Arboretum: Open Call to Musicians, Poets, Artists, Writers, Crafters;

ESPERANCE, NY (07/03/2007)(readMedia)-- The renaissance spirit and influence of its peripatetic founder continue to loom large at the Landis Arboretum as staff and supporters of the Capital Region’s Arboretum prepare to honor him in an open-mic on August 19, starting at 3 p.m.

Admission and parking are free. Suggested donations of $5 person, $15 family are strongly encouraged to support Landis, a non-profit entity that depends on fundraising, grants, and the generosity of visitors to sustain itself as a public park open to all.

In celebration of its founder Fred Lape, the 548-acre Landis Arboretum will be a gathering place for self-expression and networking among region artisans, artists, musicians, photographers, and performance artists in celebration of Lape as a Renaissance man of his day. Fred Breglia, Head of Horticulture and Operations at the Landis Arboretum, expects to host the Lape Day event with his own band, Fred & Friends.

“In the spirit of the Arboretum, we plan to provide an atmosphere that encourages openness and artistic expression indicative of Fred Lape’s legacy as a man of the arts. We also hope to introduce the Arboretum to many people who have always wanted to but never visited the site.” Breglia was recently cited among 40 Under Forty Capital Region entrepreneurs by The Business Review in concert with Keeler Motors and Fox 23. Also concurrently, he was named SUNY Cobleskill’s 2007 Distinguished Alumnus.

The Arboretum encourages creative individuals and those who support them to bring their music, poetry, prose, artwork, and crafts to share with others within the rolling hills and plantings of the Arboretum.

We’ll provide a public address (PA) system and an open mic,”says Mr. Breglia. “Participants can make the experience as public or private as they like.” He suggests that “some artists and performers may prefer to sit quietly and play their music. Others play better to an audience.

“We hope to have an enthusiastic, embracing, and appreciative crowd. Last year, Michael Eck and the Ramblin Jug Stompers brought down the house, especially when the Old Stone Fort’s Carle Kopecky got into the act with his tuba! Several Schoharie bands already have signed on and Carmine Dio and the Goodfellas (Guilderland) added their names to the roster last week.”

A Legend in His Own Time…and Ours as Well Arboretum founder Fred Lape would have been 107 years old on August 19. Lape, a musician, poet, English professor, and writer, was a familiar face to residents in the area when he established the Arboretum in 1951.

Jeff Lape, a younger member of the extended Lape family tree, grew up in Summit, NY, and now lives in Cicero after retiring from the National Guard in May 2005. He recalls core attributes of the senior Lape: “He was in his 70s and living at the time at the Arboretum home,” Jeff recalls, “but would travel to Mexico for the winter months. He was rather eccentric, intelligent, and friendly. He, like most ancestors, was not a good genealogical historian, although he gave me some information that was useful. His neighbors knew him best, as you can tell by their writing of Fred."

More than neighbors and writers, Kenneth DeKay and his wife Agnes were personal friends of Fred Lape. The DeKays, who still reside in Esperance, actually lived at the Arboretum and watched over the homestead in winter months when Lape traveled or spent time in Mexico. The DeKays memorialized Lape in their 1986 book, Fred Lape. To them, he was a larger-than-life figure…”possessed with boundless energy and a broad range of talents and interests. Because of that, people were attracted to him with the same enthusiasm as he exhibited for procuring rare specimens for the then-nascent Arboretum.”

As they indicate in the preface of their book on Fred Lape, the DeKays “contacted their friend, Dr. Gene M. Gressley, who headed the Archive of Contemporary History at the University of Wyoming, about the inclusion of the correspondence, papers and writings of Fred Lape in his archival collection of Americana. In a short time Dr. Gressley, Fred Lape, and the DeKays made the necessary arrangements, and Fred Lape began to send materials to the University of Wyoming for its archives. After his death his remaining materials, correspondence, and unpublished writings were sent to Wyoming where an extensive file on Fred Lape has now been established and is available to anyone who wishes to do research on Fred Lape or on his literary works.

“One of Fred Lape’s major literary endeavors was the publishing of Trails, a Literary Magazine of the Outdoors over a twenty year span from 1932 to 1951. A complete set of Trails is in the Wyoming file, but more or less complete sets can also be found in many area libraries.

A partial list of the writings of Fred Lape can be found in the appendix to [the Dekay’s book], but this listing covers only those works which were published, or which he had printed, in book or pamphlet form. A complete list of all of the individual poems which Fred Lape wrote, some of which appeared in magazines or newspapers but many of which were never published, and of his unpublished plays, short stories, and other writings would be far too long for inclusion in this volume. Hopefully, most of his writings are in the Wyoming collection, but there is no way to be certain that he kept a copy of each and every poem or piece of writing that he sold and which was published during his lifetime.”

Kenneth DeKay also taught at RPI and knew George Landis. He was Executor of the Lape estate and for many years served as his literary agent. Taking Root Along Route 20 in Esperance

The Arboretum features cultivated and native trees, shrubs, and perennials on the site of a 19th Century farm in Esperance, the home of the Lape family. The Lape homestead was known as Oak Nose Farm – for a large 400-year old white oak on a point overlooking the Schoharie Valley.

Lape earned two degrees in English at Cornell and started a teaching career at Stanford University, before he returned in 1928 to the farm to pursue a career in freelance writing. Prolific in prose and poetry, Lape also delighted in music, art, and theater. In the late 1930s, he taught at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York.

Fred Lape aimed to grow every species of woody plant from temperate regions around the world that would survive in the hills of Schoharie County. To fulfill that desire he started planting trees at Oak Nose Farm. Others came to share his interest and became an integral part of operations at the Arboretum.

George Landis, an academic colleague, plant collector, and friend of Lape, was one of the early enthusiasts who helped bring about the creation of the arboretum. He died in 1950, leaving most of his estate to Lape, enabling him to focus on planting an arboretum. The George Landis Arboretum was established in 1951 and named for the "friend who had made it all possible both in life and in death."

LeVan Loveland, banker, financial advisor, and Lape friend, was responsible for the incorporation of the Arboretum as an educational institution. Loveland is also remembered for his skill and enthusiasm for flower gardening and his original perennial beds continue to attract large numbers of visitors year after year.

At the Arboretum, Lape kept careful records of his plantings, providing valuable historical documentation of his efforts. With assistance from friends and a few small grants, he continued to plant and maintain the grounds. He continued to be devoted to the idea of a “garden of trees and shrubs” until his death in 1985.

The Arboretum’s reputation as a place to learn was established well before the first trees were planted. Fred Lape attracted a following of friends and academic colleagues who shared his excitement for plants. The collections are an excellent source of information for gardeners, artists, and scientists alike. The Arboretum is dedicated to providing formal educational programs, in addition to the collections, gardens and natural areas.

Now well into its second 50 years, the Landis Arboretum is one of the four more significant arboreta in New York. The Planting Arboretum and Bayard Cutting Arboretum, both located on Long Island in a different hardiness zone, and the Cornell Plantations in Ithaca, with an extensive scientific orientation, compliment the scenic, rural, and multifaceted operation of Landis. Approximately 8,000 people visit the Landis Arboretum each year.

The Landis Arboretum is located 1.5 miles off scenic Route 20 in historic Esperance, NY. There, with decades of history and the riveting beauty inherent in the Arboretum’s world-class, global collections, generations of extraordinary plantings continue to impart their secrets to its visitors.

Long a destination of horticulturalists, environmentalists, “earth watchers”, and birders, the Arboretum most often “rings a bell” of recognition because of its extraordinary plant sales – Spring and Fall -- that have become signature events. The Fall Plant Sale is slated for Saturday, September 15, and Sunday, September 16, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Expect unusual and extra-hardy trees, shrubs, and perennials.

Old Growth Forest Beckons Those familiar with the Landis Arboretum know that it is many things. The Arboretum's most recent land acquisition, for example, almost doubled the size of the site and contains a horticulture bonanza. Last summer, a team of old-growth-forest experts surveyed the site and found species of trees ranging from 150 to 350 years old. One parcel of land near the Montgomery County line contains one of the oldest forests in the area.

Several stands of large American beech make this forest even more unique. Big beech trees growing in the wild are uncommon today due to a fungus disease known as the beech bark complex, which often kills beech trees before they can attain their mature size.

Like the venerable Great Oak that captures the sight and imagination of every visitor to the Lape Estate, the Arboretum itself is a mighty oak evolved from an acorn of inspiration and nurtured by passionate people united in their love and respect for nature. They unite again on August 19. For details or to participate in the open-to-all August 19 Fred Lape Birthday Bash, call 518-875-6935; www.LandisArboretum.org.

Writer Thom O’Connor acknowledges his deep appreciation to the work, recollections, and contribution of Agnes and Kenneth Dekay and to Jeff Lape in the preparation of this article.

Contact: Thom O’Connor LandisMar@midtel.net 518-875-6935

Posted Tuesday July 03, 2007 at 07:47 am by Landis Arboretum