Santa Rosa High School - Echo Yearbook (Santa Rosa, CA)

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THE ECHO OF THE SANTA ROSA HIGH SCHOOL many wild floweres grew. As a boy Mr. Burbank loved them all. He watched for their coming in the springtime. He knew how late in the autumn he could find them. They were his friends, and among them was the little field daisy so common that many pass it by without noticing its beauty. After Luther Burbank came to Santa Rosa, he remembered this little friend of his childhood. He thought, “I will make a daisy which every one will admire.” He learned that in Eng- land there are daisies which are larger and have coarser stems than those he had always known. In far-away Japan the daisy is small, but of the purest white. The New England daisy, though neither large nor perfectly white, is strong. He would join together the best daisies of the three continents, and make a fourth one which would possess the best qualities of each. He trusted Nature to help him. Before Mr. Burbank could make what he wished he had to plant thousands of daisies. He had to give them the most careful care. Again and again one out of a thousand was chosen on account of improved qualities. Season after season the bees gave their aid in carrying the pollen from the blossoms of one plant to the blossoms of another. Only the best and strongest and strongest plants were allowed to live, for first of all the new daisy must be strong. At last the wonderful Shasta daisy was created. There was never such a daisy before. It will grow in the cold lands of the north as well as close to the equator. The flower will re- main fresh in, water for weeks after it has been cut from the plant. It is very large and beautiful, with snow white petals and a center of velvety yellow. It is now grown all over the world. In northern California there is a high mountain peak whose summit is always covered with snow. It is called Mt. Shasta, the word meaning snow. “I will call my new daisy after the mountain peak that I love so well,” Mr. Burbank said, and

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THE ECHO OF THE SANTA ROSA HIGH SCHOOL Every evening saw him tired, yet happy and contented. He se- cured work very easily now . One day an order came from a man who wished to start an orchard for growing prunes. He asked Mr. Burbank for twenty thousand young prune trees. He must have them ready in nine months. “Ill fill that order,” the young nurseryman said. Any one else would require two and a half years to get so many trees ready for planting. With haste he traversed the com- munity to find men and boys to plant almonds. It was late in ithe seasom and almond trees were the ones that would bloom the quickest. In a short time the scions were beginning to bud. When the nine months came to an end, behold! there were twenty thousand prune trees ready for the orchardist. To- day this orchard is full grown and one of the richest orchards of the community. From this time on Mr. Burbank was more successful in his business. He sold his nursery and began the work that was dearest to his heart. He took fruits and flowers and from these he made others that were better and ‘more beautiful. Slowly bul surely he met with success, and people all over; the world began to hear of Luther Burbank, the wonderful things he was doing in Santa Rosa. It is true that today Santa Rosa is better known because it is the home of the great wonder worker. A half century after Mr. Burbank broke his pet Cactus plant he created a series of thornless, edible cacti, not only pro- viding a a vast reservoir of food for man and and for un- counted millions of animals, but paving the way for the recla- mation of the desert places of the earth. That which was once a daugerous foe of man and beast became, through Mr. Bur- bank, a stanch friend. Better still, if it could only bear fruit that would be good to eat, it would furnish food to animals and travelers crossing the desert. Mr. Burbank worked and worked until he produced the delicious pink fruit of the cactus. On the hillside near Mr. Burbank’s New England home

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nn eee nnE nn NEESER EIRENE EI EERIE 4 THE ECHO OF THE SANTA ROSA HIGH SCHOOL so it came to be known as the Shasta daisy. The men who aid him in tending his plants are chosen with the greatest care. They must love their work or they would fail to do it well. Mr. Burbank moves in and out among the plants, noticing a thousand things that we should pass by without a glance. Mr. Burbank has always taken a great interest in the schools of Santa Rosa. He gave to Santa Rosa High School Auditorium the moving picture machine which has been used for the pleasure of the whole community. In nineteen-twelve he presented a fine Victrola to every public school in town. These instruments have not only taught the pupils to appreci- ate good music, but have given them much enjoyment. Mr. Burbank always seems happy when attending the en- tertainments given by the children Especially is it true of the pageant given in his honor May day at Santa Rosa High School. The purpose of the pageant was two-fold; first, to honor the great plant genius; and second, to sow the seed that will grow into a Luther Burbank Memorial Vocational Agricultural Build- ing. Mr. Burbank seemed happy when he saw portrayed his Shasta daisy and Burbank potato. Mr. Burbank has realized the value of the sun in his work among the plants and flowers. Mr. Burbank once said, “The great dynamo, the sun, is the source of all life, light, motion, warmth; the producer of all food and clothing. No wonder the ancients were inspired to worship the sun.” So spoke the dedicator, the worker and flower magician of the world. Josephine F. Cummings, ’20.