What Happened On This Day in "Recent" Bonsai History?
OCTOBER
| 1 | 1990 -- The John Y. Naka Pavilion and the National Collection Of North American Bonsai (which would be housed therein) were dedicated at The U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. Some 1,000 people representing bonsai organizations throughout the U.S. and Japan gathered with officials of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture for the milestone event. The initial collection was composed of 56 bonsai -- out of over 100 nominated specimens -- of various artistic philosophies representing 50 individual donors from 15 states and 38 species in diverse styles and containers. (Bonsai Techniques by John Naka, pg. 261; International Bonsai, IBA, 1990/No. 4, pp. 20-23) SEE ALSO: Mar 20, May 2, Jun 9, Aug 16, Aug 26, Sep 30, Oct 10, Oct 15, Nov 5 |
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| 4 | 1981 -- "Dwarfed trees," a set of four postage stamps, was issued by Thailand. SEE ALSO: Jan 29, Feb 3, Mar 27, Mar 31, Apr 3, Apr 6, Apr 18, Jul 20, Aug 20, Sep 22, Dec 9. |
| 5 | 1986 -- The six day long Chinese Penjing Theory Symposium and Regional Styles of Chinese Penjing Exhibition began at the same time in Wuhan, Hubei Province, in the Peoples Republic of China. The display included 273 penjing (trees and landscapes), mostly of medium- and small-size specimens. In attendance were 182 representatives of 24 provinces and autonomous regions, including the three municipalities Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai. Altogether, 48 cities were represented. The symposium was divided into two main parts: lectures and demonstrations, and theory discussions. Topics included the standards for "Penjing evaluation," "Penjing as an art - the historical heritage and the future" and "Penjing production for commercial purposes." (International Bonsai, 1987/No. 2, pg. 17) |
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| 7 | 1989 -- The Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection was dedicated in Federal Way, Washington on the campus of the Weyerhaeuser Corporate Headquarters to celebrate the Washington State Centennial and to honor the company's trading partners in the Pacific Rim nations. David DeGroot was named curator for the collection of over sixty trees. ("Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection Opens" by David DeGroot, Bonsai, BCI, Nov/Dec 1989, pg. 19) |
| 8 | 2000 -- The first symposium of the newly formed Association of British Bonsai Artists (ABBA) was held at Failand Village Hall, Bristol. Staged by the members of the Association with nonmembers being able to attend by pre-booking, the theme was "Scots pine and its cultivars." Members' and guests' trees were displayed around the hall and a critique was held for each tree. The afternoon session started with a lecture/demonstration by Nobuyuki Kajiwara on the art of presentation in the tokonoma. A question and answer period followed, and the final part of the day was an open forum. (ABBA web site, "First Symposium & Exhibition," http://bonsai.bogus.net/sym081000c.htm) |
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| 10 | 1984 -- The five day long First International South African Bonsai Convention opened in Johannesburg. The headliners were John Naka and Shigeo Kato. (Bonsai, BCI, Jan/Feb 1984, pg. 10) |
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| 15 | 1993 -- A thirty-nine tree Stewartia monadelpha 'Grove' masterpiece forest which had been created by Saburo Kato at the World Bonsai Convention held in Orlando, Florida the previous May 29 was presented to the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum of the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. Originating in Japan and being 9" to 39" tall, the trees had been planted with mosses and tiny wildflowers on a man-made American stone slab by the most renowned bonsai master and elder statesman. The composition was then put up for auction. It was purchased by the Board of Directors and Staff of Bonsai Clubs International, along with the contributions of a good number of friends. Also dedicated this same day were the George Yamaguchi North American Garden and the Haruo Kaneshiro Tropical Conservatory and Temperate Glasshouse. ("Dedication Day In U.S.A." by Jean C. Smith, Bonsai, BCI, Jan/Feb 1994, pp. 25-27; "Japanese Collection Gets A New Star" by Mary Bloomer, Bonsai, BCI, July/Aug 93, pg. 27) SEE ALSO: Apr 19, Nov 3 |
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| 22 | 2000 -- Connie Addenbrooke Hinds died in a retirement complex in Palo Alto, California. Born on April 13, 1913 in Winettka, Illinois, she married Horace Hinds, Jr. and resided in Glen Ellyn, IL for a number of years. They became interested in the art of bonsai, relatively new to Westerners, but freezing weather took its toll on their small collection. Moving to Mountain View, California in the early 1950s they began to study bonsai in earnest -- pausing for a brief residency in Venezuela where Horace, a dairy executive, set up powdered milk processing plants. The couple returned to Mountain View in 1957 and then joined the Kusamura Bonsai Club in Palo Alto, once an all-Japanese group whose doors were opened to non-Japanese by Tosh Saburomaru. Connie studied under Tosh and his new teacher Yuji Yoshimura as early as 1960 and 1961. While Connie was the bonsai artist in the family, Horace was the CEO. He became Bonsai Clubs Association President in 1964, and editor of the BCA Newsletter the following year. The couple began to enlarge both the scope and subscribership, adding paid advertisements and photographs to the six pages and 200 copies per issue. The magazine came to life in 1966 as Bonsai, Magazine of Bonsai, Japanese Gardens & Suiseki. In two years 1,200 people were receiving the 15 page issues. For many years the couple became worldwide organizers, promoting bonsai and helping to establish satellite groups over the globe. In 1972 Horace became BCI Executive Secretary. The couple's darkest hour came in November 1974 when Horace had lung surgery (from which he would recover slowly); Connie continued to put together the 26 page issues for 2,600 members. At the height of their bonsai adventure their personal garden held over 800 trees and 50 suiseki. In 1977, Connie and Horace stepped back to become Editors Emeriti. Horace died in late 1991, and Connie, growing outdoor terrace bonsai, continued to attend meetings of both the Kusamura and Midori Clubs, the latter also dating from those early days. ("BCI's Mom and Pop: Connie & Horace Hinds" by Mike Halle and John Planting, Bonsai, BCI, March/April 2001, pp. 33-34; "Leaders From The Sixties Into The Nineties," Bonsai, BCI, November/December 1993, Vol. XXXII, No. 6, pp. 23-24; "Hindsight On BCI" by Tom Heitkamp, Bonsai, BCI, January/February 1978, p. 4-5) |
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| 28 | 1980 -- A 150-year old Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa), styled for seven years by Dan Robinson, was the first tree included in the new American bonsai collection. It was unveiled at the U.S. National Arboretum on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Forest Service. (Both the Arboretum and Forest Service are part of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture family.) Collected from the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in Washington state, the tree stands 58" tall and has a 14" diameter trunk. High altitude and lack of rainfall naturally dwarfed this presentation specimen in a region where its cousins sometimes grow over 200 feet tall and occasionally have trunks eight feet thick. It can be expected to live for at least another century. ("First American Bonsai," Bonsai Journal, ABS, Vol. 14, No. 4, Winter 1980-81, pg. 80) |
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| 31 | 1975 -- The first Australian National Bonsai Convention and Show was held beginning today and running through November 2. The Guests of Honor for that were John Naka and Yuji Yoshimura. |
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