James Judson – DreamersAndGiants.com

Pioneers
Settlers and Farmers
Circuit Riders
Buckhannon – West Virginia – Upshur County
West Virginia Conference Seminary – West Virginia Wesleyan College
West Virginia Annual Conference
West Virginia Strawberry Festival

These things are all connected in a tapestry.

Pioneers crossed these mountains, settled the area, and began farming. Some stayed only awhile, but others still have descendants living in this part of what is now West Virginia. They forged out not only a new place to live, but they created an entirely new state during the American Civil War.

Circuit riding preachers moved among them sharing not only the Gospel, but promoting education in the wilderness. Along the way in that process, through the West Virginia Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, a college was born – first called the West Virginia Conference Seminary and later West Virginia Wesleyan College.

Through the years, there have been descendants of those pioneers who have become teachers and leaders at the college. A few examples include Arthur Allen Schoolcraft, Nancy Jackson, Paula Lowther McGrew, and Eric Waggoner. There are likely others I have yet to discover.

A tapestry through time.

Strawberry Thread in the Buckhannon Tapestry

In 1936, West Virginia Wesleyan biology professor James E. Judson realized that the climate and soil in the area were very well suited to growing strawberries. He suggested to the Chamber of Commerce that it would be good to have a festival to help promote the growing, preserving, and marketing of the berries. The rest, as they say, is history. The Buckhannon Lions Club formed the Central Strawberry Festival Association and got to work. Amazingly, three weeks after Dr. Judson presented the idea to the Chamber of Commerce, the first Strawberry Queen (Laura Jean Watson) was crowned on the courthouse steps by H. Guy Kump, West Virginia’s 19th Governor. That first festival was held on June 3, 1936, and was a one day affair. Dr. Judson served as the program chairman.

Click here to read more about Dr. James E. Judson.

By the second year, the school newspaper – The Pharos – had an article on the front page (continued to page four): City is Ready for Strawberry Festival.

A true community event, the next few years saw many children marching in the parades. One example is near and dear to my heart — my own father marched in the 1940 parade as an elf.

Wartime Woes

From 1943 to 1948 the festival was not held. World War II was taking its toll with many area people serving in the military or working in support of the war effort. There was no time or resources to plan festivals of this sort.

1949

June 2 and 3, 1949 saw a rebirth of the Strawberry festival. Dr. Judson was still teaching at Wesleyan and, along with many college professors and their families, was still on the Central Strawberry Festival Committee helping to reestablish and reorganize the events. After all of the hard years of the war, people were very excited to be celebrating again.

1959

In 1959, the name of the festival was changed to the West Virginia Strawberry Festival, and it grew even larger – now running for three days. June 10, 11, and 12 were busy days in Buckhannon. A Fireman’s Parade had been added in 1956 and a carnival was now a major draw as well. There was a coronation, Grand Feature Parade, square dance, auctions, exhibits, and the annual queen’s ball.

1969

Many volunteers were needed in order to keep everything running smoothly. This aspect of the festival continues to this day as part of the community building aspect of it all. People working with their neighbors to create a great event.

The “community” was not just Upshur County by this time, as the King was Rev. Samuel McCain of Fairmont (who had grown 9,000 strawberry plants!) and the queen was Susan Alison of Taylor County.

1979

By 1979, the festival was up to 5 days long and ran from May 31 through June 3. This year marked the first Jr. Royalty Parade bringing the number of parades during the week to four: Jr. Royalty, Fireman’s, Antique Auto, and Grand Feature. The Grand Feature parade was now drawing bands from all over the United States — 60 of them in 1980!

1990s and Beyond

In 1990, the Grand Feature Parade was first televised on WBOY, and an estimated 340,000 viewers tuned in in 1991. Over 100,000 visitors to Buckhannon were coming to enjoy the festivities – and the strawberries. The festival had become something of a grand homecoming event for people who had grown up here.

A New Century of Strawberry Festival History

Groups have come from all over the country to perform. They have come from 42 U.S. States and Washington, D.C.

They have come from all over the world. They have come from Mexico, Canada, The Virgin Islands, Jamaica, Bahamas, Italy, Sweden, and France.

The festival now runs for nine days and includes four parades: The Horse and Carriage Parade, The Jr. Royalty Parade, The Fireman’s Parade, and the Grand Feature Parade. Thousands of participants and spectators are involved each year — as well as a community full of involved residents of the area.

Instead of one or two events to celebrate the strawberries and those who grow them, there is now something for everyone. From the Diaper Derby to the Strawberry 5-K, from the Strawberry Blonde Contest to the Antique Engine and Tractor Show. There are juried exhibits of photography, quilts, and art. There are Strawberry Pancakes, Strawberry Shortcake, and everything from strawberry salads to steak sandwiches. There is music everywhere and a carnival with rides for all ages.

Multifaceted Buckhannon

The West Virginia Strawberry Festival was held two weeks after West Virginia Wesleyan Commencement — the students were gone.

The West Virginia Strawberry Festival was held one month before the West Virginia Annual Conference meets in Buckhannon — the Students are gone, and the West Virginia Annual Conference has not yet arrived.

In August, the students will return for the fall semester — the West Virginia Strawberry Festival and the West Virginia Annual Conference will be gone.

All connected.

All resourceful, creative, independent-minded.

All inviting and welcoming others.

All richer for those who have come from around the country and around the world to join them.

Pioneers, Farmers, Scientists. People from near and far. Former and current students from West Virginia Wesleyan. Former and current faculty. City officials. They are all connected to the Buckhannon Tapestry. (Photos by Danny Green ’74)

In the early years of the college, the study of biology was folded into courses on the Natural Sciences (which included physics, chemistry, geology, and biology). For example, here is how it was listed in the 1910 catalog.

By the 1915 catalog we see that a Professor was named specifically for Biology: Professor Earle Ray Casto. But from 1915 until 1929, there was very little stability in this area as can be seen by the seven people who held that post during those years. Click here to see a list of all of those teaching Biology at Wesleyan through the years. There have been (and are) many amazing people on this list, but three in particular have shared a Passion for Plants.

In 1929, James Edward Judson arrived at the college. A specialist in Botany, he taught at Wesleyan for twenty years. Thomas W. Haught had this to say about the early years and the impact made by Dr. Judson.

The development of the department of Biology began in a small way about the year 1913. We say, “in a small way,” because the equipment was not made adequate to do first-class work until six years later. There followed then a period of ten years, 1919-1929, during which five teachers, with an average tenure of two years, were called to the department. All the five were well trained for the work, and in each of the five periods of service some equipment was secured for the department. But these five tenures, each so short, could add little to its strength and prestige.

Dr. Judson came to the department in 1929. His period of service at the end of this year (1940) will be just equal to the sum of the last five preceding. This must result, has resulted, in giving to the work of the department an individuality, a type of character, and a standing in educational circles, impossible under former conditions when teachers came and went like characters across a stage.”

Judson, James Edward 1931 — Murmurmontis 1931

In fact, Dr. Judson was to stay from 1929 through 1949. He was followed by another long-term faculty member, Dr. George Bowyer Rossbach, who taught from 1949 through 1976. Dr. Rossbach was succeeded by Dr. Katharine Gregg in 1976, and she taught until 2013. All three of these strong faculty members specialized in Botany — the study of plants. Thus there were 84 consecutive years where students were able to study under these three strong faculty members.

James Judson led the first study trip, taking a group of students and alumni to study the plants of Florida over Christmas break 1938. Yes, over Christmas break! The group left Buckhannon on December 19 and returned on December 30th. That is dedication! It must have gone well, because they did it again in future years. Christmas Day 1940 was spent at the Bok Singing Tower Gardens.

But all of that was just the beginning.

Herbarium

When George Rossbach was a boy, he began collecting samples of plants.

That collection has grown to an estimated 25,000 specimens which are housed in the George B. Rossbach Herbarium on the second floor of the Christopher Hall of Science.

The Herbarium, which is a collection of preserved plant specimens and the associated data used for scientific study, is well known and appreciated by scientists across the country.

In addition, since her retirement in 2013, Dr. Katharine Gregg,
the current curator, has been digitizing, imaging, and sharing this collection through a grant from the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission Division of Science and Research. As databasing and imaging continue, images and data will be uploaded to the site for viewing. She has served as the Curator of the collection since 1985, when Dr. Rossbach stepped down from that position. Her attention to the collection and the painstaking work of digitizing and documenting it has resulted, as of March 2019, in 22,386 items being available on Pages In Time.

The links to this Digital Herbarium have been viewed 5,096 times in the past year alone.

She also shares with current students about the Herbarium itself and the process of digitizing and documenting it. Last week I took my WVWC History Class to visit, and this is what one of the students had to say about the experience:

Even being a Biology major I never realized the magnitude of the herbarium here and how much of an impact it can make socially. It surprised me just how big it was and how much information can actually fit into a small room I pass every day without thinking twice about. The biological impact is more obvious but learning more about the impact this herbarium can make by having them all archived online makes me appreciate it even more. It not only helps put a name to Wesleyan but it also opens up the world of learning beyond just our college walls. Having the herbarium archived like this means that anyone can access it, learn from it, and collaborate which I believe is the most important part of a college education.

The world has, indeed, opened up beyond our college walls. Field trips as far away as the Amazon have taken students on life-changing journeys. The George B. Rossbach Herbarium is celebrated in such places as the University of North Carolina Herbarium and at the Botanical Society of America meeting in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in July of 2015.

From 1929 until the present day, these three people have shared their passion for plants with students. If you consider that four years constitutes a generation of students, they have combined to teach and inspire more than twenty generations of West Virginia Wesleyan scientific scholars! They have taught them on campus, taken them on field trips near and far. They have contributed mightily to the wider scientific community. They have shared their Passion for Plants.

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