Historical fern "siblings" on display; Memorial Day schedule

by Betty Jane Wilson, society president

The story is not new nor is the lofty fern now celebrating its 100th year. The longtime Valley Falls Santa Fe Depot celebrity resides at the Valley Falls Historical Society Museum, 310 Broadway Street, enjoying desirable temperatures, sunshine, regular food, and water.

Briefly, the history. When a Santa Fe employee was a teenager working in a grocery store in Valley Falls, he bought the fern for his mother at a dime store in Kansas City in 1914 or 1915.

His mother gave the fern to a Red Cross benefit sale during World War I in 1918. Mrs. Bert Scott, wife of Santa Fe drayman, bought the large potted fern and took it to her home. When the fern outgrew its space in her home, she gave it to J.P. Haggard, Valley Falls Santa Fe agent, who put it in the new Santa Fe Depot, placed it on a stand about five feet high, where it grew into a beautiful specimen whose long fronds almost touched the floor.

The fern was often classified as a "landmark" of Valley Falls. When people passed through the town by train and met others who had been passengers, the question was always asked "Is the fern still there?" Johnny Carson once mentioned the awesome plant on his TV show.

In 1969, a new depot was to be put in service. There was no room in the new building for the giant fern. After resting on the same stand for 50 years, the stand gave way and the huge plant fell to the floor. Just before a move to a new location, historian Arthur Strawn, Mrs. Geever Allen, and the Kendall State Bank housed the plant until eventually the huge fern found a home in the Valley Falls Historical Society Museum.

In the spring of 2007, the plant was taken to a local nursery where it was divided into approximately 20 starts and potted for nurturing and sold to those wanting a piece of the "landmark."

A limited number of "siblings" of assorted sizes from the celebrated centurion will be on display at the historical society's museum, effective, Saturday, May 23, and throughout the Memorial Day holiday weekend. (Advertisement in the Valley Falls Vindicator).

The Valley Falls Historical Society Museum will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 23; Sunday, May 24, immediately following the reunion dinner; and Monday, May 25, from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.