...for discerning weeders MEET MR. MORRILL
INSIDE THIS ISSUE News!
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Plants on Vacation
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Weed of the Month
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Updates and Info
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Coordinator’s Corner
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Wildlife Happenings
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There’s an App for That!
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Invasive Update
8
Recipe Roundup
9
Out and About
10
Book Review
11
We Need You!
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Last Word
12
HAVE YOU LOGGED ON TO VMS LATELY? DON’T FORGET TO KEEP YOUR HOURS UP TO DATE!
Justin Smith Morrill was denied a college education because his father couldn't afford to send all his sons to college and didn't think it was fair to send just one. He was born in 1810 and raised in the tiny town of Strafford, VT where his father was a blacksmith. He was very bright and became a self-educated man but considered the lack of a college education a great disadvantage. He was forced to leave school at 15 and became devoted to learning. One of his favorite subjects was architecture. He designed his Gothic revival-style home and his gardens, mapping out an intricate pattern of flower beds, other plantings, fruit gardens, and orchards. He was so successful in business that he intended to retire at age 38 as a gentleman farmer, reading, watching over his investments, and experimenting with horticulture. His retirement was cut short in 1854 when his political friends pressed him into service, sending him to Washington as one of the state's representatives. He served in the House until 1866, during which time he sponsored the groundbreaking legislation that bears his name. When President Lincoln signed the Morrill Land Grant Act in July 1862, it was the beginning of a profound change in the college and university system in this country, creating equal opportunity. Until then, most colleges were private, expensive, and elite beyond the reach of most young people despite their abilities. Traditionally, training was focused on doctors, lawyers, teachers, military leaders and clergy. Justin envisioned a system of colleges where the practical skills needed by farmers, mechanics and other laborers would be taught. He proposed establishing at least one college in each state. Others had similar ideas but did not gain traction until Justin became the advocate. The Morrill Land Grant Act established that each state would be granted 30,000 acres of
An Okaloosa County Master Gardener Publication
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by S. Olsen federal land for each senator and representative from that state. The sale of that land would provide endowments to be used to operate the colleges. The land grant bill had a timeline of 5 years but because, in 1862, the nation had other priorities it took much longer for many of these colleges to take root. In 1867 legislators passed the Hatch Act which provided money for agricultural research stations in each state. In 1890 the Second Morrill Act passed, again with Justin's sponsorship (by then he was a Senator). It increased the endowments for the land grant schools and required that, in order to continue to receive federal support, each state must fulfill the bill's original intent, by allowing blacks to attend their institution or by creating and supporting equally a black land grant college. The 1890 act also required that land grant colleges be co-ed. Today, every one of us has access to the resources created through the land grant system and has access to the cooperative extension service, created in 1914, when Congress passed the Smith Lever Act. Justin served on the Board of Regents for the Smithsonian from 1883 until 1898. He served on the city's Board of Public Works and under his tenure underground sewers were installed, streets were paved, parks were built, and 60,000 trees were planted. He successfully advocated for the construction of a separate Supreme Court building and for a new Library of Congress building to replace the original destroyed during the War of 1812. Justin passed away in 1898. At that time he was the longest serving legislator in American history. August, 2014