2022 ADS Region One Service Award Winner Joan Zettel

 

by
Mary Baker

Joan Zettel of Breckenridge, Minnesota, received the 2022 ADS Region One Service Award during the 2022 ADS National Convention. Congratulations, Joan! 

Joan Zettel—pic courtesy of Abby Volden

Joan joined ADS on January 1, 2016. She is a first-term Garden Judge, and her term expires in 2023. Joan is also a Master Gardener. 

I first heard about Joan from our mutual friend, the late Bryce Farnsworth, who told me he was “reeling her in.” Joan works at the Chahinkapa Zoo in Wahpeton, North Dakota. At that time, Joan was looking for daylilies to plant at the zoo. As part of the enabling process, Bryce lured her to the modern and historic public American Hemerocallis Society (AHS) daylily display gardens at North Dakota State University (NDSU) in Fargo, where Joan’s admiration of daylilies grew into an addiction. 

Joan Zettel with Don Lovell tet seedling—pic courtesy of Mary Baker

Bryce persuaded Joan to work as a volunteer Master Gardener at NDSU’s daylily gardens, and Joan’s volunteer work at NDSU is ongoing and annually continues. 

Bryce served for many years as ADS Region One’s Historian. He wanted Joan to know all there is to know about daylilies, ADS, and ADS Region One, so he loaned her all of the copies of The Daylily Journal and regional newsletters from his extensive collection—five at a time—and insisted she read them, which she did from cover to cover during a couple of long Minnesota/North Dakota winters. I continued to hear more about Joan from Bryce. Their relationship, which began as Bryce mentoring Joan, evolved into friendship. 

Tragedy struck. Bryce’s health deteriorated, and he suddenly passed away from a massive heart attack. Joan replaced Bryce as liaison for NDSU’s public and private AHS daylily display gardens for a while, but Joan’s service to ADS Region One and to NDSU didn’t stop there. 

Kathy Larson from Marshalltown, Iowa became the new ADS Region One Historian. But how would ADS Region One gather and send the extensive collection of materials Bryce had stored for years in his home to AHS Archivist Ken Cobb and Kathy Larson? 

The items stored at Bryce’s house were in a state of disarray. Joan worked with Bryce’s roommate to gather them on multiple occasions, driving a two-hour round trip each time to pick up batches of stuff—often during blizzard conditions. 

After returning home from each materials-gathering trip, Joan sorted through disorganized piles of items to find the small number of keepers (national items for Ken Cobb and regional materials for Kathy Larson). Bryce’s roommate located things in haphazard stages, so the materials transfer process took a considerable amount of time, concentration, organization skills, and a great deal of patience. Joan made it look smooth and easy, when in fact it was anything but—it was like searching for needles in haystacks. 

Joan went way beyond the call of duty to ensure all Bryce’s Historian files went to the right person and place. She spent extensive time driving, poring through materials, sorting them, discarding junk, returning personal items intermingled with the Historian items, boxing up materials for ADS and for ADS Region One, going to the Post Office, talking to Bryce’s roommate and me, and more. Many hours spent over many days and many weeks evolved into several months. Joan stayed cheerful throughout—not once did she complain. 

As busy as Joan is, she continues her involvement with NDSU and ADS Region One. Joan became ADS Region One’s Historic Daylily Display Garden Liaison on January 1, 2020. She often successfully requests daylily donations for NDSU’s modern and historic daylily display gardens, and is instrumental in increasing the number of daylilies in NDSU’s modern and historic collections.

Joan is working tirelessly to create a new daylily club in the Fargo/Moorhead/Grand Forks area and to recruit future club members (I have personally met some of them). Joan has amassed an impressive personal daylily collection to fulfill her Garden Judge’s responsibilities. Joan registered one of the late Bryce Farnsworth’s diploid seedlings as Hemerocallis ‘Fargo Golden Glitter’ (2019).

ADS Region One appreciates Joan’s service for our region and for NDSU. Her cheerful service, dedication, upbeat attitude, determination, and seemingly endless energy are truly inspirational. Thank you, Joan, for all you do!