Oral History By the Oral History Team
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radition
ince its founding in 1926, the Garden has been home to many memorable characters – horticulturalists, landscape architects, botanists, historians, conservationists, and nature lovers of many stripes. These folks and their work over the past 95 years have shaped our collective understanding of the Garden today. We are fortunate that staff throughout the years have captured different voices and experiences through photos, writing, and interviews, and kept these historical resources in archives for us to learn from today. The Garden’s Oral History Program has been led by librarians, interns, and dedicated volunteers to show life through the eyes of the influential figures of our modern history, and ensure that their contributions live on into the future.
as a condition of his job, he could carry around a “surf box” and leave at any time when it alerted him that the waves were good.
Strawberry meadow in 1946.
Photo: Joseph Muench
1985 Nancy Hawver and Dara Emery recording “A Spring Walk” for Oral History Program, Porter Trail 1985. Photo: Shari Smith
1983 With the intention of increasing awareness of the Garden’s history, Nancy Hawver inaugurated an Oral History program in 1983. She began simply with the desire to collect information on the history of the Botanic Garden and discovered as she went along that a wealth of historical information was waiting to be tapped in the memories and reminiscences of local residents. A number of the interviews have been transcribed and bound. These personal narratives capture and preserve a unique aspect of local history and of the Garden’s development. [from Staff Profiles: Nancy Hawver; Librarian Garden Newsletter, p. 6, 1988] At the time, the Gane House was empt y, and in disrepair. Ralph Philbrick (Garden Director 1973-1987) was aware that its history was being lost. A friend of his from UCSB had a son, Don Norris, who needed a summer job, and Ralph proposed hiring him and having him work with Nancy to develop oral histories. Don Norris gained some notoriet y around the Garden because,
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Ironwood SPRING | SUMMER 2021
"Since its inception just over two years ago, the Oral History collection has produced 54 taped interviews of people who have been part of the Garden’s development. Sally Gane and Elizabeth Cram shared their recollections of growing up in Mission Canyon in the early part of the century before the Garden was established. Horticulturist Dara Emery covered his 30 years of experiences growing native plants and working at the Garden, and long-time Mission Canyon resident Joseph Muench, who captured early views of the Garden on film, was also interviewed. Many of the interviews, now transcribed and edited, are housed in the Library Annex Special Collections Room.” [from 1984-1985 Annual Report, p.13]
2008 Librarian Joan Ariel with summer intern Will Robinson planned to interview former grounds superintendent, naturalist, and historian E.R. (Jim) Blakley and former director Ralph Philbrick. Unfortunately, Mr. Blakley died before the interview took place, but the interview with Dr. Philbrick was recorded and transcribed and is currently being prepared for publication. In 2008, Randy Wright joined the Garden Staff as the Digital Image and Database Specialist and expanded his role to Libraries Collections Coordinator in 2013. In both of these roles, he found boxes of tapes in storage. He led an effort to digitize these tapes, a process that is not only slow, but fraught with technical glitches.
