The Heart of Tennessee chapter of the American Red Cross is HOT right now with positive volunteers making a difference in the Rutherford County Community and beyond. The American Red Cross Heart of Tennessee Chapter recently recognized its exceptional volunteers who continue to work tirelessly to help people in need.“We are grateful for the dedication of our volunteers, whose support makes a compassionate difference for our neighbors in need,” Tara Stone, Executive Director for the H .
Totty the Englishman
Among them was Charles Totty, an Englishman who in 1896 moved to Madison to work on the Twombly estate (now home to Fairleigh Dickinson University). Totty, then 23, eventually opened his own greenhouses, operated a retail store in New York City and sold throughout the region through a mail-order catalog, according to his New York Times obituary. To promote it all, he organized the first of the city’s long-dormant International Flower Shows in 1913.
Totty grafted his own specialty Australian chrysanthemums and tea rose hybrids and sold them to Rose City s growers. Among them was Joseph Ruzicka, Coultas’ grandfather. Ruzicka ran a 65,000-plant greenhouse through Madison s most productive years.