The 2025 History Center Exhibit, Dedicated, features stories of staff who helped cultivate the beautiful gardens, natural aresas and towering trees that dot our nearly 100-year-old landscape. Read below to learn a little bit more about what working at The Dawes Arboretum was like for our staff when Beman Dawes founded The Arboretum.
How did the Great Depression affect The Dawes Arboretum?
By the time of the Depression, The Arboretum had to drastically reduce the number of employees. Historically, the lowest number of employees working at this time was four. Beman had to sell his 309-acre “gentleman’s farm,” which included his dairy operation, in 1932. After the closure of the dairy operation, much of the superintendent’s work was confined by the financial constraints faced by The Arboretum. The garden designed by Bertie was left to return to grass, possibly due to the requirement of upkeep. While no major projects were undertaken during this time, the collections of specimens did not end, with Carman planting many of these trees with little help.
The Arboretum would buy back the property once owned by Beman in 2002, transitioning the farmland into the Dutch Fork Wetlands.
Did the staff live on grounds?
Yes! Since the beginning of Arboretum history, the prospects of having year-round and residential hired labor were lucrative. Some houses on The Arboretum’s property and the later purchases already included homes that the Dawes’ then refurbished, allowing for multiple families to occupy the houses through their employment at the Arboretum. Housing became an immediate draw for job applicants and the fresh produce and milk from their labor offset expenses that families would normally have. The recent electrification of The Arboretum grounds by the Dawes’ provided a new life of luxury in the mid-1920s. Deductions in pay were taken if Arboretum staff members chose to live on the property. Arboretum staff had continued to live on Arboretum property up until 2023, ending the chapter of staff’s onsite presence.
How did Beman and Bertie take care of Arboretum staff?
The interest in the health and safety of Arboretum staff by the Dawes family was not typical of the employee-employer relationship when many of the staff worked. However, it may have been due to the health complications experienced by the Dawes family that they took an interest in their employees' health. On several occasions, the Dawes family went to extreme lengths to ensure the health of their employees, often because staff could not have afforded it without them. It was no question to the Dawes: the people who worked for them were their responsibility, whether it was housing or health, and they had an obligation to help them in any way possible. Beman and Bertie’s children, serving as board members, continued to care for The Arboretum staff. Forrest Melick remembers Ephraim Dawes asking him to find his father for a ride into Newark. Once there, Ephraim walked into a drugstore to buy a hearing aid for Willard.
Did children work at The Arboretum?
While staff of The Arboretum had always been adults due to safety concerns, that does not mean that kids have never worked at The Arboretum. Children growing up in rural communities were expected to help the family farm outside of their schooling. During the 1950s, Ohio updated the state child labor laws, improving the safety of labor for children, while supporting their education first. As Ohio continued to update its child labor laws, The Arboretum also adapted to remain compliant with the new requirements. Jim Sanford, son of Everett Sanford, worked at The Arboretum during his childhood. Jim would learn from many of the staff members. He cited his interest in farms, animals, and nature to his childhood at The Arboretum, shared by many of the children who grew up living and working with their fathers. Jim mowed the grass, worked in the woods and later as a teenager, served as a wagon tour presenter and driver. Driving would be another job for another youth who spent much of his time growing up at The Arboretum. Forrest Melick’s primary job was being a chauffeur to the co-founders’ son Ephraim Dawes who lived in the Daweswood House. While he worked with his father Willard at The Arboretum, his tasks included accompanying his father to the dairy barn to milk the cows, husk corn, and care for the livestock.
Buggie’s Blog
Buggie is the most fondly remembered Arboretum staff member.
