Ball, George Jacob–(1874-1949)–Glen
Ellyn, Illinois–was born in Milford, Ohio in 1874. At thirteen he
was working in a greenhouse near Cincinnati. For thirteen years he
worked with a leading seed company, a rose grower, and a commercial cut
flower grower. He settled in the Chicago area after serving in the
Spanish-American war. By 1905 he was growing sweet peas and offered
them to the cut flower trade. He built greenhouses in Glen Ellyn,
Illinois and began to develop improved strains of asters, sweet peas, and
calendulas. In 1915, he gathered seed from ‘Orange King’ calendula
and sent it to a California grower. This crop was so successful that
he was financially able to establish the Geo. J. Ball, Inc. His first one-page
seed list was printed and mailed to growers in 1918. Ball Seed Company
continued to expand and in 1927 they moved to West Chicago. In 1933,
the Ball Trial Gardens were opened. In 1937, George Ball published
the first issue of GrowerTalks, and in 1938 Ball was elected president
of the Society of American Florists. Ball died in 1949 and his four
sons, George K., Victor, Robert, and Carl, took over Ball Seed Co.
The company now owns ten other horticultural firms including W. Atlee Burpee
& Co., and a number of other companies, and the parent company is called
Ball Horticultural Company. Anna Caroline Ball became owner and CEO
of Ball Horticultural Co. in 1995.
Sources: GG