Virginia

The first three times Virginia Turner asked to be a bonsai volunteer I politely turned her down. That was in early 1996 and back then I was pretty much a solo act, leery of getting entangled with help that might not turn out to be so helpful. Virginia was new to bonsai. We met when she was a student in a Beginner Bonsai class at the Arboretum, and it was at the end of that class she first asked to help. The class had been fun and Virginia seemed nice, but I didn't think she would have much to offer as a helper. In the weeks that followed she turned up a couple more times and each time asked again about volunteering.

Then one day there was a public event in the Education Center, not bonsai related, and Virginia participated as a Guest Services volunteer. She was there to meet and greet visitors and be generally helpful in whatever way presented itself. There was a bonsai on display for decorative purposes at that event, so Virginia decided she could be most helpful by parking herself next to the display to make sure no one touched it. While she was at it, she also engaged with anyone who showed the slightest interest. She told them all about bonsai and the Arboretum’s bonsai collection, and how great the beginner’s class was and how they should sign up for it. She spent the entire day doing that. I wasn't there to see this but I heard about it when I came by later to collect the bonsai. A fellow staff person came up to me and said, "Who was that little woman who was standing all day next to your display?" I gave Virginia's name and then asked if she had been any problem. "Oh no," came the reply, "She was great! We thought you had assigned her to do that because she really talked up the bonsai program." I began to think this persistent little woman might have something to offer after all.

Thus began one of the longest and most fruitful volunteer careers in The North Carolina Arboretum’s history.

Virginia found the Arboretum by accident. She had taken her elderly father for a drive on a Sunday afternoon sometime in the early 1990s, “looking for something to do.” What she found at the Arboretum appealed to her, even though it was in only its earliest stage of development. Virginia already had extensive volunteer experience. She had been long active in the Girl Scouts, the Red Cross and the Healing Place, all in her native Henderson County. She had served two years as the National President of the Mercedes Benz Club of America, a job that took her to events all over the US, and then to Germany, and then to a World Congress in South Africa (where she rode an ostrich!) When she volunteered at the Arboretum she was seeking a change. She didn’t want to be president of anything, and she was tired of paperwork. “Give me some dirt and let me play,” she said.

Virginia absorbed in her work, 2014

Initially, Virginia came in to help with the bonsai collection once a week for half a day. Right from the beginning she wanted to do more than that, but I was still being cautious about it. Many people have a misunderstanding about volunteer help. There is a much different dynamic involved in dealing with a volunteer as opposed to a hired helper, requiring a more nuanced relationship between the manager and the worker. Virginia just wanted to help. But I needed to figure out what she could do, so that I could direct all her positive energy toward something that would benefit the bonsai collection while providing her with a rewarding experience. Before too long it became apparent Virginia had a great capacity for doing meticulous detail work, the kind of work that would drive most people up a wall. Weeding, maintenance trimming, removing training wire, cleaning moss off trunks, removal of damaged leaves — these types of tasks are not what most people imagine when they think about volunteering to work with a bonsai collection. Most people who think they want to do bonsai are primarily attracted by the creative part the work, involving artistically pruning and shaping a miniature tree. But it's the detail work, the non-glamorous, time-consuming, tediously repetitive labor done with tools like tweezers and a dental pick, that really elevates the quality of a bonsai and makes it shine. Virginia not only had an unusual tolerance for such work, she excelled at it. She went about her business with a seriousness of purpose and unremitting focus that belied any suggestion the work was menial. She did her work with pride. As a result, the Arboretum's bonsai were enhanced in their appearance and made superior to what they might have been without her caring dedication.

Virginia had her own unique way of expressing what she provided as a bonsai volunteer. She would be out in the garden, doing her detail work, and a visitor might stop to watch for a minute and then they'd make a comment to the effect of, "Oh my, that looks tedious!" Virginia would look at the person, smile pleasantly and reply, "You know how they say genius is one part inspiration and ninety-nine parts perspiration? Well, I'm the perspiration!"

Before long, Virginia's time commitment as a volunteer expanded to a whole day — eight hours every week. Her work was so valuable and there was so much of it to be done that eventually she began coming in two full days per week. This schedule continued week after week, year after year, for more than two decades. At the Arboretum's annual Volunteer Recognition event, Virginia was so regularly recognized as the volunteer who contributed the most hours that after a while it ceased to be a contest.

If Virginia did nothing more as a volunteer than make our bonsai look better she would still deserve accolades for what she accomplished over her long career at the Arboretum. But all the while she was doing that work Virginia was also acting as an indefatigable goodwill ambassador for the Arboretum and our bonsai program. She talked with countless visitors, anytime the opportunity presented, telling stories and answering questions. She was lively, colorful and engaging, full of energy but always the epitome of friendly Southern charm. When visitors walked away after an encounter with Virginia they felt special for the individual attention they had received.

Virginia at the opening of the bonsai garden, October 2005

Virginia was never more on her game than when Carolina Bonsai Expo time rolled around. That show went on for twenty-four years and Virginia was one of only five people who took part in every single event. First she would put in extra time to help us get ready for the big show, then she would station herself out in the bonsai garden for the entire weekend, rain or shine. Just as she did that first occasion at the Education Center, the one that brought her to notice, she watched protectively over the bonsai trees and talked cheerfully with every guest who came through. Thousands of people came through, and the only ones who didn't get at least some small piece of her attention were those who happened to pass by when she was already engaged with someone else. It was a remarkable display of endurance and commitment. Virginia was small of stature and no spring chicken at this point of her life, but she had seemingly endless energy and a heart that wouldn't quit.

How do I end this tribute to my old friend? I haven't told you yet about the additional volunteer service Virginia rendered by serving on the board of The North Carolina Arboretum Society, including a stint as treasurer. I haven't mentioned the considerable financial support she quietly provided over the years to the Arboretum and the bonsai program. I couldn't even begin to tell of all the hours she and I spent working side by side, talking about everything under the sun. She was the mother of three children, all of whom I came to know, and she knew my family, and we compared notes about raising children and being married. Virginia was a dog lover, too. She was a breeder of German Shepherds, Rottweilers and Corgis, and she ran her dogs in trials and competitions. I sought her advice about caring for my own dogs and I knew I could trust what Virginia told me, although I never got around to making my dog's food from scratch the way she did for hers. In short, Virginia was a loyal helper, a good friend and a motherly influence to me. There were years when the entire bonsai staff of the Arboretum consisted of just Virginia and me, and that was somehow always enough.

There are aspects of day-to-day life that after a while become so ingrained you forget the inescapable fact that all things come to an end. Virginia is gone now, her vibrant life cut short by a disease that robs people of their memories and ultimately rubs out their self-identity. There is no fairness in it. I can still remember though, and I'm grateful to have known her. The person I first thought didn't have much to offer as a helper turned out to be the most loyal, dedicated, generous, caring and dependable helper I could ever have hoped for.

Virginia and her daughter, Sara Huggins, 2010. The last couple years of Virginia’s volunteer career she was not able to drive herself to the Arboretum, so Sara became her chauffeur. When Virginia was no longer able to answer the call to duty, Sara began volunteering in her place and has continued to do so.

"The Arboretum is outstanding — the plants, the staff and volunteers, all the good people, just the overall feeling of the place. It's always a good morning when you get up and you're going to the Arboretum!" — Virginia Turner