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Growing up in Memphis I always appreciated the beauty of the Spring
when the Dogwood Trees and the Azaleas bloomed. Indeed, both
plants thrived on the Tech front campus. After moving to
Southern California in 1954, I missed the arrival of Spring when these
plants bloomed. Azaleas grew in California but they were quite
small and unimpressive. Dogwoods didn't grow here.
After graduation from Tech, I had always kept in touch with George
Piaggio (Tech Art Teacher). Some of you might remember that he
lived on a flower farm which was "way out in Raleigh". On the
farm I knew he grew Dogwoods and Azaleas. In 1957 when my mother
and Dad were flying out to California to visit, I asked Mr. Piaggio if
he could send a Dogwood cutting. He sent 4 small plants
with roots and I managed to get one to grow in a pot on my patio.
It thrived for over a year and then suddenly died. Keeping it
alive had become my crusade, but my guess is that it doesn't get cold
enough during our winters. I never tried to grow another one but
I never forgot my feelings for the Dogwoods around Memphis.
Fast
forward to 2000. Since moving to California, I had been "lost"
to my Tech Class of 1951. They found me in 2000 and invited me
to our 50th Reunion in 2001. At first I wasn't going but then I
decided to make the trip. That turned out to be one of the best
decisions of my life. I had such a great time visiting my old
friends from long ago, that I decided to return again in April the
next year.
During the 2002 visit, on the way from the airport to the motel
in Germantown, I kept seeing these beautiful blooming trees and huge
red-hued blooming shrubs. They were spectacular! Suddenly
it hit me! These were the plants I missed from my childhood, and
they were in
full bloom.
I took many excursions during this visit, to simply drive around
Memphis and
admire the landscaping. And there is no city in the world as
beautiful as Memphis in the Spring when the Dogwoods and Azaleas are
in bloom.
Since that original 2001 visit, I have returned to Memphis every
April - and plan to return again this April (2010).
-
Gene Gill |
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historic-memphis.com |
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Credits |
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The
Historic-Memphis website does not intentionally post copyrighted
photos and material without permission or credit.
On
occasion a "non-credited" photo might possibly be posted because we
were unable to find a name to give credit. Because of the nature of
our non-commercial, non-profit, educational website, we strongly
believe that these photos would be considered "Fair Use. We have
certainly made no monetary gain, although those using this website
for historic or Genealogy research have certainly profited. If by
chance,
we have posted your copyrighted photo, please contact us, and we'll
remove it immediately, or we'll add your credit if that's your
choice. In the past, we have found that many photographers
volunteer to have their works included on these pages and we'll
also do that if you contact us with a photo that fits a particular
page. |
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The "Historic-Memphis" website would like to acknowledge and thank the
following for their contributions which helped make this website
possible:
Memphis
Public Library, Memphis University Library, Memphis Law Library,
Memphis Commercial Appeal, Memphis Press Scimitar, Shelby County
Register of Deeds, Memphis City Schools, Memphis Business Men's
Club, Memphis Chamber of Commerce, Memphis City Park Commission,
Memphis Film Commision, Carnival Memphis, Memphis Historical
Railroad Page, Memphis Heritage Inc, Beale Street Historic District,
Cobblestone Historic District, Memphis Historic Districts, Vance
Lauderdale Family Archives, Tennessee State Archives, Library of
Congress, Kemmons Wilson Family, Richard S. Brashier, Lee Askew,
George Whitworth, Woody Savage and many individuals whose assistance is
acknowledged on the pages of their contributions. Special
thanks to Memphis Realtor, Joe Spake, for giving us carte blanche
access to his outstanding collection of contemporary Memphis photos.
We do not have high definition copies of the photos on these
pages. If anyone wishes to secure high definition photos,
you'll have to contact the photographer or the collector.
(To avoid any possibility of contributing to SPAM, we do not
maintain a file of email addresses for anyone who contacts us). |
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