KFWW - My Partner

Jim Landers and I met in March 1983, and we have been partners ever since. He is eleven months younger than I am. He was born on November 16, 1943. When he first met Uncle Rudi, Rudi offered him some iris rhizomes, and Jim was only too happy to accept them. Until that time he'd never had time to work in flower gardens, and he couldn't wait to get back to Temple to plant them.

Since then, he has immersed himself in the world of irises and was the editor of the Iris Society of Austin newsletter from 1989 until 2004. He is also the editor of the Region 17 iris newsletter, which is really a magazine for all of the iris societies in the state of Texas. He has won the best of show award at numerous iris shows in Austin, Waco, and Dallas.

Jim has two sons and three grandsons and two granddaughters, and he is now discovering the joys of doing his own family research.

In September 2004 we enjoyed an eight-day Alaskan Inland Sea cruise on the Norwegian Spirit. We departed from Seattle and sailed to Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway. Near Skagway we got an up-close view of a large glacier, and we also took a train ride up to the Canadian border. On the return trip we stopped at Prince Rupert, Canada.

In May 2006 we attended the American Iris Society National Convention in Portland, Oregon. This was a very special event for both of us. Not only did we visit the largest commercial iris farms in the world, but we also got to visit my relatives on my mother's side, whom I had not seen since December 1969. We also took a bus tour of the Columbia River Gorge, and I visited a number of famous landmarks I recalled seeing when I was still a child living in Portland in the 1940s. You can share my memories of Portland here.