Famous

The Roeding family (Fancher Creek) visited many  nurseries in Europe in 1912. One was the Pernet-Ducher nursery in Lyons, France. They met Père and Claudius and Georges who died in WWI. Souvenir de Claudius Pernet and Souvenir de Georges Pernet and had roses named after them. 

George C. Roeding, Jr. and Robert Pyle in front of the 'Old Adobe' in 1939.

The Roeding family bought the California Nursery in 1917. George C. Roeding, Jr. took over after his father died.

'Golden State' Rose created by Francis Meilland prior to 1937.  

'Golden State' rose was introduced by Conard-Pyle in 1938. Selected for the official Exposition rose, Golden-Gate International Exposition 1939-1940.

Photo of George Jr with Robert Pyle, perhaps during the visit of the American Nurserymen to the California Nursery Company in Niles.

'Golden State' was propagated by the California Nursery.

 Are they inspecting the 'Golden State'?

From the 1939 catalog which was published during the Exposition.

Bobby O'Neill features the rose at the 'Old Adobe' on Treasure Island.

A once famous rose, nearly lost

How we got a 'Golden State' rose. I first posted on the Antique Rose Forum in February of 2018 after my helpmefind.com search stalled.

I had checked all the places on Helpmefind.com and none had the rose any longer.


None at Santa Rosa Jr. College. None at Cliff’s High Desert Garden. None at the Friends of Vintage Roses. I asked David Giroux if they had it at the San Jose Heritage Rose Garden (nope). I checked the rose garden at Golden Gate Park. I contacted SF Rose Society. I contacted the Portland Rose Society. Someone following my search on the GGIE Facebook page contacted Meilland in France. They did not have it. Star roses did not carry it. Rosarian Tom Bonfigli suggested checking at Portland Rose Garden in their Gold Medal section. It was there! I contacted them and got little help. I went to the Portland Rose Garden and what I found did not look at all like a ‘Golden State’ - too few petals. I checked with Jolene Adams, former president of the American Rose Society and she had not seen it.


So finally in August 2018, one of my friends Thea Gurns (San Diego) from the California Garden Landscape History Society saw my post on the Antique Rose Forum and put me in touch with Becky Yilanos who connected me to  John Bagnasco, who is the president of the California Coastal Rose Society (www.californiacoastalrose.com). John sent some buds to Steve Singer in the midwest to propagate them. Months later, I checked again. John was making a delivery to our friends at the San Jose Heritage Rose Garden and the ‘Golden State’ tagged along. David Giroux picked it from San Jose and brought it to Niles. Quite a roundabout trip. 


I found out that the rose originally came from Santa Rosa Junior College and was identified by Gregg Lowery of the Friends of Vintage Roses. He got it from a garden in Santa Rosa? Our garden has many roses originally from Gregg.


Since it went out of favor pretty quickly and wasn’t in the nursery catalog after 1946, it’s pretty amazing that anyone still had it. That is, if this is the real deal.