LASN is a photographically oriented, professional journal featuring topics of concern and state-of-the-art projects designed or influenced by registered Landscape Architects.
Issue link: https://landscapearchitect.epubxp.com/i/274582
14 Landscape Architect and Specifier News c o m m e n t a r y 2 Corinthians 5:17 … If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! George Schmok Publisher/Editor-in-Chief gschmok@landscapeonline.com Stephen Kelly Editor skelly@landscapeonline.com Michelle Medaris Education mmedaris@landscapeonline.com Kyle Cavaness Economic News kcavaness@landscapeonline.com Larry Shield Product Editor lshield@landscapeonline.com Amy Deane Editorial Administrative Assistant adeane@landscapeonline.com Associate Editors Ashley Calabria Associate Editor/Digital Information University of Georgia calabria@uga.edu Buck Abbey, ASLA Associate Editor: Ordinances Green Laws Org. lsugreenlaws@aol.com Russ Adsit, FASLA Associate Editor/Erosion Executive Director, IECA russ@ieca.org Janet Lennox Moyer, IALD Associate Editor/Lighting moyerj@rpi.edu (In Memoriam) "Otto" Edward Schmok Don Roberts, FASLA Kay Tiller Frank Manwarren Lois E. Schmok David Brian Linstrum Art Director Nicole Miller nmiller@landscapeonline.com Graphic Designer Matthew Medeiros mmedeiros@landscapeonline.com Ad Coordinator Oliver Calonzo ocalonzo@landscapeonline.com Circulation / Fulfillment Edward Cook ecook@landscapeonline.com Likkien Ralpho lralpho@landscapeonline.com Ana Linares alinares@landscapeonline.com IT Department Web / Tech Manager Jerry Short jshort@landscapeonline.com Chief Operations Officer C.O.O. Mark O'Halloran mohalloran@landscapeonline.com Sales Administration Cynthia McCarthy cmccarthy@landscapeonline.com Advertising/Marketing 714-979-LASN (5276) x113 • 714-979-3543 (Fax) Print Advertising Sales Vince Chavira vchavira@landscapeonline.com Matt Henderson mhenderson@landscapeonline.com Kip Ongstad kongstad@landscapeonline.com Trade Show Sales Jared Lutz jlutz@landscapeonline.com Online Advertsing Sales Tim Obrero tobrero@landscapeonline.com Wow . . . It's spring of 2014. Of course I'm writing this in February, but you're reading it in March and, yep, it's spring of 2014 and LASN is well into its 30th year of publication. As I write this, it is just beginning to rain, for what is predicted to be a four to five day storm out here in the severely drought stricken California, but that was so last week . . . It just goes to show you how things change. Sometimes change is good, like California getting some rain. . . And sometimes it is not so good, like losing loved ones to time, as I just lost my father. He was 99, so no complaints, but when you reflect on what change occurs in a 99 yearlong life, it definitely gives one pause . . . People always ask me how it was that LASN began back in 1985, and how I am related to the landscape industry. Well, it goes back to my roots. Even my name . . . George . . . The root of which is geo . . . land. But my real passion for landscape, and for the land, comes from my father. His story has some real roots, roots in time that have seen tremendous change. Born in Nuedorf Saskatchewan, a town that has stayed at about 350 residents for these past 99 years, fun, adventure and a little risk were always Dad's mantra . . . And most of his adventures were outside the confines of a building . . . When he was in his twenties the Great Depression hit, but with a bit of business school and a stiff upper lip, he managed through. That was when he was collecting oil barrels in remote communities in northern British Columbia. Peace River, Tupper, places that today show up on Google maps with no real downtown, just a general vicinity . . . He would be traveling the back roads in an old truck, no power steering, no power breaks, no radio . . . Sometimes the barrels were easy, other times guys would hide them, or hide themselves, not wanting to pay the bill, but dad was relentless in getting the job done . . . And remember, in those days, in those places, everyone had a gun . . . Up there he helped his dad, who was working to help Europeans fleeing Hitler. That was Tupper, about 600 miles north of the border, where they literally carved out a section of the woods and built a Czechoslovakian farming community. Hunting, fishing, and traveling the backcountry . . . Those are romantic notions today, real endeavors then. How many of us have ever shot a deer at 200 yards with iron sights, down a hill and across a river, or shot an eagle . . . with a bolt action 22 . . . with no scope, while the eagle was flying away ? As we grew up, Dad would take us camping quite a bit and never passed up an opportunity to catch another fish, or take a trail up the mountain. There wasn't a cave he wouldn't explore, a ledge he wouldn't look over, a mountain he wouldn't want to crest . . . Sunlight was his friend . . . And when age began to take away the rugged outdoors, golf brought him back to the landscape. He would only walk the course well into his eighties. Even at the end of his playing time, as macular degeneration was taking away his central eyesight, golf got him outside, in the landscape for hours at a time. Dad was the guy who returned the dime when the cashier gave him too much change. He was the guy who would pull over and help someone fix a tire on the side of the road. He was also the kind of guy who would fight city hall if it needed to be fought. It wouldn't matter what the burden, if it was wrong and needed to be set right. If he was the one who could do it, then he was the one who would do it . . . He was my hero and we can only hope to live up to those standards . . . Maybe that's why this column sometimes has so much passion and fire. Yep, Dad was a great guy and had a full and wonderful life . . . During his years, Dad witnessed the conversion from horse drawn carriages to motorized transportation, the complete evolution of the automobile, almost the entire history of manned flight, the renaissance of music from classic to the big bands, jazz, Elvis, the Beatles, Rock and Roll, the cultural revolution of the 60s and 70s, space travel and the computerization of the world. And he was always contemplating what was next . . . And his influence has guided this magazine for the past 30 years. You see, given a chance, who would rather be sitting at a desk than hiking through a park? Okay, maybe if you're from NYC, concrete is your friend, but even you have Central Park. Back when dad was a kid, everything was a park, or at least it was open terrain, and everyone grew their own vegetables and raised their own chickens. Can we go back to those times? Should we try? The answer of course is yes . . and no . . . But now you know why I am always writing about the blight of density, the need for distance and the love of landscape. Is there change in the wind? I sure hope so. What will be next? Who knows . . . But what I do know is that the future is bright and challenging. In 30 years of Landscape Communications, things have most definitely changed and more often than not, for the better. What do the next 30 years hold for the landscape professions? I don't know, but I do look forward to lacing up the boots and hitting the trail . . . God bless . . . Dad Gave Me the Passion for Landscape George Schmok, Publisher 14-15.indd 14 2/28/14 5:37 PM