North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Jay Cutts <orders@cuttsreviews.com>]

I'm sorry to hear that John is gone. I had a few interactions with him 
that impressed me with his knowledge and his passion for plants. He was 
kind and down to earth. I think of him as someone who has learned much 
about how to live from the plants he has studied and loved.

I want to share one interaction I had with John. I had planted American 
persimmons at my 7000' elevation property and found that the tops were 
almost always killed but that the plants came back from the roots. This 
didn't do me much good with the grafted varieties I was trying to grow. 
I called John and asked him if there existed any named varieties on 
their own roots. He explained that persimmon cuttings did not root well 
enough. I ordered a few plants in order to try again and when the plants 
showed up a couple months later, they were labeled "SAA Piper on own 
roots." I called John back to ask for a clarification and he told me 
that he had an older plant of this variety that suckered and he was able 
to send me some rooted suckers.

I still have three of these plants. In some years they have been cut 
back to the ground but now they are moderately established. Hopefully 
some day they will fruit.

I shall think of John as I tend these trees.

Regards,

Jay

Jay Cutts
Director, Cutts Graduate Reviews
Lead Author, Barron's MCAT Prep Book
Lead Author, Barron's LSAT Prep Book (2013)
(505)-281-0684
10 am to 10 pm Mt Time, 7 days

On 9/6/2012 5:43 PM, mIEKAL aND wrote:
> I've been buying seed from John on and off for the past 10 years.  I
> always loved reading thru his descriptions on his website.  I sure
> hope this work is preserved somehow.
>
> ~mIEKAL
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: trenthillsmike <trenthillsca@gmail.com>
> Date: Thu, Sep 6, 2012 at 5:54 PM
> Subject: [scionexchange] John Gordon Passes
> To: scionexchange@yahoogroups.com
>
>
> John Gordon passed away on August 2 of this year after several months
> of being hospitalized. He was recognized as an expert in nut culture
> as well as some of the "orphan" fruits including pawpaw and persimmon.
> He was an extraordinary nut tree explorer and grower always searching
> for new adaptable species of nut trees or cultivars with outstanding
> characteristics. His most outstanding attribute was his willingness to
> share what he found with everyone who was interested without concern
> for credit or remuneration.
>
> John Gordon joined NNGA in the early 1960's with a driving interest in
> the American chestnut, an interest that continued throughout his life.
> This interest expanded to all other nuts including hickory and pecan.
> I met John at my first NNGA meeting in 1968 and we became good friends
> from then on.
>
> He was an inaugural member of SONG and attended the first meeting in
> October of 1972. He was an enthusiastic, active member for many years.
> He was elected as President of SONG, a position he held for several
> years. He donated the writing of Nut Growing Ontario Style, the first
> handbook of the Society of Ontario Nut Growers.
>
> He was also an active member of the New York branch of the American
> Chestnut Foundation as soon as it formed. He assisted wherever he was
> asked in the meetings and research work. He also joined the New York
> Nut Growers Association as soon as it formed. He actively served both
> groups until his death.
>
> He was one of the group responsible for the introduction of the ultra
> northern pecans that are successfully growing in eastern North
> America. He went into the nettle infested northern Mississippi River
> forests several years in a row to find early ripening pecans. He
> collected pecan seed nuts and scion wood from these trees. We now have
> his colorfully named cultivars like `Deerstand', `Lucas', `Carlson 3'
> and `Snaps' because of his efforts. He unselfishly shared all of his
> findings with his interested friends. He started the Pecan
> Distribution Programme where he sent out thousands of packets of ultra
> northern pecans to interested growers all over the USA and Canada for
> several years. This project caused the NNGA membership to swell to
> record numbers.
>
> He dedicated a large part of his 50 acre farm to the trial plantings
> of thousands of seedling and grafted trees with the intention of
> introducing new cultivars of nut trees. His outstanding contributions
> of `Imshu', `Locket' and `Stealth' are a few of the heartnut
> selections he made. His nut tree nursery supplied numerous growers
> with seedling and grafted trees, as well as seed nuts and scion wood
> for many years.
>
> His interests also turned to the fruiting trees that NNGA members
> adopted including pawpaw's and persimmons. He introduced and tested
> several selections of both of these fruits including his own persimmon
> introduction `Geneva Long' recently renamed `Gordon' by the Grimo Nut
> Nursery.
>
> John will be sorely missed to all those who knew him. A remembrance
> was held on August 3 and his ashes were spread over his Amherst
> property by his daughter Katie Gordon on August 10.
>
> Ernie Grimo in S.O.N.G News Sept 2012
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
> <*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
>      http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scionexchange/
>
> <*> Your email settings:
>      Individual Email | Traditional
>
> <*> To change settings online go to:
>      http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scionexchange/join
>      (Yahoo! ID required)
>
> <*> To change settings via email:
>      scionexchange-digest@yahoogroups.com
>      scionexchange-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
>
> <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>      scionexchange-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
> <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
>      http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
> __________________
> nafex mailing list
> nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
> aubscribe/unsubscribe|user config|list info:
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/nafex
> message archives
> https://lists.ibiblio.org/sympa/arc/nafex
> Google message archive search:
> site: lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/nafex [searchstring]
> nafex list mirror sites:
> http://nafexlist.blogspot.com/
> http://groups.google.com/group/nafexlist
> https://sites.google.com/site/nafexmailinglist
> Avant Geared  http://www.avantgeared.com