To commemorate Landis’s momentous anniversary, I have been asked to compile a brief history of the Landis Arboretum. I will be doing this in two parts. This beginning article focuses on Fred Lape, founder of the Arboretum. It includes his childhood, as education, and friendship with George Landis, the Arboretum’s namesake. Part II will appear in the fall newsletter and focus on the years following the founding of the Arboretum, from 1951 to the present.
In 1903, Herman Franklin Lape purchased Oak Nose Farm, named for a white oak on a promontory overlooking the Schoharie Valley. Herman, his wife Emma (née Happe), and their son Frederick began the arduous life of farming on the 95 acres. They lived there without electricity or running water until 1913, when the family moved to Esperance so that Fred could attend high school, first in Altamont, then in Cobleskill. In 1917, Fred continued his education at Cornell University. His mother and father moved back on the hill, but to the old Silvernail farm, located near Oak Nose Farm. After earning a degree in English, Fred taught first at Cornell, and then at Stanford University in California.
In 1928, Herman Lape, now 62, became ill and could not continue farming. He and his wife moved back to Esperance for the remainder of Herman’s days. Lape became ill. When Fred heard of his father’s poor health, he returned from California. He moved onto the old farm, then in a state of disrepair. Having sold an article to Collier’s, he decided to try to make a living as a writer. Although he wrote several articles and even a novel, sales were slow during the Great Depression. He worked the farm and did odd jobs, such as playing piano for area establishments. 1n 1932, he began a local poetry magazine, Trails, which featured his poetry as well as the work of many area writers, including W. W. Christman. Fred was interested in all artistic expression and encouraged visits from people involved in theater, music, sculpture, and other artistic endeavors.
Near the end of the 1930s, it became clear that more income was needed. In 1937, he became a part-time English professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, NY. There he became good friends with George Edwin Landis, a professor of economics. The friendship continued even after Fred was fired in January, 1942, ostensibly because of application for conscientious objector status was leaked to RPI.
After the war, George purchased a house in Troy and wanted to landscape it with unusual trees and shrubs. He asked Fred for assistance. The pair began the task of selection by reading catalogs and visiting nurseries and botanical gardens. Many plants they chose were planted on the Esperance farm, as well as at George’s Troy home.
In December of 1950, George Landis died unexpectedly, leaving the bulk of his estate to Fred. In 1951, using this legacy, Fred decided to continue their shared vision of an arboretum, naming it for the “friend who had made it all possible both in life and in death.” The lone and majestic white oak that had lived atop a hill for over 400 years suggested the name “Oak Nose Farm.” Lape called the tree “The Great Oak,” and it later became the Arboretum’s logo. This oak, severely damaged in a 1940 ice storm, was ravaged by Hurricane Irene in 2011. While it lingered on for a short while, it became apparent it could not be saved. Its trunk still remains as a tribute to Fred Lape’s enduring dream: today’s Landis Arboretum.