Obituary from Tacoma News Tribune, Tuesday, October 28, 1941, pg. 16:
Sydney Nicholas Croft
Sydney Nicholas Croft, a resident of Elma, died Saturday at a local hospital. He was a native of Devonshire, England, born January 7, 1877, and had been in Elma [Grays Harbor County] for four years. He was a horticulturist and was past master of the F.&A.M. at Langlois, Ore., and past patron of the O.E.S. at Bandon, Ore. He leaves his wife Ida of the home; a brother, H.W. Lee Croft, owner of the Croft hotel in Tacoma. Funeral services will be held Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. at the C.C. Mellinger chapel in Tacoma, the Rev. Fred Hornshuh presiding; burial at Tacoma cemetery.
Excerpt from article published May 9, 2001 in the Curry Coastal Pilot on the lily industry on the Oregon coast:
"Houghton was very free with his bulbs, giving one or two to anyone who would plant them. Soon they became very common in the door yards at Bandon.
"In 1925, Houghton moved to Tillamook and went into the lily business where he was successful in competing with the Japanese bulbs that were then on the market. The depression, however, overtook Houghton's lily business in 1930 and his corporation was liquidated.
"Sidney Croft of Bandon was one of the people who received some of Houghton's bulbs. He was more interested in growing vegetables in his garden and really didn't have time for lilies, but his neighbor persisted so Croft took 'the darn things,' put them in a trench in one of his garden rows and covered them up.
"When Croft advertised that he had some bulbs to sell, Mr. Bergen of the Marshfield Greenhouses and Flower Store in Marshfield, now known as Coos Bay, forced a few of Croft's lilies in his greenhouse. To Bergen belongs the honor of having discovered that these lilies could be forced to bloom in time for Easter.
"Croft selected two kinds of lilies, one a shorter one that he named "Croft" and the other he sold to W.L. Crissey of Brookings, who established it on the market as the 'Estate' lily. Soon the fame of these lilies spread and the growers received so many orders they were unable to fill them.
"When Bandon burned in 1936, Croft salvaged his lily bulbs and moved to Harbor. For many years the Croft lily was the foundation of the industry. But soon newer varieties took over, and the Croft lilies now grown are in experimental plots where researchers want to maintain a genetic pool. "Slocum's Ace," commonly called Ace, soon took over the industry, and the Croft lily was gradually replaced by this superior flower. The efforts of growers and researchers to find an even better bulb brought the "Nellie White" into the picture, and it is rapidly gaining on Ace. It, in turn, will probably be replaced by even better varieties presently being developed. "
Wife - Ida Croft
Sydney Nicholas Croft
Sydney Nicholas Croft, a resident of Elma, died Saturday at a local hospital. He was a native of Devonshire, England, born January 7, 1877, and had been in Elma [Grays Harbor County] for four years. He was a horticulturist and was past master of the F.&A.M. at Langlois, Ore., and past patron of the O.E.S. at Bandon, Ore. He leaves his wife Ida of the home; a brother, H.W. Lee Croft, owner of the Croft hotel in Tacoma. Funeral services will be held Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. at the C.C. Mellinger chapel in Tacoma, the Rev. Fred Hornshuh presiding; burial at Tacoma cemetery.
Excerpt from article published May 9, 2001 in the Curry Coastal Pilot on the lily industry on the Oregon coast:
"Houghton was very free with his bulbs, giving one or two to anyone who would plant them. Soon they became very common in the door yards at Bandon.
"In 1925, Houghton moved to Tillamook and went into the lily business where he was successful in competing with the Japanese bulbs that were then on the market. The depression, however, overtook Houghton's lily business in 1930 and his corporation was liquidated.
"Sidney Croft of Bandon was one of the people who received some of Houghton's bulbs. He was more interested in growing vegetables in his garden and really didn't have time for lilies, but his neighbor persisted so Croft took 'the darn things,' put them in a trench in one of his garden rows and covered them up.
"When Croft advertised that he had some bulbs to sell, Mr. Bergen of the Marshfield Greenhouses and Flower Store in Marshfield, now known as Coos Bay, forced a few of Croft's lilies in his greenhouse. To Bergen belongs the honor of having discovered that these lilies could be forced to bloom in time for Easter.
"Croft selected two kinds of lilies, one a shorter one that he named "Croft" and the other he sold to W.L. Crissey of Brookings, who established it on the market as the 'Estate' lily. Soon the fame of these lilies spread and the growers received so many orders they were unable to fill them.
"When Bandon burned in 1936, Croft salvaged his lily bulbs and moved to Harbor. For many years the Croft lily was the foundation of the industry. But soon newer varieties took over, and the Croft lilies now grown are in experimental plots where researchers want to maintain a genetic pool. "Slocum's Ace," commonly called Ace, soon took over the industry, and the Croft lily was gradually replaced by this superior flower. The efforts of growers and researchers to find an even better bulb brought the "Nellie White" into the picture, and it is rapidly gaining on Ace. It, in turn, will probably be replaced by even better varieties presently being developed. "
Wife - Ida Croft
Obituary from Tacoma News Tribune, Tuesday, October 28, 1941, pg. 16:
Sydney Nicholas Croft
Sydney Nicholas Croft, a resident of Elma, died Saturday at a local hospital. He was a native of Devonshire, England, born January 7, 1877, and had been in Elma [Grays Harbor County] for four years. He was a horticulturist and was past master of the F.&A.M. at Langlois, Ore., and past patron of the O.E.S. at Bandon, Ore. He leaves his wife Ida of the home; a brother, H.W. Lee Croft, owner of the Croft hotel in Tacoma. Funeral services will be held Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. at the C.C. Mellinger chapel in Tacoma, the Rev. Fred Hornshuh presiding; burial at Tacoma cemetery.
Excerpt from article published May 9, 2001 in the Curry Coastal Pilot on the lily industry on the Oregon coast:
"Houghton was very free with his bulbs, giving one or two to anyone who would plant them. Soon they became very common in the door yards at Bandon.
"In 1925, Houghton moved to Tillamook and went into the lily business where he was successful in competing with the Japanese bulbs that were then on the market. The depression, however, overtook Houghton's lily business in 1930 and his corporation was liquidated.
"Sidney Croft of Bandon was one of the people who received some of Houghton's bulbs. He was more interested in growing vegetables in his garden and really didn't have time for lilies, but his neighbor persisted so Croft took 'the darn things,' put them in a trench in one of his garden rows and covered them up.
"When Croft advertised that he had some bulbs to sell, Mr. Bergen of the Marshfield Greenhouses and Flower Store in Marshfield, now known as Coos Bay, forced a few of Croft's lilies in his greenhouse. To Bergen belongs the honor of having discovered that these lilies could be forced to bloom in time for Easter.
"Croft selected two kinds of lilies, one a shorter one that he named "Croft" and the other he sold to W.L. Crissey of Brookings, who established it on the market as the 'Estate' lily. Soon the fame of these lilies spread and the growers received so many orders they were unable to fill them.
"When Bandon burned in 1936, Croft salvaged his lily bulbs and moved to Harbor. For many years the Croft lily was the foundation of the industry. But soon newer varieties took over, and the Croft lilies now grown are in experimental plots where researchers want to maintain a genetic pool. "Slocum's Ace," commonly called Ace, soon took over the industry, and the Croft lily was gradually replaced by this superior flower. The efforts of growers and researchers to find an even better bulb brought the "Nellie White" into the picture, and it is rapidly gaining on Ace. It, in turn, will probably be replaced by even better varieties presently being developed. "
Wife - Ida Croft
Sydney Nicholas Croft
Sydney Nicholas Croft, a resident of Elma, died Saturday at a local hospital. He was a native of Devonshire, England, born January 7, 1877, and had been in Elma [Grays Harbor County] for four years. He was a horticulturist and was past master of the F.&A.M. at Langlois, Ore., and past patron of the O.E.S. at Bandon, Ore. He leaves his wife Ida of the home; a brother, H.W. Lee Croft, owner of the Croft hotel in Tacoma. Funeral services will be held Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. at the C.C. Mellinger chapel in Tacoma, the Rev. Fred Hornshuh presiding; burial at Tacoma cemetery.
Excerpt from article published May 9, 2001 in the Curry Coastal Pilot on the lily industry on the Oregon coast:
"Houghton was very free with his bulbs, giving one or two to anyone who would plant them. Soon they became very common in the door yards at Bandon.
"In 1925, Houghton moved to Tillamook and went into the lily business where he was successful in competing with the Japanese bulbs that were then on the market. The depression, however, overtook Houghton's lily business in 1930 and his corporation was liquidated.
"Sidney Croft of Bandon was one of the people who received some of Houghton's bulbs. He was more interested in growing vegetables in his garden and really didn't have time for lilies, but his neighbor persisted so Croft took 'the darn things,' put them in a trench in one of his garden rows and covered them up.
"When Croft advertised that he had some bulbs to sell, Mr. Bergen of the Marshfield Greenhouses and Flower Store in Marshfield, now known as Coos Bay, forced a few of Croft's lilies in his greenhouse. To Bergen belongs the honor of having discovered that these lilies could be forced to bloom in time for Easter.
"Croft selected two kinds of lilies, one a shorter one that he named "Croft" and the other he sold to W.L. Crissey of Brookings, who established it on the market as the 'Estate' lily. Soon the fame of these lilies spread and the growers received so many orders they were unable to fill them.
"When Bandon burned in 1936, Croft salvaged his lily bulbs and moved to Harbor. For many years the Croft lily was the foundation of the industry. But soon newer varieties took over, and the Croft lilies now grown are in experimental plots where researchers want to maintain a genetic pool. "Slocum's Ace," commonly called Ace, soon took over the industry, and the Croft lily was gradually replaced by this superior flower. The efforts of growers and researchers to find an even better bulb brought the "Nellie White" into the picture, and it is rapidly gaining on Ace. It, in turn, will probably be replaced by even better varieties presently being developed. "
Wife - Ida Croft
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