Black Gum Tree, Green Hill Cemetery
Beg forgiveness, not ask permission was Bill Craft’s philosophy when it came to planting trees and shrubs. And the city is more beautiful as a result By Lee rogerS
G
reensboro philanthropist and millionaire Joe Bryan was once seated next to Bill Craft at the Greensboro Country Club. While they waited for the main event to start, Bryan leaned over to Craft and said, “Bill, I have a park named after me too, but they don’t make me work in it.” No one made William Hugh Craft work on Craft Park, once a barren stretch of woodland between Dover Road and Nottingham Drive in Irving Park, but now a horticultural menagerie. Until he died at 81 last December, Craft spent his life permanently altering Greensboro’s landscape because he couldn’t resist doing otherwise. Bypassing rules, committees and meetings, Craft blithely planted shrubs and trees in any empty space, anywhere, regardless of who owned it. According to his family, Craft’s policy was to “beg for forgiveness, not ask for permission.” Craft figured if the city didn’t like what he planted, they could dig it up. Though generous and public spirited, Craft had a sneaky side when it came to plants. His family reports that he had “various hidden greenhouses around
60 O.Henry
August/September 2011
The Art & Soul of Greensboro
Photograph of Bill Craft by Ann Stringfield with Friends of Green Hill Cemetery Photographs of Trees by Joel Gillespie
Greensboro’s Johnny Appleseed