Freeman Rowe Memorial Bench Dedication
The Cascade Mycological Society held a dedication of the Freeman Rowe Memorial Bench during the 2024 Mount Pisgah Arboretum (MPA) Mushroom Festival. The bench honors Freeman Rowe who left us on October 7, 2020 shortly before the 2020 MPA Virtual Mushroom Festival. An effort began in November of 2021 to raise funds for the bench.
You will find the bench at the Arboretum in front of the White Oak Pavillion where the main mushroom display of the annual MPA Mushroom Festival is located. The bench encircles the stump of the large white oak that once stood proud and strong in front of the pavilion. Unfortunately, a 2023 ice storm brought down this very large and beautiful oak tree.
If not for our beloved Freeman Rowe, the Mount Pisgah Arboretum Mushroom Festival and Wildflower festivals may not have been started. And, the Cascade Mycological Society (CMS) may not even exist. As the first instructor of the Lane Community College Biology of Mushroom class and an MPA Board Member, Freeman was the catalyst behind the creation of Mount Pisgah Arboretum Mushroom Festival in 1982, which eventually inspired the creation of CMS in 1999 by former students of Freeman. Please enjoy this video of the Freeman Rowe Memorial Bench Dedication.
