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Our
History |
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John Coleman retired as a chemical engineer and
moved from Houston to Kerrville in 1981. He and
his wife purchased and operated The Greenery, a
nursery, for many years. It was during this time
that John began to write a gardening column for
the Kerrville Daily Times. His extensive
knowledge of landscaping, trees, and native
plants was a welcomed resource for everyone
living in the Hill Country.
John's newspaper column was noticed by a very
over-worked and under-staffed County Extension
Agent, Eddie Holland. With a little cajoling,
Holland convinced John to help with the
many horticulture questions coming into the
office, and while John proved to be a great
help, it quickly became apparent even more
assistance was needed.
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It occurred to John that this was exactly the
situation that led to the founding of the Master
Gardener program. So began his search for Master
Gardeners who might be living in the Kerrville
area. In good time, he met Tommie Airhart, a
Certified Master Gardener from Galveston, and
Loren Hutchinson, a Certified Master Gardener
from San Antonio. Shortly thereafter, the three began the process
of forming a Master Gardener organization for
the Hill Country. According to Tommie Airhart,
"It was like the Keystone Cops. We were running
around everywhere. This was in February of 2002,
and we had our very first class in March!" And as
they say, "The rest is history." |
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John
Coleman,
co-founder
of Hill
Country
Master
Gardeners,
recently
was
awarded
honorary
emeritus
status
by the
Texas
State
Master
Gardeners
Association.
At the
February
HCMG
meeting
Roy Walston,
Kerr
County
AgriLife
Extension
Agent,
presented
the
award in
recognition
of
John's
contributions
to the
Master
Gardener
program.
Members
of the
first
class of
Hill
Country
Master
Gardeners
(2002)
were on
hand to
"roast"
John and
bid him
goodbye
as he
and his
wife
move to
be near
children
and
grandchildren.
Left,
AgriLife
Extension
Agent
Roy Walston
presents
award to
Hill
Country
Master
Gardener
co-founder
John
Coleman |
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The
Class of
2002
Seated,
left to
right,
Annese
Thomas,
Dusty
Gilliam,
Tommie
Airhart
(co-founder)
and Anna
Osborn;
2nd row,
Bill
Bates,
Jim
Mans,
Francie
Mans,
Judy
Schaefer,
John
Osborn,
Pam
Lienhard,
and
Evelyn
Devauld;
back
row,
Bill
Gibson,
John
Coleman
(co-founder),
Gary
Johnson,
Loren
Hutchinson,
Carol
Jackson,
Master
Gardener
state
coordinator
Doug
Welsh,
Natalie
Morgan,
Keith
Ritter,
Ron
Richerson |
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