Augustus Griffin

Augustus “Gus” Griffin was a man who had a love of horticulture, despite his given role as engineer for the CPR Irrigation Project.  

Gus was appointed as the Superintendent of Operations and Maintenance in Brooks in 1918. Not only did he work well as an irrigation engineer, he also was very good with plants, and became well-known for his knowledge in that regard. He oversaw the planning and building of canals and ditches constructed to bring water to the farmland of the Brooks area. Under his management, a demonstration farm was developed to research and trial grains and varied plant species to help farmers know what this land and climate could grow. His natural love of horticulture broadened the scope to include trees and scrubs and even vegetables and flowers. His favourite was lilies. He wrote to nurseries across the world from the Kew Gardens in England to Luther Burbank of California begging them to send any plant material for trial. Among his endeavours were trials of rice and poison ivy. He abandoned the poison ivy trial after three years realizing its unwanted success. A humble man willing to answer even the smallest of inquiries even of tomato seedlings. It was said a specimen pine tree from the research farm magically appeared in the wagon of a settler one Christmas after a conversation about family being so disappointed in having no tree in this barren land. The family became innovative in the settler's absence and built a tree from tumbleweeds that reached the ceiling. So, the pine wasn’t used as they delighted in their own creativity.  

Eventually, Gus was promoted to the manager of the Canadian Pacific Railway’s Department of Natural Resources, and he continued to excel at his careers 

Gus contributed greatly to Brooks’ beauty and esthetics (Jones, 104) because of his expansive knowledge of plants and his success in transplanting. He would often go on walks and collect brush and plant life, then bring it back to propagate in Brooks. He was a visionary, encouraging a hunting culture by creating a pheasant hatchery, and a fishing industry by finding colleagues to contribute to stocking the manmade reservoirs with fingerling pike, supporting and encouraging the planting of trees along ditch banks to create natural habitat for deer and wildlife. 

He was highly skilled at crossbreeding plants, and many of his varieties are around today; the Six Poplar varieties, Brooks sand cherry and the Strathmore crabapple are just a few of the many he adapted. Local parks, avenues of trees and orchards are credited to Augustus Griffin for his foresight in creating a culture of civility and corporate investment in the region. 

Don Bark may have been the agriculturist for Brooks, but Gus Griffin did a surprising amount to promote the growth of trees and wildlife in the district. (Delday, 239) 

Bibliography 

Tapping the Bow. Gross, Renie; Nicoll Kramer, Lea. Brooks, Alberta, 1985. Print.  

Brooks, Between the Red Deer and the Bow. Delday, Eva. Brooks, Alberta, 1975. Print.  

Feasting on Misfortune, Journeys of the Human Spirit in Alberta’s Past. Jones, David C.  

Edmonton, Alberta, 1998. Print.