Gene Howard
the Luther Burbank
of the High Plains

". . . .my story is simple

live and let live, and share
my knowledge with others.

Propagate plants to give away.

I never sell anything.

Help where I can.

Be free and obligated to no one.
I tried to make a difference.”
-Gene Howard 

Our yards and indeed the High Plains look much better thanks to one man: Gene Howard. For 33 1/2 years Gene worked at the USDA High Plains Horticulture Station located west of Cheyenne and served as Station Superintendent for 12 years.  He was a plant breeder, and was as adept at genetics as most professional geneticists. He introduced or assisted with the introduction of hardy trees, shrubs, and flowers as well as fruit and vegetable selections. If a plant selection survived at the Cheyenne Station (now known as the USDA ARS High Plains Grasslands Research Station), it would survive anywhere. He had a great passion for teaching. Everyone he met ended up learning something about plants. Botanic Gardens Director, Shane Smith, says of Gene, “I can’t even begin to tell you how much that man taught me. I used to joke with Gene, telling him that he forgot more about horticulture than most horticulturists ever learned. Above all, he was a great teacher and we’ll miss him around here.”

Botanic Gardens Director, Shane Smith, says of Gene, “I can’t even begin to tell you how much that man taught me. I used to joke with Gene telling him that he had probably forgot more about horticulture than most horticulturists have ever learned. Above all, he was a great teacher and we’ll miss him around here.”

Gene Howard was born in 1915 in Moorewood, Oklahoma. He graduated from South West Oklahoma State University in May of 1937 and arrived in Cheyenne two weeks later with only nine dollars in his pocket.

He spent the war years working as a unit operator at Frontier Refinery in what he considered an “essential industry.” He wrote: “It was a tough life.” After the War ended, he went to work for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He landed a 3 1/2 year assignment at an Agriculture Station as a technician in Mandan, North Dakota.

Gene returned to Cheyenne In 1951 to work at the Cheyenne Horticulture Field Station. During his off hours he pursued his Masters Degree in Horticulture Science at the University of Wyoming.

Gene was the only person to ever graduate with a master degree in horticulture from the University of Wyoming. They do not offer a horticulture degree, but Gene talked them into awarding him the degree.

In 1964 he became Station Superintendent, a position he held until 1976. Under Gene’s direction the Station became a garden showplace of Cheyenne. The roads to the greenhouses were lined with flowers, and plants were pruned to perfection The Howard family lived on the station grounds for 26 years. While it was an ideal place for his two children to grow up, his son Steve remembers that he was not allowed to spoil the view by leaving his bike on the front lawn.

As part of Gene’ research, he evaluated the horticultural plantings done in the 1930’s and 1940’s and published the results. He worked on windbreaks, hardy  fruit trees and, small fruits, He also worked with ornamental trees, shrubs, perennials, and annual flowers.

Gene was a professional scientist for only 15 years, yet he produced numerous publications and\ oversaw 80 different plant introductions, many of which are now standards in the Northern Plains.

 He was instrumental in developing the Cheyenne mums, the everbearing Fort Laramie strawberry, greenhouse carnations and the "new wood" fruiting raspberries known as Trailblazer, Pathfinder and Plainsman and many more plant introductions. Gene often helped out in the lab and was as adept at genetics as most professional geneticists.

Upon completing his breeding work, he was required to get rid of the plants and was prohibited by the USDA from selling or giving them away. His wife Joan remembers one incident, prior to marrying Gene, when she was the President of the Garden Club. He phoned her and suggested that she visit a nearby ditch. There she found a wonderful selection of hardy chrysanthemums which she rescued and shared with the gardening community. Gene said he had a clear conscience and the gardens of Cheyenne benefited.

The USDA station changed its orientation to grasslands, livestock, soil and water research in 1972. Gene worked in a three state area on reclamation and re-vegetation of disturbed lands. Even with the change in focus at the station, he still found time to purse his first love of horticulture. He continued to work on a number of crops after 1972 both at the station and at his home north of Cheyenne.

Gene was a person admired for his knowledge, his wisdom, his willingness to share his opinions, and his undying interest in life. Gene’s final paragraph to his autobiographical notes at the top of this page perhaps says it best.

During the Summer of 2007 a sculpture Gene Howard was dedicated at in the Rotary Century Plazas. The Friends of the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens commissioned Guadalupe Barajas to do the bronze. Barajas is well known for capturing both the look and the spirit of his subjects. The sculpture depicts Howard kneeling down on one knee with a plant in one hand and a hand lens in another in a teaching pose. The pose is perfect because Gene was always teaching people about plants.