08/30/1991

Auburn AG Legend Retiring from Cullman Research Station

CULLMAN, Ala.—On Sept. 1, Marlin Hollingsworth, one of Sand Mountain's true treasures and one of Auburn University's most knowledgeable fruit and vegetable researchers, will retire after 37 years at the North Alabama Horticulture Substation in Cullman.

Hollingsworth grew up one of four children in a third generation vegetable farming family on Streight Mountain. Stories of his grandfather hauling vegetables to Birmingham with a mule and wagon helped instill in him a great respect for hard work. Hard work on the family farm provided him with a wealth of production knowledge that would serve him well in later years.

In addition to his father, two people played a pivotal role in Hollingsworth's career path. "Bill Ward was the county agent in our county, and back then, the extension agent was about the only source of new technology available to farmers. He had a tremendous impact on me as I was growing up. And, Leo Calhoun, who was the vocational agriculture teacher in our high school was a role model for me," Hollingsworth remembered.

Sending four children to college is a good measure of the success of the Hollingsworth family farm. "When I went to college, I never intended to go back to the farm. I wanted to be a vo-ag teacher or an extension agent," he noted. However, in 1958, Hollingsworth was approached by faculty members in the Horticulture Department at Auburn to take a newly created job as an assistant superintendent of the North Alabama Horticulture Substation. In 1962, he became superintendent, the position he retired from Sept. 1.

When he came to the North Alabama Horticulture Substation, Cullman County produced 5,000 acres of strawberries and 11 cotton gins processed the county cotton crop. Sweet potato growers produced about 75 bushels per acre and tomato farmers about five tons per acre. Now, producers routinely produce 50 tons of tomatoes per acre and 800 bushels of sweet potatoes. Strawberry and cotton production remain on a much smaller scale, among dozens of crops that have provided the diversity necessary to keep Cullman among the top agricultural counties in Alabama.

Though he humbly denies having much impact on the growth of agriculture in Cullman County, Hollingsworth no doubt did. For example, all the foundation seed stock for sweet potatoes was grown at the North Alabama Horticulture Substation. Virtually all the tomato varieties grown now, were tested back then, as were countless watermelon, cantaloupe, sweet corn, squash, pepper, okra, peach, plum and apple varieties.

This crop year, the Substation had 28 different projects and over 4,000 individual test plots packed into the 160-acre Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station research facility. Though the number of projects has remained high during Hollingsworth's tenure, many things are drastically different.

"When I came here, we worked from daylight to about eight o'clock in the summer--six days a week. If we were behind, we worked half a day on Sunday. A worker then earned $75 per month, plus a cow, two hogs, a half side of beef, three dozen eggs per month, corn meal, vegetables and $8 off their electrical bill. And, we had people waiting in line for those jobs," Hollingsworth remembered.

Shortly after Hollingsworth came to Cullman, he stopped in at the All Steak Restaurant on a cold, snowy January day. Sitting in the second booth from the front was the prettiest girl he had ever seen. Though who approached whom is open to debate, the result was Essie Hicks became Essie Hollingsworth, and 37 years, four children and seven grandchildren later, she still is.

In addition to two sons, Gary and Danny Hicks, from a previous marriage, Marlin and Essie raised two daughters Cindy and Becky. Cindy, now Cindy Lewis, is director of a nursing home, and Becky Harris is a registered nurse. Cindy, Becky, Danny, who works for Monsanto, and Gary, who has a landscape business, all live in the Cullman area.

Everyone who has visited (both officially and unofficially) the North Alabama Horticulture Substation in the past 16 years has been greeted by Hollingsworth's "Chief of Security," a 17-year old black Labrador retriever, affectionately known as Dog. "We haven't had anything stolen since Dog took over security, and he works cheap--three cheeseburgers a day," Hollingsworth joked.

In addition to supplying Cullman area growers with an endless supply of fruit and vegetable production information, Hollingsworth has supplied the nation with an endless supply of entomologists. "It just seems that every entomologist who works at this station goes on to big things. It started with Bill Eden, who went on to be provost at the University of Florida, and the Hays brothers, both whom became department heads, and the latest was Jim Harper, who is head of the Entomology Department at North Carolina State," Hollingsworth said.

On a more serious note, Hollingsworth says the most important contribution the Substation has made to fruit and vegetable production has been pest management programs. "Improved fertility programs and better varieties played key roles, but until we were able to develop coordinated pest control programs, we couldn't have dreamed of producing 800 bushels of sweet potatoes, for example," Hollingsworth contends.

After retirement, the Hollingworths plan to travel some and work on their new house. An avid golfer, Marlin plans to work on his handicap and help his son Gary with his landscape business. Regardless of what retirement holds for him, it's a safe bet it will include a liberal dose of hard work, tempered by his well known sense of humor.

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By:
Roy Roberson