Dr. John Wilbrink, retired Curator of the W. J. Beal Botanical Garden, describes his career at Michigan State University caring for the campus gardens. Wilbrink explains how he arrived in the U.S., came to MSU in early 1957 and went directly to work for the MSU Grounds Department. He recalls his wartime experiences performing forced labor for the NAZIs, surviving allied bombings, returning home to Denmark after the war, and emigrating with his family to the U.S. Wilbrink describes his duties and explains that he planted and cared for significant portions of the beds and gardens on campus. He also discusses the challenges of maintaining the gardens in the face of people stealing plants, rodents, deer, floods, and Michigan weather. Wilbrink is interviewed via telephone by Peter Carrington, Assistant Curator and Frank Telewski, Curator of the W. J. Beal Botanical Gardens. Recorded in the Voice Library Studio in the MSU Main Library.
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