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Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library
Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections LibraryP.O. Box 400110
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia 22904-4110
URL: https://small.library.virginia.edu/
(Joseph Azzizi created Series), Ellen Welch
Administrative Information
Copyright
This collection contains some in-copyright material. Visit our Permissions and Publishing page for more information about use of Special Collections materials. The library can provide copyright information upon request, but users are responsible for making their own determination about lawful use of collections materials. https://www.library.virginia.edu/special-collections/services/publishing
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research use.
Preferred Citation
MSS 10553, American Rhododendron Society Records, Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia.
Processing Information
This finding aid was created for creating access to recent and future additions. The guides for original acquisition and previous additions can be found in the online catalog.
Biographical / Historical
The American Rhododendron Society was founded in 1944 as an organization for amateur and professional growers of rhododendrons and azaleas. The organization conducts research, offers courses, compiles statistics, registers names of new clonal selections, and sponsors competitions. National meetings are held annually, usually in April or May.
Content Description
This collection consists of the records of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society . Correspondence, minutes, newsletters, and photographs pertaining to various activities of the chapter. The additions to this collection include information about regional chapters other than the Mid-Atlantic Chapter.
A major portion of the records deals with the administration of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter, such as the election of officers, finances, and programs for annual meetings. Minutes, newsletters of various chapters, inventories, catalogs, logbooks and studies of various members, printed articles, maps, and obituaries are also present.
The correspondence pertains to the registration of new hybrids, seed exchange, research on rhododendrons, publications, and rhododendron gardens.
Original guides to collection - MSS 10553 - https://search.lib.virginia.edu/sources/uva_library/items/u1750298 MSS 10553-a - https://search.lib.virginia.edu/sources/uva_library/items/u1750303
Guides for previous additions with the collection numbers MSS 10553-b through MSS 10553-bu can be found in the catalog
Arrangement
The original order of the collection has been maintained, with some modifications. General correspondence files interspersed with separate files on meetings of the Middle Atlantic Chapter, as well as regional and national meetings of the American Rhododendron Society, comprise the bulk of the collection. Also included are minutes of the national organization. Addition 3 contains newsletters of chapters from across the country in 2022. Material within all folders is arranged chronologically.
Container List
- Mixed Materials [X030038174] box: 1
Correspondence1951-1953
- Mixed Materials [X030038174] box: 1
Financial Papers1952-1955
- Mixed Materials [X030038174] box: 1
Correspondence1954 January-1956 May
- Mixed Materials [X030038175] box: 2
Correspondence1956 June-December
- Mixed Materials [X030038175] box: 2
Bank Statements1956 March-1958 February
- Mixed Materials [X030038175] box: 2
Correspondence1957 January-1958 December
- Mixed Materials [X030038175] box: 2
Transcript of midwinter meeting, Richmond, Va.1958 January 25
- Mixed Materials [X030038175] box: 2
Correspondence re: midwinter meeting, Richmond, Va.1958 January
- Mixed Materials [X030038175] box: 2
Correspondence re: spring meeting, Norfolk, Va.1958 February-April
- Mixed Materials [X030038175] box: 2
Correspondence1959 January-December
- Mixed Materials [X030038176] box: 3
Correspondence re: spring meeting, Asheville, North Carolina1959 June-1960 January
- Mixed Materials [X030038176] box: 3
Correspondence re: spring meeting, Bethesda, Md.1959 June-1960 June, n.d.
- Mixed Materials [X030038176] box: 3
Correspondence re: spring meeting, Charlottesville, Va.1959 Ju1.-1961 April
- Mixed Materials [X030038176] box: 3
Correspondence re: spring meeting, Charlottesville, Va.1961 April-September, undated.
- Mixed Materials [X030038176] box: 3
Correspondence1960
- Mixed Materials [X030038176] box: 3
Correspondence re: American Rhododendron Society 1962 Annual Meeting, Wilmington, Delaware1960 June-1961 December
- Mixed Materials [X030038177] box: 4
Correspondence re: American Rhododendron Society 1962 Annual Meeting, Wilmington, Delaware1962 January-October, undated.
- Mixed Materials [X030038177] box: 4
Correspondence1961 January-1962 December
- Mixed Materials [X030038177] box: 4
Correspondence re: exhibition at American Rhododendron Society 1962 Annual Meeting1962 January-April
- Mixed Materials [X030038178] box: 5
Correspondence re: spring meeting, Richmond, Va.1962 November-1963 May, undated.
- Mixed Materials [X030038178] box: 5
Correspondence1963 January-December
- Mixed Materials [X030038178] box: 5
Correspondence re: spring meeting, Washington, D.C.1963 June-1964 May, undated.
- Mixed Materials [X030038178] box: 5
Correspondence1964 January-May
- Mixed Materials [X030038179] box: 6
Correspondence1964 June-1966 December
- Mixed Materials [X030038179] box: 6
Correspondence re: spring meeting, Philadelphia, Pa.1965 February-1966 June, undated
- Mixed Materials [X030038179] box: 6
Correspondence1967 January-April
- Mixed Materials [X030038180] box: 7
Correspondence1967 May-1968 December
- Mixed Materials [X030038180] box: 7
Correspondence re: American Rhododendron Society 1969 Annual Meeting1968 August-1969 April
- Mixed Materials [X030038180] box: 7
Correspondence re: panel discussion, American Rhododendron Society 1969 Annual Meeting1968 November-1969 April
- Mixed Materials [X030038180] box: 7
Correspondence1969 January-1969 December
- Mixed Materials [X030038180] box: 7
Correspondence re: 1970 Eastern Regional Meeting, American Rhododendron Society1969 June-1970 Mar
- Mixed Materials [X030038181] box: 8
Correspondence re: 1970 Eastern Regional Meeting, American Rhododendron Society1970 April-September
- Mixed Materials [X030038181] box: 8
Correspondence1970 January-1972
- Mixed Materials [X030038181] box: 8
Correspondence re: spring meeting, Richmond, Va. , May, 19721972 February-May, undated
- Mixed Materials [X030038182] box: 9
Correspondence1973-1974-December
- Mixed Materials [X030038182] box: 9
Correspondence re spring meeting, Washington, D.C.1973 June-1974 May, undated
- Mixed Materials [X030038182] box: 9
Minutes: American Rhododendron Society Board of Director's Meeting1981 April-1982 May
- Mixed Materials [X030038182] box: 9
Photographs
This addition is minimally processed. Box 1, Series 1: 1. Le-Mac Nursery Material 2. 1937-1938 3. 1938-1939 selected 4. 1939-1940 selected 5. 1940+1941 selected 6. 1940, 1941 selected 7. 1942 selected WWII 8.1942-1943 selected WWII 9. 943-1944 selected WWII 10. 1943-1944 selected mostly brokers WWII 11. 1945-6 postwar invoice selected 12. 1945-1946 selected 13. 1949-1950 Dr. Thomas Wheeldon was founder of the Middle-Atlantic chapter of ARS 14. 1950-1951 some become MAC-ARS members 15. 1953-1954 16. 1956-1957 17. 1957-1958 selected 18. 1958-1959 19. 1962— 20. 1965-1966 21. 1967-1968 22. 1970-1971 selected 23. 1976-1979 selected 24. 1979-1980 25. 1980-1981 26. 1982-1983 customers (Selected by Ken before he died) 27. 1984-1985 customers 28. MAC fall meeting 2003 29. MAC 50th anniversary 2002 30. Untitled folder 31. Le-Mac plant orders - famous nurseries 32. Le-Mac nurseries, misc. - Kenneth McDonald (Sr.) story + nursery misc. 33. People with ARS connections - 1973 and later 34. Early seed + plant acquisitions by Le-Mac about 1927-1945 35. Henry A. Dreer early orders 36. Early seed, plant, etc orders 1927— 37. Misc. papers - early days -> selected by Ken 38. Jacques Legendre - selected: original partner with Kenneth McDonald Sr. at Le-Mac Legendre later founded Gulf Stream Nursery with Bob Talley 39. McD GC. / Le-Mac / Personal 40. 1929-1934 Plants ordered from Europe etc - corresponding to some catalogues in catalogue file 41. 1929-1932 42. 1931-1932 43. 1932-1933 44. 1934, 1935 45. 1934, 1935, 1936 selected 46. 1936-1937 selected 47. MAC very old newsletters 48. Catalogues M 49. Catalogues N 50. Catalogues O P 51. Catalogues Q R 52. Catalogues S 53. Catalogues T
Box 2, Series 1: Le-Mac Nursery Material contd. 54. Plant catalogues - loose / misc. 55. Plant catalogues - loose / misc. 56. Plant patents with common names 57. Le-Mac deeds 58. Le-Mac deeds 59. Waivers + consent 60. Le Mac stock boy back 1990 61. Untitled 62. Sept 28, 1978 - March 16, 1995 minutes of Le-Mac nurseries, June 63. Minutes book 1 (book, not folder) 64. Minutes book 2 (book, not folder) Series 2: Kenneth McDonald 65. MAC / ARS Meetings 66. ASA 67. Harry Wise Silver 68. The Azalea Society of America (ASA) - misc 69. Miscellaneous azalea and rhododendron booklets 70. Dr. Wheeldon MAC old correspondence 71. Misc. Kenneth McDonald Jr papers - box 1 72. Awards 73. Awards 2001 74. Spring 2003 awards 75. Awards fall 2004 76. MAC miscellaneous meetings 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 77. ROY (Rhododendron of the Year) 78. Misc correspondence 79. Correspondence re: UVA 80. Austin C. Kennell copies 81. Don Hyatt 82. Ken - budged + finance comm. 83. Bill Bedwell award of merit
Box 3, Series 2: Kenneth McDonald contd. 84. Silver Medal Norman + Jean Brady 85. District 9 Directors Ken McD + Don Voss 86. Gregory Bald project (aerial photo) 87. MAC ARS Meetings 88. MAC ARS convention 1988 89. Society membership decline 90. Misc. correspondence 91. Misc papers - K. McDonald Series 3: Rhododendron Society material 92. JARS content problem re: change to 50% how-to 93. ARS editorial committee 2004 94. ARS ED COM 2005 95. ED COM 2006 96. ED COM 2007 97. ED COM 2008-2016 98. Obits + Bios 99. Correspondence and miscellaneous 100. Stubbs, Kendon Skinner website 101. MAC History - by Theresa Brent 102. Hurricane Isabel Sept 2003 + MAC members + Jean in Nova Scotia 103. Wise, Harry 104. Wheeldon, Gladys 105. Voss, Don 106. MAC Voss - ed com 107. Spady, Betty speakers + elections N/C 108. Schepker, Hartwig - Christine Glevewenhil[sp?] Gregory Bald filming project 109. Saver, Debby (+David) 110. Sandwich club 111. Dorothy Robinson 112. Ring, George 113. Reilly, Ed 114. Sybil Przypek 115. Pelurie, Frank 116. Nelson, Sonja 117. Murray, Jay 118. Ron Miller 119. Miller, Bill 120. McLellon, George 121. McCollough, Mike 122. Inskip, Jim 123. Hyatt, John 124. Haywood, Mavis 125. Hammond, Jolin 126. Gehnrich, Bud (Herman C. Gehnrich) 127. Donovan, Ian 128. Creel, Mike new og species 129. Cox, Peter 130. Brooks, Dick service + obit 131. Bedwell, Bill 132. Andruczyk, Mike 133. Arsen, Frank 134. American Rhododendron Society (ARS) conventions + newsletters - general and Canada branches 135. Assorted ARS newsletters - Middle Atlantic + NY Chapters 136. "The Rosebay" MA ARA Chapter newsletters 137. ARS newsletters - Piedmont, Philadelphia, Susquehanna Valley chapters + NE Regional + SE Chapter 138. 1999 ARS Eastern Regional Meeting 139. Assorted ARS national conventions (DC, Portland OR) 140. ARS "news and notes" Mid-Atlantic Branch
Box 4, Series 4: Trade Catalogues 18 folders containing trade plant catalogues from various nurseries
This collection is open and minimally processed.
This addition to MSS 10553, American Rhododendron Society Papers (Records), contains newsletters of the American Rhododendron Society (ARS), primarily from 2019 to 2021. The newsletters document various regional chapters across the United States and British Columbia, Canada, Oregon, California, New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Washington, Hawaii, and Maryland. Titles include Rhododendron News, The Blue Ridge Review, Macrophyllum, Viva Vireya, Cal Chapter News, Rhody Runner, Mid-Atlantic Rhododendron News and Notes, and AtlanticRhodo. Also included are the "Azalea Blooms" newsletter, the Azalea Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society, and the Mason-Dixon Chapters from 2017 to 2019.
The collection is open for research use.
This collection was a gift from Katherine Sterner to the Small Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia Library on 21 January 2023.
The American Rhododendron Society was founded in 1944 as an organization for amateur and professional growers of rhododendrons and azaleas. The organization conducts research, offers courses, compiles statistics, registers names of new clonal selections, and sponsors competitions. National meetings are held annually, usually in April or May.
MSS 10553 Addition 3, American Rhododendron Society Records newsletters, Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia Library.
This addition of the American Rhododendron Society Records contains newsletters from various chapters across the United States and British Columbia, Canada in 2022. States include Oregon, California, New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Hawaii. The newsletters are arranged by chapter and then by date.
Of interest, many of the newsletters mention that people were still meeting online on Zoom due to the Covid pandemic.
Newsletters in Folder 1 include the Midwest Chapter (The Rootball e-news), North Island (The Rhodoteller), Atlantic Rhododendron and Horticulture Society (Atlantic Rhodo), and the Azalea Chapter (Azalea Blooms).
Newsletters for Chapters in Folder 2 include Portland Chapter (Rhododendron News), Mid-Atlantic Rhododendron News & Notes, Viva Vireya (Hawaii), Macrophyllum Siustaw Chapter, Greater Philadelphia Chapter (RhodoGravure), SouthEastern Chapter (The Blue Ridge View), Willamette Chapter (California and Northwest), Mount Arrowsmith Chapter (The Rhodovine).
Newsletters for Chapters in Folder 3 include Pilchuck Polinator (Washington State), Eureka Chapter (California), Tacoma Chapter, and Cowichan Valley Chapter. Also included are Massachusetts, and Potomac Valley in Pennsylvania.
Some of the newsletters have a complete run for 2022 and others are missing some months. Some chapters, like the Midwest chapter, have one newsletter in this collection, while others have monthly newsletters, like Mount Arrowsmith and Azalea.
Some newsletters are original, and others appear to be photocopies. It is hard to determine which are photocopies since the originals may have been copies.
The newsletters describe local events, articles about rhododendrons and azaleas, presentations, photographs, and quotes from poets about flowers including William Wordsworth and Alfred Tennyson.
Captured once on September 18, 2023.
This series contains archived webpages about Dr. Henry T. Skinner's 1951 trip through the southeastern and eastern United States, during which he collected samples and recorded descriptions of various rhododendtron species. The archived website includes images of the two-volume, hand-written Record Book and Notes of Routes, with transcriptions, and images of the list of the Native Azaleas, as well as notes on the expense book that he kept during his travels. The Record Book and Notes of Routes provide the day-to-day detailed record in the field of what Dr. Skinner was discovering in 1951. This website also includes a transcription of an article that Dr. Skinner published in 1955 entitled, "In Search of Native Azaleas", and recent photographs of the various species of native azaleas, which were taken in the areas of the southeastern United States that Dr. Skinner visited fifty years ago.
Reference List:
McDonald, S. (2005, September 7). Introduction. Azaleas.lib.virginia.edu. https://azaleas.lib.virginia.edu/introduction.html
"Dr. Henry Thomas Skinner was born in England in 1907 and died in the U.S. in 1984. He was married to Anna M. Wood. He studied at the Wisley School of the Royal Horticulural Society, then came to the U.S. in 1927, where he obtained a B.Sc. from Cornell University in 1936; M.S. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1938; and Ph.D. from Pennsylvania in 1952. He was curator of the Morris Arboretum from 1940-1943 and from 1945-1952, his work there having been interrupted by service in the USAAF in World War II from 1943-1945.He was director of the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. from 1952-1973.
Dr. Skinner served the plant community in many ways through work and committees during his lifetime, a prime example of this being his development of the U.S.D.A. Hardiness Zone Map. He served as president of several plant organizations including the American Association of Botanic Gardens and Arboreta (1947), American Horticultural Society (1962-63), and vice president of the Royal Horticultural Society (1973-1984). He was the recipient of numerous awards, including the prestigious Arthur Hoyt Scott Horticultural Medal (1963); Gold Medal, American Rhododendron Society (1965); Liberty Hyde Bailey Medal, American Horticultural Society (1972); Gold Medal, Massachusetts Horticultural Society (1973); and the Royal Horticultural Society's Veitch Medal was presented to R.W. Skinner, a nephew, on behalf of Dr. Skinner (1983)."
Reference List:
McDonald, S. (2005, September 7). Introduction. Azaleas.lib.virginia.edu. https://azaleas.lib.virginia.edu/introduction.html
Archive-It can be difficult to navigate. Captured websites are not arranged or displayed in any particular order, and sub-pages from the same broader site may not be presented together. Not all pages within a site may have been captured. After clicking on the desired link from the list of websites, the webpages as they were archived can be viewed by clicking on the hyperlinked date-of-capture above the calendar. Clicking the url hyperlink will navigate out of the Archive-It website to the live webpage if it still exists.
Due to their nature, archived websites and webpages do not have the same search functionality as do live websites. Users will not be able to search for content within the scanned documents in the archived site.