Rockhounding Pioneer Harrison Yocum--Rocks and botany are his twin passions

摘要

It is an interesting and educational experience to visit the “never duplicated” yard of Harrison Yocum in Tucson, Arizona. You will see a rock mountain range, totems, crystals, palm trees, and many cactuses and exotic plants bordered by rock paths. Harrison is a man of many interests. Music, botany and horticulture dominated his early life. After his first field trip in 1959, Harrison said, he became a true rockhound! Harrison was bom Apr. 2, 1923 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. His father, Harry, had an ice and coal business where Harrison helped out on Saturdays. As a senior in high school, he became interested in growing palm trees from seeds and ordered many kinds from all over the world. His interest in plants led him to study botany and horticulture at Pennsylvania State University, from which he received his bachelor's degree in 1955. In 1962, he received his master's degree in botany and horticulture from Rutgers. After teaching horticulture for two years at the University of Tennessee, in 1959, Harrison took a job teaching biology with the El Paso, Texas, public school system.