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PAGE 2A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. JULY 15. 2021
Shooting the Breeze with John Craig McKenzie
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Vour Hometown Sank'
706.253 9600
overalls. They actually didn’t
even realize my first name
was John when they started
doing it. We’ve got a great
neighborhood. Most of our
neighbors have been here a
long time. We know each
other and help each other and
share.
Do you have a favorite
plant or tree you like to
grow?
I like to grow things you
can eat.
What is growing in your
garden and orchard this
year?
Tomatoes, bell peppers,
cucumbers and watermelon,
squash and asparagus. In the
orchard I have apples, figs,
pears, pawpaws, blueberries,
raspberries, bunch grapes,
muscadine grapes and pome
granate.
How did geology become
part of your life?
Actually I was studying
electrical engineering in col
lege. My roommate was
studying geology and he was
having all these field trips
and it was more interesting.
So I switched and haven’t
made as much money but
I’ve had some great adven
tures.
Do you have a favorite area
for the mining work you
did, or a favorite type of
rock or mineral?
I’ve enjoyed every place
I’ve ever lived. As far as
rocks, I love them all. As a
geologist you learn about the
ocean and the land. The earth
is 70% water so what is hap
pening under the water is of
big importance to geologists.
The atmosphere, the climate,
the ice ages are a big part of
geology.
As a geologist, where do
you stand on global warm
ing?
I’m an official denier be
cause I’ve written on the sub
ject and I do not believe it’s
manmade. We have some
small impact on climate but
it’s mostly natural cycles. We
are overdue for another ice
age statistically.
What can you share about
working in the waste man
agement industry?
I never expected to be a
garbage man. It was a very
challenging job. Nobody
wants garbage in their back
yard. There was some irra
tional press and peoples’
perception depended on the
publicity. We were a legiti
mate business with a real li
cense and making money.
The Pickens County Dis
cussion Group, a local insti
tution that has met weekly
since the early 1990s, asked
you to lead the group after
founder Alan Gibson, a for
mer Pickens County
Progress columnist, passed
away in 2017. They cited
“your insistence on the total
accuracy of facts and your
command of science” as
reasons for choosing you.
Have you continued with it
and what do you like best
about it?
We keep it going. During
the week, I review news sites
and copy what seems to be
interesting. It’s open for any
topic people want to discuss.
We meet every Friday at 9
a.m. at the Mountain View
Community Church. People
are welcome to come. It
keeps my mind active, put
ting the information together,
and I enjoy the camaraderie
and visiting with people who
show an interest in what’s
going on in the world.
You have said you believe
everyone should play in the
dirt. What are you up to
when your hands aren’t
dirty?
I’m on the computer
preparing for our discussion
group or playing mahjong,
and occasionally I watch a
college football game.
This apple tree in McKenzie's orchard has nine varieties
grafted to it, an approach suggested to McKenzie by friend
and Master Gardener Michael Blackwell. "The flavors stay
definitive to what the graft wood is," said McKenzie. "Ap
ples do not come from seed, they are all grafted. You get a
true reproduction of what you started with."
What gardening innova
tions have you explored
and used?
I like to analyze things
and have a basis for what I’m
doing. I stopped tilling my
garden each year. I asked a
couple of agriculture profes
sors why we are encouraged
to do this and they didn’t
have a satisfactory answer for
me. So, I don’t do it any
more. I cover my garden with
leaves every year and they
deteriorate over the year and
add organic matter to the soil.
I use about six or eight inches
with high organic matter and
that’s suitable for plants with
out tilling. I rake the leaves
back just enough to plant.
Earthworms are plentiful so
they do the aeration of the
soil. I get leaves from my
yard and my neighbors using
a riding mower and leaf
catcher, collecting them up in
the fall.
Whether you are sharing
your harvest with your
neighbors or gathering
t °J f Pic!(ens
r County
m
15 Sammy McGhee Blvd.
65 Cove Rd.
Jasper, GA 30143
(706)253-9600
www.cbopc.com
By Jennifer Paire
Contributing Writer
How did you find your way
to Jasper?
I retired to New Hamp
shire and then relocated to
Winder, Georgia to manage
Speedway Landfill, part of
Mid-American Waste Sys
tems. I met a wonderful
woman, Carol Brooks, and
married her and moved into
her family home in Jasper.
She passed away in 2002
and I chose to stay and work
in the garden and orchard be
hind the house.
Have you always loved the
garden?
My parents and grandpar
ents always had a garden. As
an adult, I lived in cities and
I was working so hard. I lived
in apartments so I didn’t have
a yard. I did not do much gar
dening until I moved here.
It’s an outside activity which
I love. I love playing in the
dirt.
Master Gardeners essen
tially earn a degree in the art
and science of gardening, and
they have community service
John Craig McKenzie
loves summer; the warmth,
the growing season, the
childhood memories of being
out of school. His family’s
traditions included summer
gardens, and since arriving in
Jasper in 1999 he has culti
vated the garden and orchard
behind his home in Jasper
and shared his expertise with
others as a Master Gardener.
He is a member of Pickens
County Master Gardeners - a
busy group working with the
University of Georgia’s ex
tension service to provide re
search-based horticultural
information to the public.
The Master Gardeners
oversee the Jasper Farmers
Market, support landscaping
for Habitat for Humanity
homes and gardening efforts
with CARES, the Ap
palachian Children’s Emer
gency Shelter and the
Pickens County Senior Cen
ter.
McKenzie’s Volunteer
gardening program at ACES
was highlighted by UGA sev
eral years ago for bringing
children, staff and Master
Gardeners together to grow
and harvest fruits and vegeta
bles. Born in Lanett, Ala
bama, McKenzie has a
bachelor’s and a master’s de
gree in geology from the
University of South Carolina
and worked all over the
country as a geologist includ
ing his time as state mining
engineer for North Carolina.
When federal rides were
initiated for hazardous waste
management in 1976,
McKenzie applied knowl
edge and skills to finding dis
posal sites for Waste
Management Inc. starting in
the eastern United States then
moving to the west coast. As
he puts it, “when I finished
chasing rocks I began grow
ing things.” He has two
daughters: Alycia Collins of
Roswell, and Megan McKen
zie of Columbia, S.C.
THE OLD
MULEHOUSE
The Old Mulehouse offers
a modern upscale twist to
the neighborhood tavern
with a creative chef-driven
menu, a full cocktail bar,
our signature mules, and
features beer and wine
from Georgia.
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OLDMULEHOUSE.COM
2 North Main Street
Jasper, Ga 30143
Open at I I a.m. Wed-Sun
closed Mon&Tues
Jennifer Paire / Photos
Master Gardener John Craig McKenzie stands beneath a pawpaw tree in the orchard
behind his home. He has some 50 different varieties of apples as a result of his grafting
practices.
and continuing education re
quirements each year.
What made you decide to
do it?
My friend talked me into
it in 2000, so I did it. It was
great fun. It is a great atmos
phere being a student. I was
able to assist in teaching
other classes about it later on.
A big part of the charge to
Master Gardeners is educa
tion, to spread the knowledge
that’s been given to us. That’s
why we have continuing ed
ucation every year.
Master Gardeners are re
quired to help others. What
is that like for you?
It’s always rewarding to
be able to share and know
someone’s getting informa
tion that would be helpful to
them. People have precon
ceived notions about garden
ing. It is hard to get people to
take a soil sample. It’s the
basic information you need
to know what the soil needs.
Some soil in Pickens County
needs lime, some does not. A
lot of soil has developed over
marble with a high pH.
A pawpaw tree in John
Craig McKenzie’s orchard
bears fruit that will ripen in
September. The tree is native
to the east coast, sweet tast
ing to humans and a yummy
treat for bear and deer.
"Even those who grow up
here and do a lot of hunting
seldom recognize them in
the woods. They are too
sweet for me -1 can eat one
spoonful - it is very delicate
and contains a lot of seeds. ”
their leaves, what do your
neighbors think of your en
deavors?
My neighbors called me
Farmer John because I was
always in the garden in my
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