1940

In 1940 Mrs. Mary Baer and Mrs. Frances Weaver, with the assistance of a weekly volunteer crew of six, began to dry herbs and craft herbal products at Mrs. Baer’s home from herbs raised in her garden. During the Christmas season their herbs and herb products were sold at “The Little Herb Shop” within the Stix, Baer & Fuller department store in St. Louis. Proceeds benefited the war-time “Bundles for Britain”.

At a dinner party during the winter of 1940, Mrs. Baer discussed the possibility of forming an herb group in St. Louis with Mr. George Pring, who was Superintendent at the Missouri Botanical Garden (MBG). Mr. Pring suggested a discussion with Dr. Edgar Anderson, who was then Geneticist at the MBG. (Previously, at the Arnold Arboretum, Dr. Anderson had been closely associated with the creation of the Herb Society of America, and he had served as its first president.)

Mrs. Baer and Mrs. Weaver met with Dr. Anderson in January 1941, and a month later The St. Louis Herb Society was launched with the intention of becoming a unit of the Herb Society of America. For a more complete description of these events see “The St. Louis Herb Society: Its First Twenty-Five Years”, Mary A. Gamble, Missouri Botanical Garden Bulletin, volume LIV, number 3, March 1966, pages 4-19, particularly pages 4-6.

return to more about Our History