With the passing of Stan Baird in October 2012, the American Daffodil Society has lost one of its most stalwart members. Stan joined the ADS in 1964. At various times during his 48 years in the Society he was lauded for his enthusiasm in promoting daffodils, his modesty about his significant ADS achievements, and his maintenance of high ethical standards in all facets of conduct within the Society.
Stan was skilled Accredited Judge and a Judging School Instructor par excellence. As an Instructor, he applied his professorial competence to provide illuminating presentations and meaningful feedback to students. While serving as ADS Chairman of Judges and Schools during 1996-2000, Stan completed a significant revision of the Society’s informative “Handbook for Growing, Exhibiting and Judging Daffodils.” In 1994, the ADS awarded Stan its prestigious Silver Medal recognizing his continual, outstanding service to the Society.
Stan was an horticulturist. He was fond of many flowering plants. He grew impressive collections of daffodils, roses, magnolias, and irises. But daffodils were his true passion. Stan was a keen grower and exhibitor. One could identify Stan’s entries in a daffodil show by the extraordinary length and strength of their stems. The quality of the blooms of his entries was evidenced by his successes in show competition. Although it took both an eight-hour drive and a cross-country plane flight, Stan entered his blooms in many National Shows, winning numerous ADS National Awards including both Best-in-Show (Gold Ribbon) and coveted Gold Quinn Award.
Among the daffodil communities of Pacific Coast, Stan Baird is an icon. He was a Founding Member of the Northern California Daffodil Society and served the NCDS as its president and show chairman. He was instrumental in the formation of the Oregon Daffodil Society. Over the years, he was venerated at the Fortuna Garden Club’s Annual Daffodil Show, near his Blue Lake home. Before the formation of the NCDS, Stan would embark on a two-day journey to Los Angeles with his daffodils to exhibit in what was then the only daffodil show on the West Coast – the Southern California Daffodil Society’s annual show at Descanso Gardens.
All those in the daffodil world are the beneficiaries of his years of service. In addition, I have special memories of a close friendship with Stan – of times sharing a room during Conventions, shows and on a memorable tour to Australia and New Zealand. Your daffodil friends bid you farewell.
Bob Spotts, Oakley California
I’m SO very sorry to hear about Stan. Yes, we were on a trip down under where he was among the group. I have thought of him often these past several years and wondered how he was doing. We keep losing these great people without many to replace them. I’m worried about the ADS and local societies around the country as we all age.
Stan was one of those rare people with whom you could disagree and still remain friends. He was a true gentleman, and we are all richer for having known him.
Tom, instead of worrying, use your energy in encouraging the youth, just as you and others were encouraged by folks like Stan! As far as ADS and most plant societies are concerned, you and even I are considered the “young” ones (oh, my, speaking for myself!), so we should all be passing on the enthusiasm to the truly young so that ADS and other gardening organizations do have a bright future!
Dr. Stan Baird was a gifted educator and teacher. As a tenured professor at Humboldt State University his passion and enthusiasm for teaching was greatly valued and respected by students, faculty and staff. Close to the top of Stan’s many interests was gardening. Bob Spotts mentioned his beautiful garden, and what a garden it was. Choice, rare, and truly wonderful plants greeted you at every turn. Everything was grown to the peak of perfection. Stan realized that in gardening, after several years of amending soil, intensive site preparation, weeding, feeding, dividing, pruning, mulching, etc., etc., the initial cost of any plant became trivial when compared with the true cost of upkeep. “Why should I waste my space, work, and time on average things”, he’d ask? He constantly sought out the finest examples in multiple plant groups, including daffodils.