by Lee Squires

In 1974 , at age 29, I was President of the Louisville Area Bonsai Club, now the Greater Louisville Bonsai Society. The Club voted to send me, as our representative, to the Bonsai Club International meeting in Washington, D.C., aka, BCI ‘ 76 in July 1976.This was to be my first BCI convention. The American Bonsai Society did not hold their convention at the same time as BCI. The highlight of the meeting was the dedication of the National Bonsai Collection. The people of Japan presented the United States with a gift of over 70 bonsai to honor the U.S. Bicentennial. The trees first came into the U.S. in January 1975 under a 16 month quarantine. Eventually, they made their way to the U.S. National Arboretum to be placed in permanent display. Here is a reasonable facsimile of my printed invitation.

The Secretary of Agriculture
Earl L. Butz
requests the pleasure of your company
in dedicating
the National Bonsai Collection
presented by the Japanese people
to commemorate
our Nation’s 200th Anniversary
on Friday evening, the ninth of July
nineteen hundred and seventy-six
from seven until ten o’clock
at the U. S. National Arboretum
Dedication Ceremony
R.s.v.p. 7:30 p.m.

In 1986, the book, Timeless Trees, shows that there were 44 trees remaining. Some died, I would guess from the stress of the trip and the change in climate and cultural practices. I remember, there was a dogwood, Cornus florida. They hate their roots to be “messed with” even as a landscape plant. It did not like incarceration in a bonsai pot and was not alive in 1986. Many others met the same fate. I’m sure many of our club members have seen this collection.

I had created my first bonsai in 1972 and was ready to see what other plants were out there that could be grown as bonsai in Louisville so I readily accepted the club’s generosity and made my way to Washington, D.C. I stayed with my cousin who lived in Georgetown, a suburb of Washington. He was a law clerk on Capitol Hill. Jackie Onassis had an apartment there and cousin John lived next door to Dr. Henry Kissinger. He was the Secretary of State appointed by President Nixon. There were two body guards at his door at all times. They spoke rarely but by the time I left we were on a first name basis.

I think the meeting started a few days before the dedication and I was amazed at everything that was on display from trees to pots to supplies to suiseki. I drove by the famous Watergate office complex everyday on the way to the meeting hotel. Roy Nagatoshi was there with a display of some great trees. They were not in pots but the root ball was wrapped in aluminum foil. He could sell them cheaper that way. All of the other great bonsai growers were there but, me being a new kid on the block, I wasn’t familiar with many of them. There was one vendor that got everyone’s attention. A young southern cool cat with long hair had a whole display of Chinese Elm clones. He had everyone mesmerized with his trees. They were all mostly identical – 8-10” tall, 1 “ trunk diameters with 6” globes of foliage. They were $30.00 and everyone had to have one. Even the Japanese couldn’t believe what they were seeing. The cat’s name ? Brussel Martin ! I , also, met Tony Thomas from California. He had an amazing collection of suiseki stones. He collected all of them from the Mojave Desert. He would drive through the desert & find a rock sticking up out of the sand. The exposed part would be sandblasted by the wind and sand, etching away the sandstone and leaving the hard chert in bizarre horizontal patterns. He would use a portable electric saw to cut off the sandblasted piece and bury half of what was left in the sand. In two or three years he came back to that spot and cut another valuable stone. I bought a suiseki from Tony that he collected in the Mojave Desert and it is still in my collection. Tony and I became friends and he invited me to a cocktail party held by the prestigious California Bonsai Society. All of the big names were there, no doubt. This is where I met John & Alice Naka. They had some suishi on the buffet and I had never eaten it before. John told me what it was and laughed as I spit out the eel & seaweed piece. Tony and John have both passed away.

The dedication night was here before we knew it. A lavish buffet and cocktail party was planned and all attendees could eat, drink and tour the bonsai collection. It was an amazing time for all as we saw the trees for the first time. Agriculture Secretary, Earl Butz, was first on the podium and he gave all a good welcome and sufficiently thanked the Japanese for their gift. Good ‘ol Earl got into some hot water with racial slurs and resigned before President Gerald Ford could fire him. You all may remember that. Secreatry of State, Henry Kissinger was there with his wife, Nancy, and he gave a great speech with his deep voice and accent. The trees were officially dedicated after all of the speeches were over.

I was certainly glad I went and fortunate to have had the opportunity.

Now, Bonsai in the Bluegrass will soon be upon us. BCI & ABS meet together these days but in the past they had separate conventions. All of the committee members in GLBS have been working diligently to make it a success. Be sure to get your registration sent in soon. To really make it special, a visit by Earl & Henry would be great !