In the leading up to the history portion of our Spring Speakers Series on Wednesday, May 8, we will be highlighting a few historical staff biographies.
Willard Melick was born in 1894 in Knox County, Ohio. As a child, Willard suffered from a case of scarlet fever which often led to permanently damaged hearing capabilities. Due to this illness, he did in fact lose his hearing. Upon his diagnosis, he later found out that he was ineligible to be drafted to fight in World War I which then set the path for his future career.
As an adult, Willard worked in both a rubber factory in Newark, Ohio and as a tenant farmer in Perryton located in eastern Licking County. At this point in time, he and his family were dealing with circumstances that were leaving them extremely impoverished. Soon, Willard came across The Dawes Arboretum and the new beginning the Dawes family could offer. After many years of working for others who did not respect the value of his labor, The Arboretum was another world. Our founders, Beman and Bertie Dawes, let him and his family borrow a truck when they moved here first toThe Arboretum’s grounds in 1950.
During his time, Willard was specifically hired to oversee the day to day regarding The Arboretum’s farm animals. This included milking and making cream for the staff at the Jones House. His time spent at The Arboretum was quite joyful and impactful as he worked here until his death in 1977 and is still to this day the only staff member to be buried on the property.
