JOSEPH GERARDI
Mr. Joseph Gerardi, 78 year old nurseryman, died at his home in O'Fallon, Ill., on April 3rd, 1947.
Mr. Gerardi was an enthusiastic and especially well informed student of nut culture. He was always looking for new and better seedlings, some of which were named as they were found worthy. His Gerardi hican is probably one of the best in that group. He also introduced the Gildig pecans (Gildig Nos. 1 and 2) and the Fisher pecan. Mr. Gerardi was quite successful as a propagator and always tried to have nursery stock of the best varieties. His loss will be keenly felt. His son, Louis Gerardi, will continue the propagation of nut trees at Caseyville, Ill.
(The following notes are supplied by Louis Gerardi.—Ed.)
Joseph Gerardi was born in the year 1868 on the old Hagamann farm, five and one-half miles northwest of Lebanon, Ill., in O'Fallon Township. He was the fourth child of John and Catherine (Haas) Gerardi.
When he reached the age of five years, his parents moved on a farm three and one-half miles southeast of Trenton, Illinois, in Clinton County. His early schooling was obtained in the McKee School near his home and in St. Mary's School in the town of Trenton, Illinois. After graduating from the eighth grade, he helped his father through the spring and summer months with the farm work, but in the winter attended McKee school.
In the year 1894 at the age of 25 years he left the home farm in Clinton County, and moved to a farm two and one-half miles southeast of Jerseyville, Illinois, in Jersey County. Here he began the study of fruit growing, and became an agent for the Stark Bros. Nursery.
In 1907 he married Eleanor Collignon of Trenton, Illinois. To this union six children were born: Eleanor Barbara, Sharlotte Catherine, Eugenia Ruth, Louis Joseph, Bernice Marie, and Gertrude Beatrice.
In the spring of 1918 he sold this farm and moved to Trenton, Ill., where he worked with his father-in-law, John Martin Collignon, doing construction work. During this year he searched for a farm with soil suitable for fruit growing.
In 1919 he purchased a 110 acre farm situated two and one-half miles west of O'Fallon, Illinois. The next year he set out twenty acres of Stark Bros. trees.
While living on this farm in the fall of 1920 the little family had its first great loss. Here the oldest girl, Eleanor Barbara, died from a railroad accident.
Julius Rohr, watching him work with his trees, encouraged him to start his own nursery because he knew so much about trees. With this encouragement, he started his own nursery in 1923. As demand increased he added a general line of nursery stock.
Being interested in better varieties of fruit trees, he also became interested in better varieties of nuts. Having some native nut trees on his farm, he began to buy the better varieties of nut trees grown by other nurseries. When these came into bearing, not being satisfied with the known varieties of nuts on the market, he began his search for better nuts.
In the fall of 1930 while searching in the river bottoms of Clinton County, Illinois, he discovered the Gerardi hican, and began its propagation and distributed it among other nurseries. It is now known the country over.
A few years later while hunting in the same river bottoms with a friend named Frank Gildig, he was shown a very fine pecan which now bears the name of the Gildig pecan. And also the Queens Lake Pecan originated in the same locality. These were introduced in the year 1936. His health failed and in 1942 he discontinued growing general nursery stock and grew only nut trees, until his death, which was caused by cancer in the spring of 1947.
MAJOR HIRAM B. FERRIS
Our Major Hiram B. Ferris, of Spokane, Washington, died May 14th, 1947. He was a valued member, and his loss is keenly felt. He has been a source of inspiration, and a highly esteemed bank of information and instruction. His passing is very much regretted.
(Submitted by George L. Denman, Spokane, Washington.)
Mrs. William Rohrbacher,
Mrs. John Hershey,
Mrs. J. F. Johns.
(Committee Members)
Exhibitors At the Annual Meeting of the Northern Nut Growers Association, Guelph, Ontario, Sept. 3, 4, 5, 1947
A. B. Anthony, Sterling, Ill.
Black walnuts, Anthony shagbark hickory.
Mrs. F. L. Baum, Yellow House, Pa.
Black walnut kernels.
G. H. Corsan, "Echo Valley", Islington, Ont.
Black walnuts, Persian walnuts, Japanese walnuts, heartnuts, filberts,
shellbark and shagbark hickories.
H. H. Corsan, Hillsdale, Mich.
Black walnuts, Persian walnuts, Japanese heartnuts and walnuts,
pecans, hicans, butternuts, butternut hybrids, shagbark and shellbark
hickories.
Dr. R. T. Dunstan, Greensboro College, Greensboro, N. C.
Black walnuts, filberts, shagbark hickories, pecans.
Fayette Etter, Lemasters, Pa.
Black walnuts, Persian walnuts, Chinese chestnuts, filberts, shagbark
and shellbark hickories.
J. U. Gellatly, Westbank, B. C.
Hybrid filberts, hybrid butternuts, photographs.
A. G. Hirschi, Oklahoma City, Okla.
Pecan clusters, various varieties.
E. F. Huen, Eldora, Iowa.
Black walnuts.
G. J. Korn, Kalamazoo, Mich.
Black walnut kernels, black walnuts, Persian walnuts, Persian walnut
hybrids, shagbark hickories.
Dr. L. H. MacDaniels, Ithaca, N. Y.
Black walnuts, Japanese heartnuts, Turkish filbert, shagbark and
shellbark hickories.
J. C. McDaniel, Nashville 3, Tenn.
Shagbark hickories, heartnut, Texas walnut.
Papple Brothers, Brantford, Ont.
Black walnuts, Japanese heartnuts, filberts.
Jay L. Smith, Chester, N. Y.
Filberts, Japanese chestnuts.
H. F. Stoke, Roanoke, Va.
Black and Persian walnuts, heartnuts, filberts, shagbark and shellbark
hickories, Chinese, Japanese, American and hybrid chestnuts, papaws,
chestnut grafts.
Kenneth Thomas, Baltimore, Md.
Black walnuts.
Lynn Tuttle, Clarkston, Wash.
Persian walnut nuts and shield buds, filberts.
U. S. Department of Agriculture, Plant Industry Station, Beltsville, Md.
Persian walnuts, heartnuts, pecans, Chinese and Japanese chestnuts,
Allegheny chinkapin.
Vineland Experiment Station, Vineland, Ont.
Persian walnuts, filberts, almonds.
J. F. Wilkinson, Rockport, Ind.
Black walnuts, hicans.
Pictures Made on the 1947 Tour
The photograph on this page was taken by Sterling Smith, those on pp. [126-7] are by Dorothy Milne. Groups of NNGA members are shown examining nut trees and other items of interest on G. H. Corsan's place, "Echo Valley," Islington, Ontario.
Attendance
Mr. and Mrs. Royal Oakes, Bluffs, Ill.
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Gressel, Mohawk, N. Y.
Mr. and Mrs. F. L. O'Rourke, East Lansing, Mich.
Mr. Ford Wallick, Peru, Ind.
Mr. Carl Prell, South Bend, Ind.
Dr. Arthur S. Colby, U. of Ill., Urbana, Ill.
Rosamond H. Waite, M.D., Perrysburg, N. Y.
Mr. and Mrs. Raymond E. Silvis, Massillon, O.
Mrs. Herbert Negus, Mt. Rainier, Md.
Mr. and Mrs. G. F. Gravatt, U. S. Plant Industry Sta., Beltsville, Md.
W. M. Churchill, Chicago, Ill.
Edwin W. Lemke, Detroit, Mich.
Wm. C. Hodgson, White Hall, Md.
Ivor H. Harrhy, Burgessville, Ont.
Gordon Porter, Windsor, Ont.
Dr. and Mrs. Wm. Rohrbacher, Iowa City, Ia.
Betty Rohrbacher, Iowa City, Ia.
Anne Clarke, Columbus, Ohio.
G. L. Slate, Geneva, N. Y.
Mr. and Mrs. John H. Connelly, Milford, N. J.
J. F. Wilkinson, Rockport, Ind.
Dr. L. H. MacDaniels, Ithaca, N. Y.
Sterling A. Smith, Vermilion, Ohio
D. C. Snyder, Center Point, Iowa
Dr. J. Russell Smith, Swarthmore, Pa.
Mr. and Mrs. H. F. Stoke, Roanoke, Va.
Eugene F. Cranz, Ira, Ohio
Victor Brook, Rochester, N. Y.
George Salzer, Rochester, N. Y.
Dr. and Mrs. H. L. Crane, Hyattsville, Md.
Spencer B. Chase, Norris, Tenn.
Ira M. Kyhl, Sabula, Iowa
Mr. and Mrs. R. P. Allaman, Harrisburg, Pa.
H. A. English, Duncan, B. C.
Wm. J. Little, St. George
W. J. Strong, Vineland, Ont.
Harry R. Weber, Cincinnati, Ohio
G. J. Korn, Kalamazoo, Mich.
Roy E. Ferguson, Center Point, Iowa
Elton E. Papple, Cainsville, Ont.
Merle H. Papple, Cainsville, Ont.
E. F. Huen, Eldora, Iowa
C. C. Lounsberry, Ames, Iowa
Ralph Emerson, Highland Park, Mich.
Joseph C. McDaniel, Nashville 3, Tenn.
Mr. and Mrs. Blaine McCollum, White Hall, Md.
H. W. Guengerich, Louisiana, Mo.
J. S. Shoemaker, Guelph, Ont.
Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Bernath, Poughkeepsie, N. Y.
William S. Clarke, Jr., State College, Pa.
E. Sam Hemming, Easton, Md.
John Rick, Reading, Pa.
Lewis E. Theiss, Lewisburg, Pa.
Ralph Gibson, Williamsport 15, Pa.
Gilbert L. Smith, Wassaic, N. Y.
Levi Housser, Beamsville, Ont.
Mr. and Mrs. Philip S. Moyer, Harrisburg, Pa.
Ernest Chitton, Norwich, Ont.
H. Lynn Tuttle, Clarkston, Wash.
Mrs. J. A. Neilson, Guelph, Ont.
Mildred Jones, Lancaster, Pa.
J. R. VanHaarlem, Vineland Station, Ontario
