Rex Jerrold Igo was born April 25, 1929 in Weleetka, Okla-homa, the youngest of ten children of William Everett Igo and Mary E. Igo. They moved west in the early years of the Dust Bowl and Great Depression, arriving in Medford, Oregon, in 1933 where the family farmed and grew peaches. Jerry graduated from Medford…
Long-time plant en-thusiast Veva Stansell knows there is much work to be done when it comes to cataloguing plants in Oregon, but the 73-year-old south-western Oregon resident welcomes the challenge. “There are times I wish I lived closer to a univer-sity, but on the other hand there are advantages to living far away,” said Veva,…
Charlene Simpson wears many hats: mother and grandmother, community committee person, and avid lay botanist. Her botanical interest dates back to childhood Camp Fire Girl projects and a dad whose motto was always “I brake for wildflowers.” Family and career obligations, however, restricted serious pursuit of botany in her early years. Although born in Colorado,…
A.genuine north-westerner, born and educated in Seattle, Rhoda Love claims she discovered her botanical calling in 1951 during a University of Washington botany class with C.L. Hitchcock. “Hitchy was inspiring. I had a superb education at Washington and will always be grateful to the many fine professors who taught me there,” she says. After graduation…
Frank Lang served three terms as president of NPSO (1985-1986, 1979-1981), was a “Founding Father” of the Siskiyou Chapter (1977), co-edited the Bulletin from 1979-1981, and was the first editor of Kalmiopsis (1991- 1994). He has won many awards for his research, publications and volunteer work, including 1990 “Volunteer of the Year” for The Nature…
“A flower is an exquisite thing, beautiful and delicate, a harbinger of hope for the green world that lets us all survive.” – Karl Urban, 1983 Karl was born June 6, 1943 in Kimberly, Idaho. In 1962 he entered the botany program at the University of Idaho, earning both BS and MS degrees. In 1968…
Biography and Botany Some Perspectives In her request for autobiographical remarks, our editor told me to “keep it brief.” I’ll do my best, but please remember the directions for that Mechanical Professor toy, “Wind it up, and it gives a lecture.” My reasons for choosing botanical taxonomy as a career are several. Firstly, I like…
The NPSO Fellows Committee and the Board of Directors have chosen Wilbur Bluhm and Kenton L. Chambers to become Fellows of the Native Plant Society of Oregon, our organization’s highest honor. The awards will be presented at this summer’s Annual Meeting. Wilbur Bluhm was born in Seward, Nebraska and took his Bachelor’s Degree at the…
Ruth Hansen is a pioneer of the Native Plant Society of Oregon, which was established in 1961 in Portland. Ruth joined in 1970, and was soon active as a field trip leader and an officer, first treasurer, then vice president. She seldom missed a field trip and even more often was out on the trails,…
My Life and Times Our national heroes – Jefferson, Lincoln, and the rest – have taken a beating lately, proving they were human too. I still have regard for Lincoln, though; after all he was born on my birthday, although some years earlier. I was born in West Concord, New Hampshire, during the first quarter…
In our modern world there is an inclination to be widely traveled. The more of the world we get to see, the richer we think our lives are. But this is not always the case. Keith Chamberlain (1914- 1998) spent his life in the Columbia River Gorge. He attended school in Mosier, Oregon, when there…