Leading The Way
He was there at the beginning, and Wally Heuser has not missed an IFTA meeting in 50 years.

By Dick Meister

PROBABLY no one has had more involvement in the revolution in fruit tree culture to high density and compact trees than Wally Heuser. Today Wally and his daughter, Wanda, run Summit Sales, Inc. They are leaders in variety and rootstock selection fitted to soil, climate, and tree training requirements.

	IFTA's annual meetings began in Wally Heuser’s storage shed in 1958, and since then, he’s never missed a meeting.

Wally was the first president of the International Fruit Tree Association, then called the Midwest Dwarf Fruit Tree Association. His term of office was 1958-1961 and he has not missed attending a meeting since then - a 50-year span. Wally first became interested in dwarf trees when he studied under Dr. Harold B. Tukey at Michigan State University (MSU). Tukey had early on perceived the advantages of size-controlling rootstocks. While heading up the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, he researched and tested Malling rootstocks brought from the famed East Malling Research Station in Britain.

After he graduated from MSU, Wally entered the family business, Hilltop Orchards and Nursery, and he was the first in Michigan to plant a commercial sized orchard on Malling stock.

So it was in 1958, when district horticultural agent Jerry Mandigo wanted to put on a pruning demonstration of dwarf apple trees, he contacted Wally Heuser. That meeting now is history, as more than 300 growers showed up, some from out of state. It was then that Dr. Tukey suggested the establishment of an association with Wally Heuser as president, and Bob Carlson, who worked under Tukey at MSU, as secretary.

Wally has not only been president, he has also been a two-time board member. He was also treasurer from 1964-1979. Whenever he was needed, he was there for the association. No one has been more loyal than Wally Heuser.

Many growers and horticulturists figured prominently in the growth of the Association. The concept of smaller, more manageable trees, caught everyone’s imagination. Soon guest speakers from other countries were included. The first, in 1962, was Tony Preston of the East Malling Station in England. The list of countries involved over the years attests to the international reach of the association - Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Holland, Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Sweden, Ireland, Austria, Poland, Israel, and Uruguay.

	Many growers and horticulturists, including Wally Heuser (bottom row, left), figured prominently in the growth of the International Fruit Tree Association.

The people who supported the association make up an international Who’s Who of Pomology. Fruit growing in the U.S. and around the world has benefited tremendously and among the outstanding leaders who made it possible, the name of Wally Heuser is preeminent.

Dick Meister is the editor-at-large for American Fruit Grower magazine.