Region 13

H. "Clarence Simon' 

 

H. 'Mack The Knife' 

H. 'Hope Diamond'

Daylily Photos by Lynn Batdorf






 

 

William Buchanan MacMillan (1883 – 1978)

by Ken Durio

Source:  Region 13, Arkansas – Louisiana Newsletter, No. 3 – Fall 1978.  Ken Durio RVP/Editor, pp. 2-4.

The end of an era was marked when Mr. W. B. (Mr. Mac) MacMillan of Abbeville was buried at the Wagram Cemetery in Fredonia, Texas on September 5th, 1978.  He is survived by three sisters:  Mrs. Sara Daniels, Austin, Texas; Mrs. John C. Latham, Austin, Texas; and Mrs. Wesley Leach, Brady, Texas.  He would have been 95 on his birthday, September 17th.

Mr. Mac died at his home in Abbeville on September 3rd.  Memorial services were held at the Vincent Funeral Home in Abbeville at ten o’clock A.M. on September 4th, 1978.  A tribute to the MacMillans (Mr. Mac and his wife, Peggy Mac) was read by Mrs. Frank T. Hunter.  The eulogy was offered by the Reverend Gilbert Wade, Jr. of the United Methodist Church of Abbeville.

The honorary pallbearers were as follows:  J.O. Broussard, Jr., Silas Cooper, Charles Dill, Ken Durio, Olivier Monette, Frank A. Godchaux, Jr., Frank A. Godchaux, III, Charles Godchaux, Frank T. Hunter, Paul Piazza, Dr. Albert Sonnier, and Dr. Robert Young, Sr.

Mr. Mac was born on a ranch in Burnet County, Texas in 1883, the second of eight children and the oldest of the three sons of Richard Monroe MacMillan and Susan Curry MacMillan.  He received his bachelor’s degree at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas and taught in Texas rural schools while acquiring his formal education.  He was athletic coach and history teacher at Waco High School and later was principal of the Southwestern University Preparatory and Teacher Training School at Georgetown. 

Mr. Mac earned his master’s degree at Columbia University in New York.  While in New York he was employed as supervising principal in charge of public schools in Chatham, New Jersey.  He soon married Bessie Belle Cooper (“Peggy Mac” to all of us) of Georgetown, Texas.  While at Chatham, Mr. Mac continued his work at Teachers College in Columbia during summer sessions until he received his Ph.D. degree.

At the end of World War One, Mr. Mac became associated with B. Fischer and Company of New York and moved to Crowley, Louisiana to help set up a southern rice packaging plant.  While in Crowley Mr. Mac met Frank A. Godchaux, Sr. of Abbeville, LA who was president of the Louisiana State Rice Milling Company, one of America’s largest millers.  In July, 1928, Mr. Mac went to work for Louisiana Rice where he was employed in various management positions until his retirement as Director of Sales.

Mr. Mac and Peggy Mac were interested in all types of flowers.  Their “House of Mac’s” garden at 211 North Washington Street, Abbeville, Louisiana was made nationally famous by their interest in growing and collecting azaleas, camellias, Louisiana iris and then daylilies.

They achieved great success as hybridizers of Louisiana iris.  Their beautiful cultivars have won many awards and will receive many more.  The gardening world is much better today because of their many creations.

The MacMillans will be best remembered for their outstanding work in hybridizing daylilies.  No hybridizing effort has influenced the development of the modern daylily nearly so much as that of Mr. Mac and Peggy Mac.  They were largely responsible for the broad petals, round full form and low, well-branched scapes that we enjoy today.

Their start with daylilies amounted to a few plants given to them by visitors coming to their garden to see their Louisiana iris collection.  In 1953 the MacMillans registered their first daylilies.  HONEY BUNCH, MISION ACCOMPLISHED, RUFFLED RED, RUBY STAR and YELLOW PERFECTION were some of their first ones.  They registered over 20 cultivars in 1954.  More were added in 1955 and HALO EVERYBODY and PURPLE HEART were two that attracted attention.

AGNES PUTMAN GODCHAUX was one of the more important of the 1956 group.  It went on to win a Junior Citation in 1957 and an Honorable Mention in 1958.  The early use of SATIN GLASS as a parent was a turning point in the MacMillan hybridizing program.  SHOLOM was also destined to be an important parent in the MacMillan line.  It won a J.C. in 1961 and an H.M. in 1965.  MARY LAWRENCE won a J.C. in 1960, and H.M. in 1962 and an A.M. in 1965.  LOUISE SIMON won a J.C. in 1962 and an H.M. in 1965.  WILLIAM MUNSON was impressive and won a J.C. in 1963, an H.M. in 1967 and an Award of Merit in 1970.

In 1965 Mr. Mac hit the jackpot when CLARENCE SIMON, ROBERT WAY SCHLUMPF, VIOLA PARKER and TWENTY THIRD PSALM all won a J.C.  They all went on to win H.M.’s and A.M.’s also.  This group brought the MacMillans to the forefront as hybridizers of national impact.  From then on came a regular parade of award winning daylilies – HALLELUAH CHORUS and AMAZING GRACE won awards next and were followed by such top notch daylilies as CELESTIAL LIGHT, ETHEL BAKER, MARTIN STANDARD, HOPE DIAMOND, JULIA TANNER, MARY MAE SIMON, KING OF KINGS, MOMENT OF TRUTH, AZRAEL, CHARLES BUCKMAN, JUMBO RED, EDGAR BROWN, UNFOLDING DESIGN, EDNA SPALDING MEMORIAL and AMY STEWART.

Some that mark the climax of the MacMillan era are MY PEGGY, SABIE, DIVINE GUIDANCE, ANGELS VOICE and ZAIDEE WILLIAMS.

The MacMillan cultivars have dominated the popularity poll for many years.  They have also been consistent winners of the David Hall Memorial Medal.  Mr. Mac won the Bertrand Farr Hybridizers Award in 1966.  EDNA SPALDING MEMORIAL won the President’s Cup for Mr. Mac in 1973 (during the AHS National Convention in Shreveport, LA grown in the Walker Garden – Norma & Herman Walker, Taylor, LA. / added by Robert Turley).  He won the Stout Medal in 1975 for CLARENCE SIMON and the Lenington All American Award in 1976.  His cultivars have won fourteen Junior Citations, forty-six Honorable Mentions and fifteen Awards of Merit.

Mr. Mac and Peggy Mac have touched all of our lives.  They have had a great influence on the improvement of our favorite flower.  They leave us with a legacy of their many beautiful creations.  Our deepest sympathies are offered to his three sisters and the family at this time.  We shall all miss them both, but we know that the garden they now tend is much more beautiful than the one that we are all familiar with.

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Submitted by Mr. Robert Turley, 2007

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