CSA-Journal-2016-04

In Memoriam: Ernest Hetherington
Text and Photos By Paul Gripp
Ernest Hetherington, perhaps the
most influential orchid man of the
last century, died in southern California
this October at the age of 99.
Ernest was the lifelong leader of the
Fred Stewart Orchid Nursery of southern
California which was recognized worldwide.
A boy plant prodigy, Ernest recalled getting
his folks to drive him from Los Angeles
to Santa Barbara in the 1920s to buy two
succulent plants at 50 cents each. He
enjoyed camping, hiking, gardening, sports,
nature, and horticulture. Upon graduation
from high school in 1936, he immediately
went to work for the famous Armacost
and Royston Nursery Company of Sawtelle
(west Los Angeles). At that time Armacost
and Royston was like a school for future
prominent orchidists. In the 1920’s, 1930’s,
and 1940’s under the able leadership of
Walter Armacost, and Ben and Sydney
Bracy, his English supervisors of the orchid
department, a number of young orchidists
were trained, among them Joe Hampton,
Ernest Hetherington, Herb Hager, Harry
Rapella, Jose Vasquez (scion of the Vasquez
family), Bob Norton, William Kirsh, Joe
Ozella, Oscar Kirsch, and Leo and Irene
Holquin.
As with many of his generation, World
War II interrupted Ernest’s life and he
spent the war years in the US Army Airforce
serving in the South Pacific from
New Guinea to the Philippines. In 1945
he returned to Armacost and Royston and
married his cute and talkative sweetheart
Ernest Heatherington in the greenhouse at
Stewarts. Photo reproduced from the library
of Paul Gripp
Elsie Lange. She became his faithful life
companion for nearly 70 years supporting
his orchid passion, the long work hours,
the leadership of multiple orchid societies,
the frequent speaking engagements, and
concomitant travel.
A post-war boom in orchids was developing
in Southern California. The
Cymbidium Society was founded in 1946
and added to the activity by publishing the
“Cymbidium Society News”, a publication
where orchid growers could advertise their
plants to each other. Many garden nurseries,
orchid nurseries, and collectors began
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