In the summer of 1991, the Delaware County Historical Association mounted a major exhibition called “Innovative Traditions: Creativity and Folk Art.” Funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York State Council on the Arts, the exhibit looked at the relationship between creativity and the traditional nature of folk art. One of the featured artists was Bovina’s very own Stella McPherson, with a focus on the various altar arrangements she made for many years for the Bovina United Presbyterian Church.
Here’s the information about Stella from the exhibit brochure:
Stella McPherson came to Bovina when she married her husband Frank in 1943. At that time, she moved into Frank’s family farm. Her first garden was started with a packet of Shirley Poppy seeds she found around the house. Since that time her yard has become a virtual showcase of colorful flowers and bushes. As a member of the Bovina Presbyterian Church, she was responsible for the construction of their harvest altars for many years. The tradition of harvest altars in Delaware County can be documented as far back as the late 1800’s. Harvest altars are only one type of altar decoration carried out by the churchgoers all over the county. Other altar decorations can be found at Christmastime, or springtime ‘Garden Sunday’ altars. Stella’s were especially well known for their beauty and abundance and for her ability to supply quantities of materials from her own gardens and her expressive, creative designs.
Stella was born Stella Sluiter in South Dakota in July 1913, the daughter of Janis and Jennie Sluiter. She came to Delaware County with her parents in the early 1930s. In 1943, she married Frank McPherson and they settled on the family farm in Bovina. Stella was a teacher for many years, starting out in one and two-room schools in Bovina and finishing as a kindergarten teacher in Andes. She passed away in 2006.
These wonderful images of Stella and her garden from the exhibit were taken by Treadwell photographer Drew Harty. I've also included a photo that he took of Stella's husband Frank.
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| Frank McPherson |
