James D. Swan*
Mr. President. members of the Potato Association of America, and guests, it is a rare privilege for me to present my good friend, Mr. J. D. Swan, Jr., to you as a recipient of an Honorary Life Membership. Men like Jim are providing the progressive, thoughtful, and articulate leadership to the agriculture of our country today. His contributions to the improvement of the vegetable industry at local, regional, and national levels started nearly 60 years ago at Neosho Falls, Kansas. It was here that this man learned to love the land, the things that grow. Even during his high school days in Chicago, he was drawn back to Kansas to harvest in the vast fields of wheat and nurture his dreams of being a farmer.
I feel sure that Jim is the first graduate of Princeton the Association has honored. Things happened to him in 1925. First, he graduated with honors after taking courses that included philosophy, chemistry, and mathematics. Secondly, he married Edith Brigham and started his life’s work in Chicago. But after living there for a short time, Jim could no longer resist the urge of his boyhood dreams of becoming a farmer. He quite logically then moved to Delavan, Wisconsin, where he became one of the pioneers in the development of muck land for vegetable growing. It took real courage and conviction to develop his Turtle Valley Farms. during the depression years around 1932. In the years following, he did much independent experimental work on his farm and actively participated in the research on onions, cabbage, and potatoes being done at the University. It was here that he developed abiding friendship with Dr. J. C. Walker and the late Drs. Russell H. Larson and Gustav H. Rieman. Some of Jim’s own research has been published in our Journal, and I’m proud to report he has been a member for over a quarter of a century.
His willingness to share his knowledge and talents with others has been most generous. He pioneered the Wisconsin Muck Farmers Association, was its first president and continued to guide it as director for 15 years. He helped incorporate and revise the Wisconsin Potato Growers Association, served as its first vice president and later as president, and has been a director since its origin. His regional activities include his election as a North Central Potato Committeeman. He has been an advisory member of the Board of Governors of the Mercantile Board, and he served as chairman of the Fruit and Vegetable Division of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau for four years. After serving on numerous committees and as vice president, the Vegetable Growers Association of America elected him president in 1955.
My friends, we have here in Jim quite a variety of potato! His pedigree is proven. He is adaptable to an ever-changing environment, and our entire industry has profited from his productivity. But there is a vital personality to this man. The Swan’s lovely and hospitable home has been blessed with three daughters — Nancy Belle, Emily. and Penelope, all married. Jim and Ede were once concerned about having only daughters, but not any longer, since the ratio is close to the expected 1:1 — six grandsons and five granddaughters. Jim has flown his own plane for about 20 years, and with characteristic thoroughness, possesses a commercial license with instrument rating.
He is truly one of our first flying farmers. Ieisure is also a part of this man — he loves all outdoor sports and has shared his enthusiasm for them with his family and friends for years. Swimming, skiing, and hunting seem to be his choice, as a participant, not a spectator. If he has a hobby, it’s flying, particularly to his Swanee Superior Farms in northern Wisconsin near Lake Superior.
It is with real pride and great personal satisfaction that I present Mr. Jim Swan to you to receive an Honorary Life Membership in the Potato Association of America.
~Henry Darling, Nominator