Donor wills $650K to Hilltop center

George Archer loved gardening, and through his recent bequest of $650,000 to Hilltop Garden and Nature Center, generations of children will be able to as well.\nArcher’s gift is the largest donation in the 60-year history of Hilltop, located at 2367 E. 10th St. The money will benefit children in the Hilltop Youth Garden Program, honoring Archer’s lifelong love of gardening.\nArcher worked for Bloomington lawyer Edwin Cohen, maintaining his yard until the age of 93. Archer wasn’t close with his family, so when he died last summer Cohen became the executor of his will.\nArcher appeared to be poor, Cohen said. He drove an old, worn-out pickup truck and wore tattered work clothes – but he was still able to save money.\n“He hoped his gift would strengthen and perpetuate the garden’s commitment to introduce girls and boys to the joys of gardening,” Cohen said in a statement.\nThe Hilltop Educational Foundation will use the donation to establish a George E. Archer Fund. The fund will support a fundraising campaign for better facilities for Hilltop, and will also enable 10 children selected from the Boys and Girls Club of Bloomington each year to attend the Youth Garden Program, said Judith Granbois, president of the Hilltop Educational Foundation. The foundation is a volunteer-run organization established in 1984 that serves as an advisory, advocacy and fundraising organization for Hilltop, said Greg Speichert, Hilltop’s director.\nChildren in the Youth Garden Program work in teams on 5-by-10-foot plots, growing corn, beans, cucumbers, zucchini and other vegetables, Granbois said. They also study plant parts and plant development, composting, the water cycle, weeds, pests and other garden-related topics.\nCohen’s 10-year-old daughter’s experiences in the program inspired Cohen to help Archer donate the $650,000 to Hilltop.\nThe center is one of the oldest children’s gardening programs in the country, Granbois said. In 1948, Barbara Shalucha, an IU biology department professor, initiated the program with property donated by former IU President Herman B Wells. In 1960, a garden house was constructed.\n“That building was constructed 60 years ago,” Speichert said, pointing to a white building that sits at the entrance of Hilltop. “It has everything we need, including a restroom.”\nOn the opposite side of Hilltop sits a new building with red columns and colored leaves and flowers everywhere.\n“This is our main office, library and classroom,” Speichert said.\nThis new building was dedicated in 1993. It was constructed with $450,000 raised by the Hilltop Educational Foundation, which included a bequest from Shalucha, who died in May 1992, Granbois said.\nThis year, Hilltop’s Youth Garden Summer Program will start June 2 and go through Aug. 8.