Happy Easter to all and may your day be filled with blessings beyond words!
We have been blessed with my husband now off life support, out of ICU and resting in a private room. If fact, he was helped out of the bed yesterday and has begun sitting in a chair. He is very weak and cannot walk on his own. We still have a long road ahead but the way is filled with light and hope for a full recovery. Thank you all for your intercessory prayers, thoughts and concerns.
—Author Unknown
How did the lily come to grace the fields of America? The cultivation of lilies did not originate in the United States for the lily is a native of Japan. History reveals the account of a WW I soldier, Luis Houghton, bringing a suitcase full of hybrid lily bulbs to the South coast of Oregon in 1919. Houghton freely distributed bulbs to his friends and neighbors. Because of the events of WW II, the Japanese source of bulbs was abruptly cut off. Therefore, those growing lilies as a hobby noted the value of lily bulbs sky-rocketing and many decided to go into business on their own. At that time, Easter lily bulbs were known as “White Gold,” resulting in cultivators attempting to cash in on the crop. By 1945, there were about 1,200 growers producing bulbs up and down the Pacific coast, from Vancouver, Canada to Long Beach, California.