Remembering Ken Avery
1925 - 1997
by Constance Pepin
Remembering Ken Avery by Constance Pepin |
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As we approach the centennial year of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary, the Friends celebrate the gifts of the few individuals who have served as the curators of the Garden since its founding in 1907. The first curator was Eloise Butler herself, who served from 1911 until her death in April 1933. Succeeding her was Martha Crone, who had been Eloise’s assistant and then served as curator until her retirement in 1959. That year, a young man of 33 named Kenneth E. Avery began what would be the longest tenure as curator of the Garden Five years earlier (in 1954), Ken had joined the Minneapolis Park Board staff as an assistant to Martha Crone. In the spring of 1959, he became curator, a position he would hold until his retirement 28 years later. Ken Avery had a deep reverence for nature and considered working in the Garden a “very humbling experience.” He considered the Garden a real sanctuary for nature, where “a dead tree is as important to the ecological nature of the area as a live one.” As he worked to preserve the ecology of the Garden, he tried to interfere with nature as little as possible. “Wild plants have an integrity that we must respect.” he said. Long before the current interest in native plants, Ken emphasized the preservation and protection of native plants. “If you find something common to Minnesota growing wild, then I say leave it there. Make that area a preserve.” |
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Ken Avery was the only Garden Curator who had the experience of using both the old "Office" (left) and the Martha Crone Shelter (right) which was completed in 1970. The old office dated back to about 1912. |
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| By his own description, Ken was a “backwoods farmer” who did everything in the Garden from guiding tours to transplanting wildflowers to mending ridges and fences to answering the telephone in the Martha Crone Shelter. He meticulously document the blooming times of plants and flowers. As an example his records indicate that in 1977, for the first time in his (then) 23 years at the Garden the Showy Lady’s-slipper opened in May! A lifelong student of nature, Ken wore a small magnifying glass on a leather strap around his neck “For close inspection in case I see something I don’t recognize and want to examine it closely.” | Ken also carried binoculars so he could observe birds. “Because they’re here,” he said, “I may hear a song and stop what I’m doing and try to identify the bird.” Ken's philosophy of maintaining the Garden was best expressed in this statement: "In regular gardens it is desirable that it appears that man has been there and done his work. In our Wildflower Garden the ideal is that it appears that the present viewer is the first person to see the area." (Oct. 12, 1976, letter of Ken Avery to Gordon Morrison, Coordinator of Environmental Ed at Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board). |
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| Note: Ken Avery was a long-time member of The Friends of Wild Flower Garden, contributing to The Fringed Gentian™, serving on the Board of Directors and serving as President 1966 - 1968. | ||||
| As Ken was a avid birder, in 2005 The Friends of The Wild Flower Garden funded the creation of a special place for bird watching and as a honor to Ken and his dedication, named it for him. There are three wood benches and a natural stone carved bird bath with a dedication plaque. This area is near the back gate on a natural bench of land just off the trail leading to the Upland Garden. It overlooks the bog and the Hemlock Grove. Native bushes and flowers are planted there. It was dedicated on Father’s Day, June 19th, 2005 at 2 p.m. A large crowd attended. Comments were given by Friends President Steve Pundt, Muriel Avery, Ken’s widow; Cary George, who immediately followed Ken as gardener; Dan Hasty, who had known Ken as a Park Board colleague and mentor; Park Commissioner Vivian Mason; Tammy Mercer, who conducts birding programs at the Garden, and Susan Wilkins, the current Garden Curator. |  |
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Above: Part of the large crown on Dedication Day. |
Above: Muriel Avery (center) on Dedication Day |
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Dan Hasty, former colleague of Ken Avery speaking. | Muriel Avery speaking on Dedication Day. Friends President Steve Pundt in background. |
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| Click this link for more photos of the Birding Area | Constance Pepin is a member of The Friends, a Board Member, and was Historian of The Friends. The part of this article written by Constance was originally published in The Fringed Gentian™ Winter 2005 vol. 53 No.1. | |||
| ©2005-2009 Friends of the Wild Flower Garden, Inc. All photos are the property of the Friends unless otherwise noted. web:www.friendsofthewildflowergarden.org | ||||