Club History – Current Officers – Board of Directors
MidFEx, short for Midwest Fruit Explorers, is a non-profit organization of amateur backyard fruit growing enthusiasts. Most of our members live in the counties surrounding Chicago.
We are crazy about the best tasting, most flavorful fruits that grow well here. We are also interested in growing special, superior and unusual fruits regardless of their appearance or commercial appeal. This includes little known varieties of apples, peaches, pears, plums, grapes and nuts; and more unusual fruits such as the pawpaw, mulberry, persimmon, fig, juneberry, Asian pear, and hardy kiwi. Our members locate, graft, propagate, test, grow and swap these superior fruiting plants, and then get together and share their knowledge.
MidFEx has a video depository located at midfex at vimeo.com. Here you will find videos covering topics such as t-bud/chip bud grafting techniques.
Members receive the Grapevine, our periodic newsletter.
Archived copies of the Grapevine can be viewed on the Members Only page.
Club History
Virginia Beaty’s recollection (reprinted from the June ’97 Grapevine):
MidFEx (Midwest Fruit Explorers) started with Bob Kurle. In 1973, when I was coordinator of the
Educational and Amateur Exhibits for the Chicago Flower Show at McCormick Place, Bob Kurle
approached me for a NAFEx exhibit space. Bob’s exhibit was great. He brought in a small tree,
about three feet tall in a large pot, which sported a half dozen different kinds of grafts. From the
tree he hung many different apples — all labeled. For additional interest he included several kinds of preserves and jams with crackers for tasting. Bob was surrounded by people three-deep eagerly listening to the information he was sharing. The following year at the Flower Show, Bob added a display of many kinds of hybrid nuts, courtesy of his friends in the Northern Nut Growers, and a display of NAFEx materials including copies of Pomona. NAFEx membership grew and Bob asked local NAFEx members to help plant and care for a collection of dwarf apple trees at the new Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe.
Soon after we started working at the BG, Bob asked a number of us NAfEx members to help him form a local chapter. So it happened that a group of us in 1976 met on a Sunday afternoon in the Linnaeus Room at the Chicago Botanic Garden and formed the midwest chapter of NAFEx. Bob was elected president, Virginia Beatty was elected vice-president, and Mary Kurle started the tradition of bringing goodies that over the years have kept everyone coming back. Mary Kurle, a gracious lady, also served as NAFEx membership chairman for many years and was hostess for the summer picnics the local NAFEx members held on the Kurles’ front lawn for many years. The group got off to a great start. Our first harvest festival was one of the first exhibits ever held in the main exhibition hall of the new Education Building at the Botanic Garden. We had a huge panel which showed how a dwarf tree was constructed and why “dwarfs” could range in size from 3′ to 30.’ There were also tables covered with the fruit brought in by members. It wasn’t long before Bob got out his knife and started offering people a taste of the fruit on exhibit. Many visitors asked about where they could get special apple varieties, “really” dwarf trees, and help with grafting. So we set a date with the Botanic Garden for a grafting session after the Chicago Flower and Garden Show the following March. Much of what we do today goes back to the early days and Bob and Mary Kurles’ hard work. —Virginia Beaty
So, NAFEX Midwest Chapter was formed in 1976 and officially incorporated in 1987. In 1992, the club voted to change our name to MidFEx (Midwest Fruit Explorers) to resolve confusion over the ‘NAFEX’ in our name and the national NAFEX organization.
Current Officers
President: Benjamin Balskus
Vice President: Deborah Graham
Treasurer: Jeff Postlewaite
Secretary: Colleen Walker
Board of Directors
Al Cosnow – President (years)
Oriana Kruszewski – Office (years)
Chuck Heisinger – President ( years)
Tim Hamilton
Phil Hahn