My obsession with flowers started with daisies and graduated to sunflowers. Like many children the fascination with growing tall was intriguing, so I began growing sunflowers. Photography was educational and fun for me and when I received my first camera at eight years old, I began taking photos of everything I grow. You can only imagine how many pictures I have of my children!
Growing up in Illinois, I was educated on everything I could learn about its history. It wasn't until the late 1980s that I began taking classes with Historian Dallas Krumm who taught social sciences at high school and college level and learned that he enjoyed participating in Native American and historical reenactments. By this time, I was forever hooked on wildflowers and sunflowers grown by seeds. In this photograph the sunflower continued to grow even taller!
Today, I still enjoy everything in nature that grows and taking photographs. Right now, my project is going through old photographs and class materials about things I learned over the years and want to keep.
I feel fortunate that I was lucky enough to learn from teachers who had firsthand knowledge and immersed themselves focusing on what they believed students should learn. Dallas Krum was a true living historian who researched and hunted artifacts, visited and worked at several archaeological excavations in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. He taught classes at the College of Lake County in Grayslake, IL for 20 years, focusing on Indians and artifacts of the Midwest.
Sunflowers were found in the eastern part of the continent originating in the region between the Mississippi River and the Appalachian Mountains, an area that includes the rich watersheds of rivers in Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee. Sunflower seeds date back to 9000 BP. Their seeds contain oil and are used for food by humans and birds and has been made into other products such as soap and paints. Only young flowers move to face the sun throughout the day. Once they reach maturity, they stop sun-tracking and their blooms forever turn eastward.
Today, sunflowers grow in all 50 states and thrive very well in environments where they can receive six or more hours of direct sunlight. They can survive in extreme heat, but grow very well between 70 to 78 degrees. In addition, as long as their roots get water, they can tolerate periods of drought. If you're out and about at dawn, you'll noticed sunflowers will start off the day facing east, getting ready for the sun to emerge over the horizon.
Dallas Krum passed away on April 1, 2014 at 66 years old. His legacy will never be forgotten. I'm a firm believer that when someone well educated teaches, it truly is a gift to the world! ---Patricia Feager
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