8
Wednesday, February 17, 1971
University Daily Kansas
Greenhouse Controls Climate
KC Man Defies Nature; Bananas Bud in Kansas
By ROBERT PATRICK Kansan Staff Writer
That it is impossible to grow bananas in Kansas may have discouraged many lesser men, but not Gus Lind of Kansas City.
Lind says, "I always like to do what the guy says can't be done."
what the guy says can't be done."
Lind, 67, studied for his doctorate at the University of Kansas. He said he never did get it right, and he thought that the education was more important, anyway. He said that while attending KU, the man with a thousand arms."
He retired last May as a training instructor for the Army Corps of Engineers. Prior to his retirement he became interested in banana.
Not only isLD successfully growing bananas in Kansas, but as a growing fuse, pineapples, pears, or tomatoes and six varieties of blueberries and he has a small garden of dwarf fruit *of various kinds*.
LIND STARTED he brought some bananas after he raised some plants back from Florida. His first crop was lost when winds ripped protective plastic sheets from his greenhouse in
LIND POINTED out a new plant, about two feet tall. He said it had reached that height in the spring and remained at that same height for two months. Yet, he added, when the parent plant is cut down, it will undergo rapid growth and will soon be the size of the parent plant.
November 1969, and allowed frost to reach his plants.
He rebuilt his greenhouse using redwood timbers. Linda said he chose redwood because it was not expensive, and it is necessary to grow bananas.
The Flying Jayhaws then ventured to Hawaii in March of last year for two weeks. Pepper Rodgers, former KU football coach, helped host this voyage and helped host an alumni meeting in Honolulu.
According to Lind, each plant produces numerous shoots which will grow to the two foot height in one week. But not cut these shoots down every few days that the number of shoots would continue to multiply.
The response of the alums was so favorable to the Miami trip that the Alumni Association decided to expand the program.
April in Paris and
Jersey are just two of the many tours to be sponsored by the KU Alumni Association in the coming
Flying Jayhawks Offer Many Tours
When the greenhouse was rebuilt four additions of plants from her friends and started over. All of these new plants survived, and all of them were thriving.
ON ONE OF the four plants
Lind said each plant produced only one stalk of bananas and was then cut down. He said each plant seemed to know just how many bananas it could bring to the market and will shed excess bananas.
This traveling program, named the Flying Jayhawks, offers rentals of private jets and deluxe travel to all parts of the world. They first began with a trip to Miami for the Orange Bowl, then included a day in the Bahamas:
Many alums returned last summer to Venezuela, Venezuela, Jamaica, Aruba and Haiti. On this trip, the KU alums joined with the alums from other countries.
According to Vince Bilotta, field director, they were able to meet all of the requirements people in Miami which far exceeded the number of accommodations any other alumni program was able to obtain.
Chancellor and Mrs. E. Laurence Chalmers Jr. joined Ms. Kirk in 2014, and they traveled to the Orient in June of last year for three weeks. The
The Flying Jayhawks will spend April 23-May 1 in Paris. This trip is made available to any KU alum with special priority to
paid members. Eight days at the Grand Hotel in Paris with two meals a day will cost €120,000 plus £28 in taxes and services.
The KU alums have an opportunity to 'ravel' "Behind the iron Curtain." Leaving from New York, they travel 2 days tours and will visit East and West Berlin, Leningrad, Mowcow, Volgograd, Yalta, Crimea, the Black Sea, Kiev and Prague, the Warsaw Union, Paris and Budapest.
Non-KU alums are invited to join this tour but priority will be given to KU alums. The tour plans to leave July 17. It includes golf, light flight, special meals, entertainment and sightseeing for $1,406.
High interest was shown in the "Soviet Union—Behind the Iron Curtain" tour and it has already been announced that Jayahays have added a second section which will leave July 24 and will follow the same schedule as the first section. Both tours feature the best escorted throughout the 22 days.
In addition to the July tour, the Alumni Association is now planning a program to Europe for this summer. The program is similar to that offered in 1986 for Europe. The alums will be on their own once they arrive in Europe.
was a stalk of bananas which Lind said contained over 100 bananas. On another plant he pointed out a pod which he said would produce a stalk in the next few weeks. On a third plant a bud formed from a stem and a fourth did not yet show signs of producing fruit.
According to Bilytta, if the KU baseball team makes the playoffs, they will win. Jayhawks will plan to go there too. This trip might have to be planned at the last minute, but team Association is prepared.
When four plants share a common root system, as these do, each plant receives only one than one plant to produce fruit at a time. As a rule, he said, each plant wants its turn and produces the fruits that plants have finished producing fruit.
LIND SAND that despite the low temperature, when the sun was up on a clear day, the walls of the greenhouse allow the rays of the sun to enter regar-
gardless.
The bunch of bananas now growing first appeared as a bud on the vine, and will take about four months to reach maturity. They are packed green and store in the refrigerator. When allowed to ripen on the plant that the fruit would be just like a corn cob, quite hard and not
Lind said he had read every book on the subject of bananas in the Kansas City libraries. He wanted to become an expert. Lind said in their native environment bananas still grow in green. In addition to being eaten raw, he added, they are fried, baked or cooked in some
LIND POINTED out the leaves, which appeared to have broken and fallen against it. The leaves are "thrown down" by the plant to protect the plant. He said the plant is composed of 98 per cent water and hot rays from the sun. It does not protect itself in this manner.
Because the plants are composed mostly of water, they require a great deal of moisture. They grow best in a warm place which allows it to "rain" in his greenhouse. He said he turned the system on every third day, and he must also add about 30 gallons of water at the base of the plants.
Lind said that considering the cost of the building, gas to heat it, water and special fertilizers it is essential to figure out how much the bananas to about $1.25 each. This would figure out to be about $4.50 per pound, considerably more than for at least areas where sell bananas for about 11 cents per pound.
Used Cars Bill Topic
CONCORD, N.H. (UPI) - A measure introduced in the New Hampshire Legislature Tuesday would require sworn statements on the mileage and any physical condition of cars being sold second hand.
"There is no area of consumer protection currently in need of greater regulation than the used car industry," said Paul Christ. The company also sponsored the bill with Rep John A. Menge, D-Orford.
Telephone operators at KU occasionally receive some pretty nice requests for the "B & G" Informer, a newspaper published by and for KU.
Buliming and Grounds employees.
One student recently called and
asked for Ichthyology. That’s pretty
considerating it was 7 o’clock in the
morning and she was
sobbing, it was even stranger.
The operator listened patiently and found that the girl's fish was, she said, "critically ill."
'Informer' Gives Fishy Story
A concerned mother called one day and asked the operator if she had her son. The operator explained that she did not quite know all the students.
Another student called and asked the operator for some clean sheets. She directed him to his house manager.
Creative minds have found a way to strike stump operators by requesting organization of JABA, CRES, LES and Poly Scl. Though the operators usually understand the abbreviations occasionally heacme some new ones.
In addition to the humorous experiences of the telephone operator "B & G CAT," has contained puzzles, cartoons, quotations from other sources.
College Will Alter Goals
The faculty of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences voted Tuesday to refer the goals of arts and sciences to ad hoc committee for revisions.
The ad hoc committee was appointed in September 1969, by George Waggoner, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and William P. Albertsen, dean of the graduate school.
The other item of business on the agenda was the motion by William Silvert, assistant professor of physics. At the previous meeting, it was moved by Silvert and seconded that LAS courses must be approved by the deans of the faculty sponsors.
It was also moved by Silvert and seconded that the matter be discussed in the policies committee could discuss the courses and make a report to the
Resident Poet To Use Slides In Presentation
Jonathan Williams, poet in residence, will present a slide show today "for those who have the old idea that culture is what defines us," said Mr. the deadly desert." Entitled "Travails in America Desert" the presentation will be a "photographic, gollaric record of persons and places" that he described as were worth remembering he said.
The presentation will be at the SUA Poetry Hour at 4 p.m. this afternoon in the Council Room of the Kansas Union.
contributions.
"The paper was started last October, and is published around the second week of each month." Dolores Gates, co-author of the book, told us that the director of the physical plant, suggested the idea when he saw a
The paper also includes per-
formers, such as birthdaydays during
the month, babes born to empl-
oyees, new employees' names,
and others.
similar paper at Wichita State University.
Burger Chef Hamburgers Are Really Groovy... Come out today!
- 100% Pure Beef -
9th & Iowa St.
LET'S ALL GO TO BURGER CHEF
INTRODUCTORY OFFER!
QUALITY TELEVISION and STEREO REPAIR
Repair Any 1967-70 Portable T.V.
Color—Only $15.00 plus parts
Black and White—$10.00 plus parts
Wade Electronic Inc.
Open 9-6
111 E. 7th
Mon. thru Sat.
842-6136
Use Kansan Classified
RICHIE HAVENS FEB.19
TICKETS— $2.50, 3.00 & 3.50
Available at— Kief's, River City Records. The Sound, Richardsons & SUA Office