Notes on Geiser's Fair Chance Farm

[ChatOWhitehall@aol.com]

Greetings.
 
The AIS Library has catalogs from this operation in Beloit,  KS,  from the 
mid-1930s through, at least, 1950. 
 
Those of you who read my article on Vivian and Hazel Grapes, published in  
the journal of the Dwarf Iris Society may recall that the  Geisers introduced 
Hazel's first Iris in 1948: THE GREAT  SMOKIES. If anyone who did not have 
access to this article would like  to read it, drop me a note and I'll shoot it 
along. 
 
The introduction to the selfsame 1948 catalog lists various members of the  
family, including "Melvin G. Geiser (Accredited A.I.S. Judge)." There is a 
small  photo of "Mr. and Mrs. G. W. Geiser."  
 
Keith McNames sent me a copy of this 1948 catalog when I was working on the  
Grapes girls, and also because he knew that, oddly enough for a Virginian, I 
had  done a lot of work on historic irises in that part of the world; 
accordingly,  and he thought I might find it interesting and useful. Now Gary  White is 
working so diligently to document the area.
 
A telling statement from the Introduction in this context " We are  firm 
believers in the performance of many of the older not-so-often listed  varieties 
{. . . } that is why we are ardent collectors of them...." 
 
I'd say AIS, itserlf, was quite possibly in a good position to  offer 
assistance out of its own library. I'd [personally start with photocopies  of all the 
intros to any catalog to which the new owner did not already have  access. If 
we have multiple original copies of any of those, as in  clear surplus not 
needed by AIS or Gary, I think we should send those  along to them as well. 
 
And the next places for the new owners  to inquire, I'd  think, would be the 
public library in that part of Kansas, if any, and the  local, and state, 
historical societies.It will probably be necessary  to do this research in person 
as finding a professional librarian to  give one a hand via email takes a good 
deal of finesse.
 
Failing all other means of data retrieval, my invariable practice is to  ask 
at the feed store. This even works in Richmond, Virginia.
 
Cordially,
 
Anner Whitehead



************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to the AIS Secretary
Pat Randall <patannran@msn.com>
The archives for AISDiscuss are at:
http://www.aisboard.org/lists/aisdiscuss/