1957 - 1967

The golden anniversary of the ONA was celebrated in 1957. Dave Metzger served as president during the annual meeting that year in which discussion centered on including landscape contractors into the association on the same basis as active members.

In 1958, a new executive secretary, George Gens was named to administer the ONA. Also. Dr. L. C. Chadwick was appointed to write The Buckeye Nurseryman (currently called The Buckeye) on a quarterly basis.

Between the 50th and 60th anniversaries of the ONA, from 1957 through 1967, member involvement grew as new committees were created according to the needs of the times. In 1958, the completion of construction and the first steps toward active operation of the Ohio Department of Agriculture Plant Pest Clinic in Reynoldsburg took place. John W. Baringer was Chief of the Division of Plant Industry at the time, with Harold Porter the Specialist-In-Charge.

It was reported in The Buckeye Nurseryman that the winter of 1958-59 was recorded as the most severe since 1936 in Ohio, resulting in mild to severe plant damage to nursery crops in many parts of the state.

At the 1959 OSU Nursery Short Course, a speech was given by an advertising executive entitled "A Layman Looks At The Landscape Business". In summing up his presentation, this gentleman said, "I think that there is a great area of sales potential waiting for the landscaping group that first explains to their potential consumers just how much joy and satisfaction they can realize by having their landscaping planned and executed by a professional".

He also suggested putting a tag on each and every bush, plant and tree that you sell that tells the following things: common name, botanical name, type of fertilizer and how often needed, how much water it needs, when it can be pruned and how much.

Ken Reisch, a professor in the OSU Department of Horticulture at the time, was appointed secretary-treasurer of the ONA in late 1960.

There was much discussion during the decade of the '60s on plant guarantees at the retail level, container grown nursery stock, the planting and maintenance of trees in downtown areas, the value of public relations to your business, water and sewer deferred assessments, direct use sales tax, Sunday sales, over wintering with plastic mulch, Dutch Elm disease and many other topics too numerous to mention.

In 1963, advertising was accepted for the first time in The Buckeye Nurseryman. In 1964, the ONA convention moved to the newly constructed Columbus Plaza Hotel, later to be known as the Sheraton. Dues ranged from $25 to $75 per year, and the trade show featured 56 booths.

In 1965, Warner Nurseries, Willoughby, fought and won a tax case that resulted in nursery production being classified as agriculture rather than the previous classification of non-agriculture. That same year, the Division of Plant Industry was investigating mislabeled roses. Also, a new law became effective to register landscape architects.

In 1966, the L. C. Chadwick Research Fund was inaugurated and in 1967, the first edition of the Nursery Stock Survey was published.

In January, 1967, the 60th anniversary of the ONA was celebrated. The membership stood at 285. Receipts for the year were $11,000 with expenses at $6,600.