Washington Atlee Burpee 



In the passing of Washington Atlcc IJurpee Iruni this 

 sphere one of (iod's noblemen has been removed from 

 among our midst. Horticulture has been deprived of a 

 great leader, one whose counsel was always eagerly 

 sought after. A friend of the humble as well as of 

 those more fortunate in this life's good, Mr. Burpee has 

 left a host behind to mourn their loss. The high esteem 

 his friends held him in could not be more fittingly e.K- 

 l^ressed than in the following tribute in an editorial ajJ- 

 pearing in the Philadelphia North .Inicrican: 



"'J'hough he came to be 

 known as a leader in his 

 line of business, his finest 

 achievement was the culti- 

 vation of a nature sd 

 thoughtful for o t h e r s, 

 whatever their jjlace or 

 portion, that everyone who 

 came within his radiance 

 was warmed by it and in 

 some measure inspired to 

 kindlier thinking anfl do- 

 ing. . . . 



"Tliat, in ;i word, was 

 one of his chief aims in life 

 — to keep as many as 

 crossed his path from the 

 rough road of not enough." 



W. Atlee Burpee was 

 horn 57 }-ears ago at Shef- 

 field, New Brunswick, com- 

 ing to Philadelphia at an 

 early age. He was edu- 

 cated in (he Friends Cen- 

 tral School and the L'ni- 

 versity of Pennsylvania. In 

 1878 he founded the house 

 of W. Atlee Burpee & Co., 

 which was destined to be- 

 come the largest seed house 

 of its kind in the world, 

 Mr. Burpee being one of 

 the pioneers in the mail or- 

 der seed business. His 

 strict integrity and close 

 application even to the 

 smallest details of his busi- 

 ness soon gained for him a 



confidence among his cus- — — 



tomers, numbered in the thousands, which was iie\cr 

 shaken. Mr. Burpee's close attention to business did not. 

 however, prevent him from interesting himself in outside 

 afifairs. He was an active member of jiractically all the 

 important horticultural organizations and prominent in 

 the club life of his city. 



If all the kind deeds of W. Atlee P)urpee toward his 

 fellowman had been recorded he would have been recog- 

 nized as a great public benefactor, but he did not believe 

 in "letting his left hand know what his right hand doeth."" 



W. F. Therkildson. who was associated in business 

 with Mr. Burjiee, relates an incident which occurred at 

 the meeting of the directors of the Poor Richard Club, to 

 pass resolutions on the death of their fellow member and 

 there one recalled Mr. P.urpee's Christmas treat to the 

 poor children. He said, "Some years ago I was lunching 

 on Christmas Eve with .Atlee Burpee. He was in a great 

 hurry to return to his office, fc; .'lere it had been his cus- 



w \sin.\(;T(ix .\TLKi-: iu'kpee. 



toni, assisted by his two sons his wife and sister to hand 

 out to the hundreds of poor children of this congested 

 neighborhood, the Christmas boxes of candy or the bright 

 new quarters that brightened the Christmas of these poor 

 kiddies who knew and loved him .too. 



"I asked his permission to \iew this festival and when 

 we stepped olT the trolley car at the i'.uqjee Buildings 

 it was to be greeted by a perfect sea of red caps and dirty 

 laces, but from all. as one, came the glad cry of "Here 

 he comes, here he comes.' and even the big policemen that 



had been detailed to keep 

 these hundreds of children 

 in line, doffed their caps in 

 true affection for this great, 

 kind man." 



This good fellow spoke 

 nnly too true, whites Mr. 

 Therkildson, for while he 

 t.ilkcd I, too, had been 

 thinking of the last merry 

 Christmas when he made 

 ii\i\<\ the hearts of this 

 linrdc of \oungsters, and as 

 1 write 1 caimot help but 

 know that when at si.\ for- 

 t\-five on iM-iday night, No- 

 \ ember 26, W.' Atlee Bur- 

 pee was called to leave this 

 earth, he surely heard from 

 that land where poor and 

 rich kiddies rank alike, that 

 same glad cry, "Here he 

 comes, here he comes." 



"How fittingly this man's 

 life closes, 

 I hat like bUiwn ])ftals on 

 the grass. 

 In this sere time of Sum- 

 mer's Roses 

 1 le, too. should !)ass ! 



l.i,L;lit lie the churchyard 

 loam above him. 

 And sweet the .Spring- 

 that he shall know 



There shall ( iod's blossoms 

 lean to love him, 



W ho loved them so." 



I he toregoing lines, writeii of .Mr. lluri)ce, are from 

 the pen of Tom Daly in the Philadelphia Public-Ledger. 



THE HERO. 



lie 'iv'lio can tiiid real joy and pleaswe 



In tdling the rough ncic ground, 

 Or in zvielding the hoe or the hammer 



While others are lying around: 

 lie icho fdUm's the tunnels of commerce 



Or digs the deep shaft of the mine, 

 Or 'tvho plies the s'^vift shuttle in -icea^ing 



And never is knozvii to repine: 

 This man is the hero of heroes. 



The noblest and best of them all: 

 lie's the bone and sine^i' of nations. 



But for him snciety'd fall. — Selected. 



