Kelly
gardener
Posts: 117
|
Post by Kelly on Sept 14, 2014 12:02:15 GMT -5
Afternoon all,
I'm currently in the process of writing an article on Dan & Val for an upcoming issue of the Seeds of Diversity magazine. While part of the article is focused on the College of the Rockies and their inheritance of the seed collection, I'd like to have a more personal side to the article as well, as we all know Dan and Val meant so much to many of us.
If anybody is interested in being a part of the article - stories of how you knew them through seed saving, varieties you received, etc, please send me a private message because I'd love to discuss a bit further and curate some more information. This is going to be the headlining article of the issue, so I really want to showcase all these two did for the seed saving community and how far reaching their kindness and love have reached.
Thanks everybody!
|
|
|
Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Sept 14, 2014 13:26:09 GMT -5
Some years ago Dan McMurray sent me tomato seeds. Since that time their offspring have been the production workhorses in my garden. I have shared the seed widely. After his death I received other seeds which originated with Dan. They have become the foundation of my landrace tomato breeding program. I estimate that more than half of the tomatoes that I planted this year are descended from Dan's varieties.
I suspect, though don't have documentation to prove it that my tobacco, and winter squash contain descendants of Dan's varieties. They would be descendents of seeds that Dan shared with others that got incorporated into landrace breeding projects and then those people shared with me.
Dan wrote, "we feel that we are merely temporary stewards of the seeds. The object is to get them spread out far enough, and in enough different hands, that they will not disappear. We believe in 'pay it forward', and if you don't know what that means, google the term. we think the world could use a lot more of it."
Based on what's growing in my garden and how widely I have shared his seeds, it seems like his philosophy is being realized.
|
|
|
Post by 12540dumont on Sept 14, 2014 16:32:00 GMT -5
Kelly, I never knew Val, but Dan changed my life.
I'm a bean hunter. I was hunting beans and Dan (Grunt) showed me how to use GRIN! He also introduced me to the great folks here. I complained to him that big growers were always stealing my ideas and crops. Dan laughed and told me that like a Pied Piper, I could lead these folks to the promised land of landrace, op, organic.
Many times when I'm out working on the farm I talk to Dan, I know he's out there keeping an eye on the beans that he sent. He had a great sense of humor and reminded me often not to lose mine. I once asked him if I could send him postage money for the seed he sent me, here's his reply:
Holly: I look at it this way: I don't drink (not since the late 70's), I started 250 tobacco plants last year, and quit smoking before they were harvested (I smoked for 56 years), and it gets the seeds out where I know the varieties are much less likely to disappear. My years total for postage costs less than a good night on the town, and I always, over the course of the seed trading year, get back more than enough seeds to keep me from having to buy any. I believe in pay it forward, and have noticed that doing so is contagious. Since I started doing this, and making it known that I do it, I have noticed there are a lot more people out there willing to take a pass on getting something back right now, and leaving it open to perhaps future consideration, or just passing it on. It's not what you get out of the world, it's what you put into it. Cheers Dan
You can really get a good sense of dan by looking over his posts.
P.S. Dan, I still miss you.
|
|
|
Post by davida on Sept 15, 2014 1:10:15 GMT -5
Kelly,
I also did not know Val and did not get to know Dan long enough. Here is a little of his wisdom that he shared:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As you have, I have also had a couple of looks into the abyss in the past = near misses that should have taken me, but didn't even knock the wind out of me. The realization of how close the end had come, has shaped the way I think and feel, and the way I approach the world. Unfortunately, time tends to let one forget that it can all end in a heartbeat, so you should pay more attention to what marvels are all around you. I do not consider this encounter with cancer to be in the same class of event as those of the past, but it is a good wake up call, to remind me of the gifts I have always enjoyed, and tell me to see what is there. I will never be known as a world shaker, and never had the desire to be such, but I do what I can to start making little ripples that might help change things a bit. First, I expect people to treat me as I intend to treat them, and am seldom disappointed. Beyond that, pay it forward is always a good way to send out ripples of change = people just do not expect it. I will sign off now, or babble all night. Cheers Dan -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I am thankful for the "ripple" that he made in my life and he was a world shaker of the best kind.
|
|
|
Post by DarJones on Sept 21, 2014 3:00:04 GMT -5
I only knew Dan and Val from posts on forums like this one. They were a bit wacky, always willing to share, and made a point of talking about what they were growing and how it was doing. I too got some unusual genetics from his seed shares. While not as well adapted to my climate, I benefited by sharing his seed with others. Jagodka tomato is one that is permanently etched in my mind after finding it to be an exceptional early maturing short season variety. It will be used in at least 2 breeding programs to develop better performing varieties for future growers.
|
|