The 33rd Anniversary National Convention

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna give it to you straight. Now, picture this: it's June of 1965, Amarillo, Texas, and the Men's Garden Clubs of America have gathered for their 33rd Anniversary National Convention, running June 14th through the 17th. Hundreds of dedicated gardeners from across the country, all in one place.

And what do you suppose they found worth talking about out here on the High Plains? A little tree. Thomas Cree's little tree, to be exact.

See, that convention didn't just pass a resolution or shake some hands and move on. They formally recognized it. Paid tribute to it.

To the significance of one small tree, and to the memory of the man they called a heroic early gardener of these High Plains. Now think on that word: heroic. These weren't people who used that word lightly.

Gardeners know better than almost anyone what it takes to coax life out of unforgiving ground. And the High Plains, friend, they are about as unforgiving as ground gets. So when a national convention stops its business, looks out across the Texas Panhandle, and says, that man and that tree matter, well.

That's not a small thing. Thomas Cree left behind one little tree and a title that a roomful of gardeners from all over America couldn't let go without saying his name out loud one more time.

What the marker says

The 33rd Anniversary National Convention, Men's Garden Clubs of America, meeting at Amarillo, June 14-17, 1965, formally recognized and paid tribute to the significance of Thomas Cree's little tree and to the memory of this heroic early gardener of these High Plains. (1967)