Taking time to smell the family roses and cultivate the past for future generations... literally.
July 15, 2012
The Story of the Coop Rose
On Sunday, July 15th, at 1pm there is a ceremony at the Phillip Foster Farm in Eagle Creek, Oregon to commemorate the rediscovery of an historic variety of rose that was thought to be extinct.
In 1905 Portland threw a World's Fair to celebrate 100 years since Lewis and Clark. On opening day, June 1, 1905, the first couple thru the gate was given a bush of this rose variety that had been developed just for the fair and never made available commercially. Over the years all trace of this rose was lost and it was believed to be extinct. Just this week the Northwest Historical Rose Association confirmed that the rose was alive and well and lining our family's old farm. Reuben and Alma Coop, my great great grandparents, were that first couple thru the gates at the World's Fair and those "wild" roses filling the ditches at Gramma's farm weren't wild at all but descendants of that one bush.
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The Philip Foster Farm is developing a garden of roses, in cooperation with the Northwest Rose Historians. The goal of the garden is not to save endangered species, but to preserve the stories of local families who planted and cultivated them. If the "Coop Rose" joins our garden, it will be identified both by the name of its local family, and by its common name, whether it turns out to be the Caroline Testout (Portland) Rose, or the American Pillar, which appears to be in the picture above.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your participation in our annual Garden Party, and for sharing this project with your readers.