AIS REGION 18
2006 POSTHUMOUS DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD

WELLINGTON F. SCOTT, JR. (1905 – 1997)
Nominated and written by Jim Morris

Of all the posthumous Region 18 members, Wellington F. Scott, Jr. was the most influential person in the phenomenal early growth of our region.  My article “In Memoriam” from the October 2003 AIS Bulletin points out many of the events and activities he was involved in for both our region and AIS itself.

This belated and retrospective memoriam resulted from the research we did in honoring past AIS President Marion R. Walker in an earlier issue.  Wellington F. Scott, or “Scotty” as he was known throughout the iris world, was actively linked with Marion in the American Iris Society of the 1950s and 1960s, serving with him on the AIS Board of Directors.

Scotty’s interest in irises started as a youngster in 1914 with his grandmother’s two-acre Lexington, KY iris garden.  He joined the American Iris Society in 1944 and later became a Life member.  A very outgoing and organized businessman in St. Louis, he was appointed Region 18 RVP by then AIS President Dr. Franklin Cook, serving from 1949-1952.  Scotty was Publicity Chairman for the 1952 AIS Convention held at the Chase Hotel in St. Louis, and his garden in Ferguson on Sassafras Lane, named for a very old sassafras tree at the entrance, was on tour.

Scotty was a prolific writer and photographer and served the Photography Society of America as Convention Program Director.  In Region 18 he was a dynamic man of action, continuing the region’s number one membership position in AIS;  proposing the region’s Symposium of 100 Best Iris Under One Dollar;  sponsoring new affiliate growth;  putting the Regional Newsletter on a subscription basis;  helping with the formation of Region 21 as Iowa and Nebraska were split out of Region 18 because of 18’s rapid growth;  and championing a young man, Cliff Benson, first as Region 18 Secretary-Treasurer and then as AIS Executive Secretary.

First serving as Chairman of the AIS Membership Committee (51-55), he also chaired the Board of Counselors (RVPs), was an AIS Director (51-55), AIS 2nd VP (53-55), and AIS 1st VP (56-58).  Scotty was active at a time in AIS’s history when it became the World Authority on all irises other than the bulbous section.  Mr. Harold Knowlton and Dr. George H. M. Lawrence worked toward an agreement on Registration and nomenclature whereby the new 1959 Check List of AIS would meet all requirements of this new responsibility.  Dr. Lawrence was the American representative on the International Horticultural Council and Mr. Knowlton was the Editor of the Check List.

Dr. Fitz Randolph and Dr. Lawrence prepared a new classification of bearded irises which the Board approved in November 1957.  Since registration and classification were worked out, next were awards.  The Median Iris Society and the Aril Society International had set up special committees to study the development of an Awards System within their own Societies for the promotion of their special interests.  Such a separate system already existed in the Dwarf Iris Society.  This posed the question to President Walker, “Is AIS to be the World Authority or are we going to break into several special interest groups and have no real authority?”

MIS, DIS, and ASI were agreeable to keeping the entire iris family under one roof and united.  Jay Ackerman presented several amendments to be made to the rules of the Awards Committee.  These changes were adopted by unanimous vote of the ten Board members present.  Recognizing that the main interest of a large majority of the AIS membership of the time and probably for all time was in the tall bearded iris, there was also a good percentage of the membership with interest in other types of irises.  The new award rules changed from 10 total High Commendation votes (all classes) to 10 HC votes for TBs and 5 HC votes in each of the other classes.  Sounds simple enough today.

But when the Board passed this on November 13, 1957, Scott, the Awards Chairman, was not in attendance.  Therein lies the rub.  Having substantial means, he was in New Zealand serving as the Board’s Official representative at the Annual Meeting of the New Zealand Iris Society.  Upon Scott’s return he took basic disagreement with the Board and resigned his offices in AIS.

As a Life member, retired at a young age, and with the aforementioned means, he continued to visit an incredible number of gardens, write about and photograph irises and help his region, which at the time consisted of one-third of the total AIS membership.  A review of AIS Bulletins and Region 18 Bulletins reveals numerous visits to the gardens of Mary Williamson, Paul Cook, Orville Fay, Dave Hall, Georgia Hinkle, Cliff Benson, Dorothy Palmer, Ada Buxton, Joe Becherer, Gene Wild, Don Waters, James Marsh, Brother Charles, Wilma Greenlee, Helen McCaughey, John Ohl, Helen Reynolds, Rev. David Kinish, Bonabeth Brickell, Carl Schirmer, Bob Minnick, Geddes Douglas, Chet Thompkins, Schreiners, Cooleys, and the Sasses.  Overseas his visits included Australia, New Zealand, Germany, England, France, Italy, Hawaii, Tokyo, Manila, Hong Kong, Saigon, Bangkok, Singapore, Auckland and Fiji.

As an outgoing and decisive person Scotty could be very charming, as when he arranged for commissioning of visiting New Zealander Molly Emms as a Kentucky Colonel;  you see, when he was a student at the U. of  Kentucky the football coach was “Happy” Chandler who later became Kentucky Governor;  or when he negotiated for free office space at the Missouri Botanical Gardens for the AIS headquarters.  But he had an edge about him too. His letters in 1970 (age 65) to AIS President William T. Bledsoe and AIS Bulletin Editor J. Arthur Nelson were often biting indictments.  In one he stated that, “If I were not a Life Member, I would surely resign!”  Instead, he faded away.  I was unable to find any further information on Scotty for 27 years from 1970 until his death in 1997 at age 92.

What a colorful person!