This collection is centered on Yocum’s academic and professional interests in horticulture, botany and geology as well as his personal interests in musical composition, his family’s history and Christian religion and his role in the creation and development of Tucson Botanical Gardens. Items included in the collection are his notes on botany, research into palm trees, publications, autobiographical and family history information, press clippings; records regarding the Rockhounds, the Arizona branch of the International Palm Society and Tucson Botanical Gardens.
Collection Number:
MS 572
Language:
Materials are in English.
Repository:
University of Arizona Libraries, Special Collections
University of Arizona
PO Box 210055
Tucson, AZ 85721-0055
Phone: 520-621-6423
Fax: 520-621-9733
URL: http://speccoll.library.arizona.edu/
E-Mail: LBRY-askspcoll@email.arizona.edu
Biographical Note
Harrison Yocum (1923-2010) studied horticulture with a minor in botany at Penn State, graduating in 1955 then earning his MS in Botany at Rutgers in 1959. A lifelong botanist and horticulturalist, Harrison Yocum had a large collection of palm trees when he moved to Tucson from Bethlehem, PA in 1964. In Tucson he worked at the Dendrochronology Lab at the University of Arizona (UA). He moved on to supervising landscaping at Tucson International Airport (TIA), winning a number of awards for his work there. His home became the first site of the Tucson Botanical Gardens before it moved temporarily to Reid Park and finally to the Porter family’s nursery on Alvernon Way in 1975.
After retiring from TIA in 1982, he taught classes in geology at Pima Community College, organizing the Pima College Rockhounds’ field trips. Yocum led field trips to collect geologic samples far afield in southern Arizona, producing handouts with his whimsical original ink drawings and maps. His students at Pima College along with returning friends and students were referred to as the Pima College Rockhounds (which he also rendered as Rock Hounds and Rock-hounds; we have preserved his usage).
Harrison Yocum also had extensive training in music starting at about the time he graduated high school. He wrote 195 original compositions for piano which are also included in this collection, including his favorite piece, The Cardboard Mountains.
Scope and Content Note
Harrison Yocum was instrumental in the establishment of the Tucson Botanical Gardens (TBG), however the bulk of this collection focuses on his geology club, the Pima College Rockhounds; his schoolwork and independent research on botany; his piano compositions; his autobiography and family history, with some material focused on TBG.
Also housed in the collection is much history and some genealogy of the Yocum family, including correspondence from his ancestor George Seifert as well as letters and mementoes from Harrison's parents Harrison senior (Harry) and Bertha Yocum and a book about his sister, Eloise as well as materials gathered from his parents’ trip to California in 1915.
This collection is arranged by medium: documents, cassettes, photo albums. Documents are arranged topically and by date when given.
It is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish
from the owner of the copyright (the institution, the creator of the record,
the author or his/her transferees, heirs, legates, or literary executors). The
user agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Arizona Board of Regents for the
University of Arizona, its officers, employees, and agents from and against all
claims made by any person asserting that he or she is an owner of
copyright.
This subseries deals with Yocum's work in geology that was not directly related to the Rockhounds, including his participation in the Old Pueblo Lapidary Club.
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Historical Background of the Old Pueblo Lapidary Club, 2007
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Catalog of Minerals, 1960-2010
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Brochures from Geology-related Destinations, circa 1969
Aside from work in botany and geology, Harrison Yocum studied music, the piano and composed a large number of original music, including many polkas and waltzes inspired by his observations and understanding of the natural world. Prominent among his works is the Catalina Suite in four movements, inspired by the mountain ranges surrounding Tucson.
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Opus 4The Cardboard Mountains(Catalina Suite), 1965
A great deal of material focused on Harrison Yocum's parents and their family background were included in the papers, including documents from an ancestor dating back to the Civil War era. A few items of interest include Harrison Senior's draft notice ordering him for induction at a date two days after World War 1 ended along with an Army pamphlet warning of the dangers of "venereal disease" and publicity materials from the Yocum family's trip to California and the Panama-Pacific Exhibition in 1915.
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Family Correspodence, 1864-1917
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Harrison Youcm Sr's Inspirational Books, circa 1900
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Yocum Family History, 1900-1999
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Tourist Literature from California, 1915
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Program from a Charles Schwab Banquet, 1916
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Harrison Yocum Sr's Draft Notice, 1918
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Family Correspondence, 2005
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Art and Life of Eloise June Johnson (nee Yocum), 2006
These are full issues of magazines featuring articles about Harrison Yocum, correspondence with a writer from Rock & Gem Magazine and a book containing his poem, "Contemplations"
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"Harrison Yocum Prizes His Backyard Kingdom,"Arizona Highways May 2005 (2 copies), 2005
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Rockhounding Pioneer Harrison Yocum, Rock & Gem Magazine 2008
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Correspondence and Manuscript re: Rock & Gem Article 2008
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Timeless Voicescontains poem by Harrison Yocum undated
Harrison Yocum organized a number of edited and captioned scrapbooks of his life, his family, his parties and his Rockhounding expeditions. Although some are numbered sequentially, not all volumes are in the possession of our collection.