I  Am Glad that I Made the Journey Acceptance speech for the Eunice Fisher Award by Mary Chastain Lakeside Acres

Good evening ladies and gentlemen.  Thank you for being here this evening to help me celebrate this amazing and unexpected occasion.  A special thank you goes to our awards chairman, Douglas Beilstein, to that unknown person that nominated me and each member of the awards committee that have considered me worthy of this honor. A loving thank you goes to my husband, Roy, for his unfailing support and continual patience that allowed me to pursue my hybridizing obsession.  It is a long and winding journey that led me here tonight. Walton said, “Good Company in a journey makes the way to seem shorter.” The path that led to this night does seem short. The road was paved by good company that willingly lent encouragement and shared knowledge. I desperately needed both. To each and all of you, I thank you.

I would like to talk to you tonight about things that I am glad that I did. Since this list is far shorter than the list of things that I shouldn’t have done. I am sure that this speech will not be too long.

  In 1988, I walked in a nervous haze of apprehension to mail the registration form for “Hosta Lakeside Symphony”. My anxiety was short lived. The answer came quickly.  I received a letter from the register saying the registration was accepted and that he really liked the name I had chosen.  He described the plant as a lovely addition to the world of hostas. I was elated.

Praise from the register encouraged me to cut leaves and head to the leaf show in Atlanta. What a learning experience that was! It would take hours to tell you what I didn’t know. The poor men working classification graciously endured a hair pulling experience to help me get my entries in the right classes.  I think that I may have even held up the judging. I was embarrassed, until later, when I learned that ‘Hosta Lakeside Symphony’ had won best of show.  Winning made me forget all the problems that had gone on before.  George Schmid encouraged me to take some plants to the national. With his words whirling in my head, I headed to Indianapolis for my first convention

Once there, this country girl felt like a minnow in a sea of whales, with no idea what to do. It was no problem for Show officials and attendees to see my confusion. Wanda Dove, the first person that I met, kindly offered me guidance. The people were great there was only encouragement.  It was here in Indianapolis, that Roy and I met folks that have become lifelong friends. We value this experience above others. Our first convention was the beginning of our ever increasing family of hosta friends.

In Indianapolis, I learned of Hosta College. The reports were intriguing.  Becoming a part of that group sounded good to me. You can’t imagine my surprise when I was asked to teach a class. Either those people were desperate for teachers or they thought I knew more than I really did. Either way I vowed to do my best and said, ‘I’ll be there.’  Jim Wilkins must have sensed my anxiety. He offered me an outline of the necessary topics. At our first Hosta College we met Bob and Sally Murphy. That alone was worth all my effort. They were as dear to us then as they are now. Hosta College grew.  More space was needed. The location was moved and still the enrollment passed overflow. Each year added to our Hosta family.

La Guin said, ‘It is good to have and end, to journey toward, but it’s the journey that matters most in the end”. That expresses my feelings about hybridizing. It’s the people along the way that makes it worthwhile. Another rewarding part of the journey is to watch the young hybrids emerge as seedlings and the changes that take place as they develop adult characteristics.  Each step of the way is a special part pf the whole. Selecting pod parents is an all consuming job. Early May finds me prowling the garden and growing houses in the search of Mama hostas. This process includes tagging and making notes as to the type of Papa needed to provide pollen that will hopefully produce the hybrids created by my imagination.

Making crosses often becomes a back breaking chore. The satisfaction received is usually countered by the discomfort of bending so long.  Success or failure of the cross is easily verified within a few days.  If the cutworms, rabbits and deer stay away there should be viable seed for the fall harvest. Collecting, shelling and planting seed is just something that has to be done. I much prefer the time when young seedlings raise their heads to view the waiting world around them. That brings the joy of Christmas, Mother’s Day and my Birthday but in October. My seedling growth rate is amazing. Some babies even flower by February. In mid April the young plants are ready for gallon or two gallon containers.  They are then placed in one of the growing houses. This is their home for the next few years. The second flush of growth begins within a few weeks. This is a time of wonder. I spend hours just walking the isles happy and thankful for the gifts that God has given me. Each year makes the backache worthwhile.The end is not yet in sight. This journey has just begun. Characteristics such as pie crusting and crinkling need a few years to develop. The streaked babies are an unknown and can remain that way for years. If one wants them as pod parents they try to settle in a year or so. Getting other to stabilize can be a test of endurance. I have worked with one as long as fifteen years to obtain the markings that I wanted.

When Doug called me about this award, I was too stunned to even reply. By the time I recovered, he said that I had to pick a favorite plant. I asked, “How can you have a favorite child?” Dug has always been a great guy but this time he insisted that there was no alternative. I started down the family list, pausing at Lakeside Black Satin, I moved on to Lakeside Cha Cha. Lakeside Shore Master followed. That brought at least another dozen to mind. I really thought about placing a group of names in a bowl so that I could draw my favorite for tonight. Then I remembered when I was a child my younger sister was always sick. She got all of Mother’s attention. In my child’s mind, she was a favorite. It is the same principle that the squeaky wheel gets the oil. Well the plant that I worked with for fifteen years was Lakeside Cupcake. So tonight it is my squeaky wheel. I name Lakeside Cupcake to be my favorite.

I now realize that the future may bring another Lakeside hosta into my garden: ‘Lakeside Squeaky Wheel’.