars within the department. Photo credit: Echo Martin.
Citation: HortScience 57, 8; 10.21273/HORTSCI16592-22
A special cake was served at the 100th anniversary celebratory Horticulture Seminar (13 Jan. 2013). The cake highlighted the early horticultural crops in Minnesota (sour cherries, leafy vegetables, root crops, apples, and ornamentals) and was made by Wuollet’s Bakery (St. Paul, MN). Photo credit: Neil Anderson.
Citation: HortScience 57, 8; 10.21273/HORTSCI16592-22
A highlight within the event was the estimated century-long impact of the seminar series. Because there were 19 seminars every year conducted during quarters (1913–Spring 1999) and 30 seminars every year conducted during semesters (Fall 1999–Spring 2013), a total of 2073 seminars would have been possible. However, because of the known lapse in seminars during Jan. 1916 (four seminars in total), three seminar weeks skipped in Feb. 1916, a total of eight seminars missed during March (three seminars), April (four seminars), and May (one seminar) during Spring 1916, and those skipped during the 8.5 years of the period from 1917 to Spring 1925 (159 seminars), as many as 174 seminars were not presented. The devastating losses incurred during 1916 to Spring 1925 because of WWI and the flu pandemic closures, as well as the untimely death of Professor LeRoy Cady in 1923, caused the unfortunate loss of seminars and sharing of research, teaching, and extension topics in the department. Therefore, it is estimated that a total of 1899 seminars were most likely presented during the century-long period from 13 Jan. 1913 to 13 Jan. 2013.
National and Global Influence of the Seminar Series
The influence of this seminar series for the creation of similar horticultural seminars in horticulture departments across the country is unquestionably significant. Early departmental correspondence as well as seminar topics during 1913 to 1916 and 1925 demonstrate that Professors and Department Heads Green, Cady, and Alderman attended the annual conferences of the newly formed American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS; founded in 1903) and ASHS regional meetings and conferred with colleagues from other departments (Fig. 21). In 1888, the year the department was founded, Professor and Head Green hosted tours of the university facilities for several horticulture faculty from the states of Kansas, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin (Green, 1888). Common means of conveyance used for all trips during the 1880s through the early 1900s were steamboat, train, and horse-drawn buggies (Minnesota State Horticultural Society, 1873). The highly influential Minnesota State Horticultural Society (MSHS), founded in 1866 and funded by the State Legislature in 1873 as a “semi-state activity,” was the lead horticulture organization throughout the Midwest, with its influence spreading across the entire country and Canada (Minnesota State Horticultural Society, 1873). The MSHS was responsible for founding the Minnesota State Forestry Association and the Dakota Territorial Horticulture and Forestry Society. Printing and distribution of the MSHS annual publication (2000 copies in 1873) was widely circulated across the state and nation because of legislative support. This publication has been in continuous publication since the inception of the MSHS, unlike those of other horticultural organizations in states such as Ohio (e.g., Proceedings of the Columbus Horticultural Society published in 1886 and Journal of the Columbus Horticultural Society published only from 1887 to 1893) (Columbus Horticultural Society, 1887–1893). The current MSHS publication is entitled “Northern Gardener” (Minnesota State Horticultural Society, 2021). The MSHS was an influential lobbyist to the Minnesota State Legislature and the United States Congress during the 1880s through the 1890s, achieving the passage of many horticulture-related and ecological initiatives by both legislative bodies. All departmental faculty during 1888 to 1970 participated in meetings, administration, and authorship of publications for the MSHS.
The announcement of the 1925 to 1926 Winter quarter seminar series, the first Horticultural Program Seminars to resume after the end of World War I and the “Spanish” flu pandemic, after the death of Professor LeRoy Cady in 1923 (Division of Horticulture, 1913–1948). Photo credit: Neil Anderson.
Citation: HortScience 57, 8; 10.21273/HORTSCI16592-22
List of registrants in the Horticulture Seminar and Advanced Topics classes, Fall 1946 quarter (Division of Horticulture, 1913–1948). Photo credit: Neil Anderson.
Citation: HortScience 57, 8; 10.21273/HORTSCI16592-22
Although the pioneering history of the century-long horticulture seminar series at the University of Minnesota is unique, both in the nation and across the globe, no one has documented horticulture seminars at Land Grant or Ivy League colleges and universities across the United States. A Google (Mountain View, CA) survey of these institutions by the author revealed limited information about departmental websites. An informal questionnaire was subsequently sent via e-mail to current department heads or chairs and/or senior faculty within 33 departments across the country that did not have horticulture seminar information on their departmental websites. Seventeen (51.5%) responses were received. The questions included the following: 1) Does your department have a seminar series? Yes/No; 2) If your department has a seminar series, how often does it meet? Weekly, Biweekly, Monthly, Occasionally; 3) When was the seminar series started (year)?; 4) Does your seminar series have a website? If so, please supply this; and 5) If your department does not have a seminar series, why not?” Results from this poll as well as information found on departmental websites showed that 22 of 24 (91.7%) departments that responded (representing 46% of the United States Land Grant and Ivy League colleges and universities) have horticulture or related seminar series that are conducted weekly during the academic year (Table 2). However, for the remaining Land Grant institutions in the states that did not respond (27/50; 54%), no data are available. The two responding universities that did not have a horticulture seminar series were California Polytechnic State University (San Luis Obispo, CA) and the University of Wisconsin (Madison, WI) (Table 2). With the exception of the University of Minnesota Department of Horticultural Science, the exact founding date and history of respective seminar series at each institution are unknown, with the second earliest series established more than 50 years ago at the University of Maryland (Table 2). The richness of the history of the horticulture seminar at the University of Minnesota has provided invaluable connections of the current department with its past, and similar opportunities exist for other Land Grant institutions across the country to explore their departmental archives to discover and reconnect with their history.
Departmental seminar data from e-mail surveys of 4-year Land Grant or Ivy League colleges and universities across the United States with horticulture or other related plant science departments for the occurrence of a seminar series (+/−), the date of the founding of the seminars, frequency of seminars, and website link. Unlisted colleges and universities indicate a lack of survey responses.
The impacts of this century of horticultural wisdom shared through an estimated 1899 horticulture seminars at the University of Minnesota on students, research directions, instructional directions, pedagogy development, student internships, scholarships and endowments, extension efforts, industry, and the public-at-large cannot be underestimated. The continued building and expansion of cohorts through the seminars provided continuity of learning group cohorts from generation to generation of students, staff, and faculty alike. All of these collectively enhanced plant physiology, plant breeding, postharvest, marketing, and other research for the department, the state, and the world. The insight and visionary leadership of Professor LeRoy Cady has made the seminar series a legendary energizing force in horticultural science communication and public speaking engagement. We owe him a debt of gratitude for his continuing legacy.
Moving Forward: the Next Century of Seminars
The current seminar structure of the Department of Horticultural Science, University of Minnesota, is vitally integrated in the department’s weekly function to unite the faculty, staff, and graduate students. Its strong tradition continues to form a conduit for conveying new research with seminars by graduate students, faculty updates of the research directions of their laboratories, 5-year reviews of faculty Agricultural Experiment Station projects, and guest lectures from horticultural colleagues across the state, the nation, and the globe. Seminar titles are posted weekly online on the department’s website and distributed via e-mail in the weekly Twigbender newsletter for departmental events and news (https://horticulture.umn.edu/news/fall-2021-seminar-recordings) (Table 2).
In contrast to the “Spanish flu” pandemic of 1917–18 and through early 1925, when the departmental seminar series ceased because of restrictions on public gatherings, a similar ban was placed on public congregating and affected a seminar during the 2020–21 Covid-19 pandemic. On 13 Mar. 2020, a ban on public gatherings included the Horticulture Seminar as well as cessation of all live class lectures/laboratories, as communicated by University President Gabel and Dean Buhr (College of Food, Agriculture, and Natural Resources Sciences) in unpublished e-mail correspondence. The 2020–21 Covid-19 pandemic allowed for creating new options to continue the seminar. Because the wearing of masks was mandated and social distancing rules were instituted, all university public gatherings were banned beginning on 13 Mar. 2020 and continued into 2021. Therefore, the seminar series moved into a new era of online presentations. Although many seminars had been video-captured and made available on the departmental website before the Covid-19 pandemic, the ban on all public gatherings necessitated the implementation of weekly webinars via Zoom. This allowed department members and speakers to remotely access the seminars each week and continue the presentation of scientific discoveries. Anyone with the Zoom link could log into the secure webinars and listen to the presentations (Table 2). This has allowed for an increased and more diverse audience for the seminars. Recorded seminar webinars are archived by semester on the departmental website (https://horticulture.umn.edu/news/fall-2021-seminar-recordings) and available for viewing in perpetuity.
After the advent of Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines and widespread vaccination during Spring 2021 and Summer 2021, the seminar continued in a new hybrid format, with the seminar speaker often presenting live to a truncated, socially distanced audience and to an online audience. The ability of the Seminar Committee to continue the weekly Horticulture Seminar through the second pandemic that the department has experienced has provided important versatility, fluidity, and continuity in the delivery of scientific seminars. Clearly, the weekly seminar series at the University of Minnesota is a vital component of this department and others across the country (Table 2). Innovative minds with creative approaches to bypass pandemics, world wars, and other significant challenges will ensure that this next century of informational delivery continues!
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