Arizona republican., 1909-05-08
NEW SUPERINTENDENT
 FOR CAPITOL GROUNDS
George H. Smith Resigned and Will Be Succeeded By James keene, His Personal Friend.


 his resignation as superintendent of
 the capitol grounds, it has been ac- II cepted by the board of control, and
 James Keene has been appointed to
 succeed him. Mir Smith plans to en- joy a period of leisure and later on
 he will devote himself as fancy
 chooses. He has had several offers
 of good positions from time to time,
 but has accepted none of them. He
 may or may not do so later, ac- cording to his inclinations, and pro- | poses first to have good rest, know ing that there will always be suffici- | ent opportunity for work in his line
 in this valley if he chooses to ac- | cept it.
 The story of Mir Smiths connection
 with the capitol gorunds is the story
 of the park itself. The land was do-
 mated by M. H. Sherman and the
 capitol commission, of which the ac- | tive members were Col. C. w. John stone, still a resident of this city and NIT. Hammond, who left here a : long time ago, turned the grounds
 over to MT. Smith twenty-one years ago last February. The capitol build [ ing was then not even planned, it's ! future construction being merely a
 vague hope. The land was most of it covered with mesquite and other des-
 ert growths, though d part of it was covered with alfalfa. MT. Smith at once began it's improvement and plat
 ted it very much as it is seen today.
 It would require book to tell the half of what he has done since, Every tree, shrub, vine and flower | that now flourishes there, and mil i lions of them that have had their day and passed away. have at one time or another been the object of his personal consideration. The big trees that now ornament and shade the walks were then mere twigs and sap ! lings and the walks and ditches and rOadways have all been the result of his handiwOrk or that of labor under his immediate supervision The bringing into being of this place which might now almost be called a jungle of floral beauty, has been with MT. Smith a labor of love as well as a livelihood for the salary has never been colossal and formerly it was meager indeed, so small in fact that it would have been no inducement to man whose heart was not in his work. His greatest emolument has been the satisfaction of seeing what could be accomplished under the con- ditions and with limited facilities, for he is a scientific florist, gardener and student of plant life, and in the early days there was more to contend with than most people now can realize. For many years the water supply was not abundant nor dependable and when it was available it was only through long and tortuous ditches, the city water and hydrant not yet having made its way so far into the suburbs. But all these things only made the job more interesting to one of Mir. Smiths nature, though less pleasant, for there is always a satisfaction to right thinking man, in overcom- ing obstacles. It has been from the very first MT. Smiths object to gath CT from all over the face of the earth, whenever he could do so, all the in teresting plants that he had either faith or hope would thrive in this climate. Scores of them are now growing luXuriantly on the Capitol grounds that d few years ago no one NffGiu nave uIlutTldhtn 10 tulllNdle. No attempt will be made to even guess at the number of varieties of plants now growing there, but were they enumerated the number would almost startle the reader. who for the most part thinks of such grounds as only a little collection of trees. rose bushes and grass, without stopping to consider the great variety seen all the time, though the seasons are constantly changing. each with it's peculiar floral regalia.
 But a more imperishable monument to the usefulness of NIT. Smith, than even the Capitol grounds. is the in fluence he, and the Capitol grounds through him. have had upon this com munity. The grounds might be de- stroyed or the author of them pass away but never until civilization pas ses from this valley will the ornamen- tation of private grounds be effaced And MT. Smith is the first profess sional gardener to undertake d lasting and permanent work here. For years he was engaged much of the time in laying out private grounds and all the time in giving freely his professional advice to all who asked it for the guidance of their own work Later the Capitol grounds beca..ne the great