Alfred Reed Bishop and Doris William Butler

The picture above is the very tap root of Bishop's Homegrown/Face Of The Earth Seed. My grandparents shortly after moving to Pekin Indiana from Greensburg KY in 1947 where they purchased the farm that is now Bishop's Homegrown. This picture was taken in Pekin in front of the old co-op next to the old railroad depot, neither of which exist today.

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Monday, March 22, 2010

Goodby Val Mcmurray

Today Homegrown Goodness has been covered by a wave of sadness with the passing of the wonderful Val Mcmurray. Val was a consumate seed saver and a source of inspiration and continued encouragement for me and my breeding experiments. Val was a wonderful woman who took great strides in preserving diversity by way of her and her husband Dan's wonderful Canadian seed bank. We will miss Val. but we know that she will always walk with us in our gardens and our hearts, sharing secrets with us about the plants that we wouldn't otherwise know. This past year Val. was sweet enough to share with me a ton of fruit pits and seeds despite having to battle US customs to get them here. Among them were several hundred cherry pits of many different types. Out of those many types I hope to select one which I will name in her memory, I'm thinking a tart cherry would fit her wonderful attitude. We love you val and goodbye for now my friend.

In memory of her, I found this fitting:


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3 comments:

Rebsie Fairholm said...

I'm really sorry to hear about Val. That's really sad news. She was a lovely, warm, generous person whose passion for everything she grew was a real inspiration, backed up with seemingly endless energy and enthusiasm, and generosity with her time and knowledge. Her spirit will live on in the gardens all over the world where people are growing her seeds. But my thoughts at this time are with Dan.

Kara said...

I have not been on the forum in a while and did not know. Thanks for making this post!
RIP Val, see you on the flip side.

Robert Brenchley said...

Very sorry to hear this, she'll be sadly missed.