History 1990's1990’s1990 – Bob McMullin, Chapter President The 1990 25th Symposium was held at the Hershey Lodge & Convention Center, Hershey. Dr. Carl Whitcomb wasthe keynote speaker along with Greg Hoover, Entomologist from Penn State University. 1990 – A workday was held in November at the ISA Tree Grove in Fairmont Park. 1990 – Constitution and By-Laws revised. 1990 – The Pennsylvania College of Technology (then affiliated with Penn State Univ.) began offering an Associate Degree curriculum in Arboriculture. The curriculum was designed with help of industry representatives, most notably, Penn-Del Past President, Joe Bones. 1990 – CAPD awards 2 scholarships in the amount of $500 each for the fall semester. Erica Bosely Jenkins and Barry Scott Burkholder were the recipients. Erica Bosely Jenkins attended the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University. Barry Scott Burkholder attended the College of Agriculture at Penn State University. 1990 – Harry Dice held an arborist’s workshop in western PA. 1990 – Jeff Dice reported that he had begun night spraying at Penn State University to control the elm bark beetle, a primary vector of Dutch Elm Disease. 1990 – A volunteer workday was performed at the ISA Tree Grove in Fairmont Park. 1990 – The Horticultural Trade Alliance remained active. It represented over 3,000 firms in Pennsylvania. John Carson reported that pesticide control was a major issue in the last year. It was also agreed to form a Political Action Committee. 1990 – The CAPD Scholarship Fund celebratedits fifth anniversary by hosting its Autumnfest gala dinner and dance at Longwood Gardens. Autumnfest was the only source of funds for the scholarship fund. The 1991 26th Symposium was held at the Hershey Lodge & Convention Center, Hershey. Dr. Donald Booth, Dr. Larry Kuhns and Walter Money were the main presenters. 1991 – An Arbor Day ceremony and workday was held at the Penn-Del chapter’s Memorial Tree Grove in Fairmont Park. 56 arborists representing 23 companies participated. 1991 – In order to serve all members of the chapter, President John Carson organized the chapter into four regions with a committee head for each. 1991 – The chapter mourned the loss of Silas T. “Bud” Burgess, 76. Bud was president of the chapter in 1971. The Silas T. Burgess arboretum in the center of an industrial park in King of Prussia was dedicated to him in 1985. 1991 – Elizabeth (Betsy) Wertz became the chapter’s new secretary. 1991 – The Southeast Pennsylvania IPM Research Group was formed. Many Penn-Del members became active. 1991 – Penn State University newly created the Department of Urban and Community Forestry within the School of Forest Resources. Bill Elmendorf, instructor joined the Penn-Del Executive Committee. 1991 – The ISA’s 67th international conference was held in Philadelphia, PA. Bob McConnell was the General Chairman and Bill Mifflin was the Asst. General Chairman. The 1992 27th Symposiumwas held at the Hershey Lodge & Convention Center, Hershey. Don Blair opened with a discussion on the History of Arboriculture. Dr. Bruce Fraedrich, Gilbert High, and Bob McMullen were also presenters. 1992 – An Arbor Day ceremony and workday was held at the Boalsburg Heritage Museum near State College. 35 volunteers participated. 1992 – An Arbor Day ceremony and workday was held at the Berks Penn State Campus in Reading. 1992 – An Arbor Day ceremony and workday was held at Mellon Park in Shadyside near Pittsburgh. 1992 – ISA launched its certification program ending the CAPD program. All CAPDs were grandfathered into ISA’s certification. 1992 – Penn State University offered its first Urban and Community Forestry workshops. 1992 – The CAPD BOD announced that all future scholarships given would be named in honor of the late Horace M. Thayer. Horace was the first CAPD. 1992 – Harry Dice and George Pegher organized the first Penn-Del Arbor Day volunteer workday in the western part of the state. It was held at Mellon Park in Shadyside. The mayor of Pittsburgh attended and assisted in planting a tree. 1992 – Plans were discussed to award the Horace M. Thayer CAPD scholarship to qualified students in the program of Urban Forestry at the Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport. John Ward, Bill Johnston, Elmer Lucas, andBobMcConnell met with the Asst. Dean of Natural Resource Management at the school. 1992 – Bob Weber, after winning the Eastern Tree Climbing Championship for the fourth year in a row, won the International Tree Climbing Championship for the second time. The event was held in Oakland, CA. At that time, Weber was only the third person to win the International Tree Climbing Championship more than one time. 1992 – Jennifer Arkett, Jim Donaghy, and Chris Ward, all Penn-Del chapter members, completed the 1,050 mile Tour Des Trees at the ISA conference in Oakland, CA. 1992 – The Southeast Pennsylvania IPM Research Group continues into its second year. 1992 – The Autumnfest gala dinner and dance at Longwood Gardens had 182 guests and raised nearly $3,000 for the Horace M. Thayer scholarship program. The 1993 28th Symposium was held at the Lancaster Host Resort, Lancaster. Dr. Michael Raupp opened with a discussion on The Theory and Practice of Biological Control for Trees & Shrubs. Dr. Robert Nuss, Gilbert High, Bill Graham, and Bob Weber were also presenters. 1993 – An Arbor Day ceremony and workday was held at Villanova University. 1993 – An Arbor Day ceremony and workday was held at Memorial Park in New Kensington. 1993 – The chapter mourned the loss of two younger members. Past President, Mike Simmons, and Mr. Arbor Day, Jeff McMullin. 1993 – The Autumnfest gala dinner and dance at Longwood Gardens had 165 guests and raised nearly $4,000 for the Horace M. Thayer scholarship program. 1993 – The Basic Arboriculture School offered instruction to 22 students. 1993 – The Southeast Pennsylvania IPM Research Group continued into its third year. 1993 – The chapter held its first summer program co-sponsored with PGMS. 1993 – Policies & Procedures were revised. The 1994 29th Symposium was held at the Lancaster Host Resort, Lancaster. Dr. Alex Shigo was the keynote speaker. Dr. Larry Kuhns, Greg Hoover, and Bob Weber were also presenters. Over 600 attended 1994 – An Arbor Day ceremony and workday was held at Fleuhr Park Philadelphia.. 1994 – An Arbor Day ceremony and workday was held at Memorial Park in New Kensington. 1994 – Constitution & By-laws revised January 1994. 1994 – The Jeffery W. McMullin Award was created for outstanding Arbor Day Activities. 1994 – The chapter mourned the loss of Ken Soergel, 85. Ken was one of the founding members of the Penn-Del chapter and served as president in 1969. He also served as president of the National Arborists Assn. (now TCIA) in 1967 and 1968. 1994 – The Horace M. Thayer scholarship was awarded to 4 students. Jeffery M. Bauer attended the Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport, Brett T. Runkle attended Penn College Urban Forestry, Bill O’Leary attended the Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport, and Randolph J. Bauer also attended the Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport. 1994 – The Southeast Pennsylvania IPM Research Group is active in its fourth year. 1994 – The chapter donated $2,500 to the ISA Research Trust. 1994 – The 6th Autumnfest gala dinner and dance was held at Longwood Gardens. 135 guests attended. The 1995 30th Symposium was held at the Lancaster Host Resort, Lancaster. Dr. David Shetlar opened with a discussion on How Weather Influences Insect and Mite Populations. Dr Gary Moorman and Grover Gouker were also presenters. Over 550 attended and we had 30 exhibitors. 1995 – An Arbor Day ceremony and workday was held at the DeShong Museum and Cultural Arts Center in West Chester. Over 30 companies participated. 1995 – An Arbor Day ceremony and workday was held at Henle Park in Leetsdale. Over 20 volunteers participated. 1995 – The Chapter adopted a new logo. 1995 – Constitution & By-laws revised April 1995 1995 – The chapter awarded 3 Horace M. Thayer scholarships in the amount of $1,000 each to students at the Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport. The recipients were: Thomas W. Aikey, Harold T. McCartney, and Todd D. Mullen. 1995 – Spearheaded by Russ Carlson, the chapter began work on a Species Rating Guide for plant appraisal. 1995 – The Southeast Pennsylvania IPM Research Group was active in its fifth year. 1995 – The Past Presidents held their first annual dinner. The 1996 31st Symposium was held at the Lancaster Host Resort, Lancaster. Dr. Alex Shigo was the keynote speaker. Walter Money, Dr. Larry Kuhns, Greg Hoover, and Dr. Gary Moorman were also presenters. Attendance was just under 800. 1996 – Bob McConnell was presented with the Champion Chairman Award from the chapter. 1996 – An Arbor Day ceremony and workday was held at the Fox Chase Farm in Philadelphia. Over 30 companies participated. 1996 – An Arbor Day ceremony and workday was held at Henle Park in Leetsdale. 1996 – Dave Poe passed on the Treasurer’s position to Gary Rohrbach after having served for 7 consecutive years. He also served as Secretary/Treasurer for 2 different periods in the 60′s totaling 6 years. He also served as Chapter President in 1965 and 1978 producing a remarkable total of 15 years of service as an officer of the chapter. Dave was a founding member of the chapter and he also served as the chapter’s Representative to ISA for 8 – 10 years. 1996 – Gary Rohrbach, Penn-Del Treasurer, was one of three recipients of the National Arborists Association’s Award of Distinction. 1996 – Bob McConnell was presented with the ISA’s Award of Merit at the ISA conference in Cleveland. At that time it was the highest award given by the ISA. Bob has been a member of ISA since 1953 and helped form the Penn-Del chapter. He has also been the ISA’s piper. 1996 – The chapter awarded the Horace M. Thayer Scholarship for Arboriculture to Marikate Leith who attended Penn State University as a Forestry major. 1996 – The first Pennsylvania Urban and Community Forestry Conference was held at Penn State University. The 1997 32nd Symposium was held at the Lancaster Host Resort, Lancaster. Dr. Michael Rauppopenedwith a discussion on Biology and Management of Beneficial Insects. Dr. William Merrill, Dr. Roger Funk, Greg Hoover and Bob Weber were also presenters. 1997 – An Arbor Day ceremony and workday was held at the Pearl S. Buck Foundation in Perkasie. 1997 – An Arbor Day ceremony and workday was held at Three Rivers Youth Center in Pittsburgh. 1997 – Scott Sjolander, Extension Urban Forester, set up 3 educational sessions in the Northwestern part of the state. 1997 – In an effort of to involve all of the state, the chapter started to teleconference our meetings between Malvern in the east and New Kensington in the west. 1997 – The 10th Horace M. Thayer Scholarship Autumnfest gala dinner and dance was held at Longwood Gardens. $4,000 was raised and 168 guests attended. 1997 – Pete Thomas won the Eastern Tree Climbing Championship and went on to represent the Penn-Del chapter at the International Tree Climbing Championship for the fourth consecutive year. The 1998 33rd Symposium was held at the Lancaster Host Resort, Lancaster. Dr. Donald Booth and Dr. Kim Coder were the main presenters. 1998 – An Arbor Day ceremony and workday was held at Doylestown. 1998 – An Arbor Day ceremony and workday was held at Diamond Park in Meadville. 1998 – Al Cherry served as President of the ISA. 1998 – The book The Talking Tree was released. The idea was created by Al Cherry 1998 – At the ISA Annual Conference in Birmingham, England, the chapter received the Award of Achievement and the Newsletter Banner Award. In addition, John Ward received the President’s Award. The Penn-Del chapter was the only chapter to receive more than one award. 1998 – Jennifer Arkett completed the Tour Des Trees at the ISA conference in Birmingham, England. 1998 – The chapter awarded 2 Horace M. Thayer Scholarships to James A. Cherry who studied Horticulture at Temple University and 1 to Brenda A. Gibbons. The 1999 34th Symposium was held at the Lancaster Host Resort, Lancaster. Dr. Gary Watson and Dr. Tom Smiley were the main presenters. Al Cherry, Ken Palmer, and Peter Donzelli were also presenters. 1999 – An Arbor Day ceremony andworkdaywasheld at the Penn-Del chapter’s Memorial Tree Grove in Fairmont Park. 1999 – An Arbor Day ceremony and workday was held at Diamond Park in Meadville. 1999 – The chapter mourned the loss of Ed Martin. Ed was a charter member of Penn-Del and chapter president in 1966. He was also responsible for forming the first Arbor Day Committee. Ed also wrote a series of articles for the Penn-Del newsletter in 1993 and 1994 entitled “Tree Thots”. These articles relate to the History of the Penn-Del chapter and also some “Experiences of an Old Tree Man”. 1999 – Bacterial Leaf Scorch was recognized as a problem. 1999 – At the ISA Annual Conference in Stamford, CT the chapter received the Special Projects Award for the Educational Slide Kit for Careers in Arboriculture. The chapter also received a Banner Award for exceeding our Research Trust goal over the past 2 years, having contributed $34,583. 1999 – The ISA accepted a proposal from the Penn-Del chapter to host the 2004 ISA Annual Conference in Pittsburgh. 1999 – The chapter donated $1,000 to the Horticultural Academy at Abraham Lincoln High School. |