Reviving an Ohio Legacy

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The Ohio State University Foundation

The Secrest Arboretum’s “Fir Arch” shows the tornado’s destructive powers (top photo) and the rebuilding efforts that took place as of August (above).

An EF-2 tornado with winds reaching 135 mph ripped through Wooster, Ohio, on September 16, 2010. The storm took just four minutes to pass over the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC), harming almost 500 projects—many of them housed in greenhouses or labs—and causing $30 million in damage to buildings, trees, and other property. When a storage barn was flattened, nearly 70 years of honey bee research and archival data were destroyed. The storm also affected one fourth of the 120 acres of Secrest Arboretum and Gardens at OARDC, the research arm of the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.

It was in the early 1900s when the late Edmund Secrest, Ohio’s first state forester and a former director of OARDC, launched the beginnings of a forest arboretum containing native and exotic species. In those days, many Ohio forests were liquidated to make way for cultivated crops. Even so, Secrest envisioned a cherished space for research, outreach, and enjoyment of natural beauty.

Susan Reilly, Secrest’s granddaughter, visited the area many times during her childhood and recalls how her mother, Edith Secrest Wiley, now in her 90s, personally planted trees and shrubs. In 1966, Reilly had the honor of breaking ground for a rhododendron collection. “They handed me a shiny shovel shaped like the state of Ohio,” Reilly said. “It was a moment I’ll always remember.”

Susan Reily (right), Edmund Secrest's granddaughter, breaks ground for a rhododendron collection in 1966.

Reilly is pleased with the rejuvenation now underway at Secrest Arboretum. Both new and established endowment funds accept contributions for the arboretum and lost research projects that had to begin anew. The Secrest family is among those offering financial support to continue Edmund’s mission.

In September, a ceremony commemorated the one-year anniversary of the storm and celebrated the recovery and renewal of OARDC and Secrest Arboretum. The day also featured a dedication for the new
Plant and Animal Agrosecurity Research (PAAR) facility, a secure biocontainment building that will enhance OARDC’s recognized research programs on infectious diseases of plants and animals.

“What I find absolutely remarkable is the grassroots effort and the number of people who have stepped forward not only with time and talent, but with money,” said Steve Slack, OARDC director.

With time, Secrest Arboretum will again feature themed landscape gardens and continue to fulfill the promise of value to Ohio citizens.

To help the arboretum rebuild, please make a tax-deductible gift at giveto.osu.edu/secrestfund.

To assist in the recovery, visit giveto.osu.edu/OARDCrelief.

Soon after construction was completed, Secrest’s Jack and Deb Miller Pavillion was destroyed in the 2010 storm (top photo). The facility is once again open to the public (above).

Rebuilding Secrest by the Numbers

• 1,000 number of trees and shrubs planted since the tornado as part of the renewal process
• 476 number of cash gifts
• $400,000+ total cash and in-kind gifts toward Secrest Arboretum’s renewal
• $16,500+ amount raised for the OARDC Campus Relief Fund

More stories from The Ohio State University 2011 Endowment Report.