A Pennsylvania farmer has established an endowed scholarship to support horticulture students at West Virginia University.

The W.J.”Apples”McClelland/White Hall Farm Horticulture Scholarship is designed to provide financial assistance for undergraduate and graduate students who show academic promise.

Jim”Apples”McClelland began studies in agriculture at WVU in 1938 but left to join his family’s farming operations. He then served in the military for 18 months in the South Atlantic on submarine patrol duty, followed by two years as a tail gunner in the Pacific during World War II. After returning from service, he purchased a farm near Washington, Pa.

The farm evolved into an award-winning orchard. McClelland was one of the first growers to bring the Fuji apple to western Pennsylvania. After a productive and successful career in the orchard business, McClelland retired and sold his property to residential developers. A portion of the proceeds of that sale will go to establishment of the horticulture scholarship.

The McClelland family has a long and illustrious history of agricultural production in Washington County, Pa. Hans McClelland first purchased land in southwestern Pennsylvania in 1814. In 1831 his son, Ebeneezer, purchased the 270 acres that would become the McClelland Homestead. The land would stay in the family for 160 years, and Ebeneezer was one of the early American breeders of Saxony Merino sheep. Ebeneezer and sons J.C., Thomas, James, William and Ebeneezer held a total of 650 acres. The farm eventually took the name White Hall Stock Farm and was considered one of the largest sheep ranches east of the Mississippi.

After the senior Ebeneezer’s death in 1864, control of the Homestead passed to sons William, James and Ebeneezer, who expanded the family’s holdings to 827 acres. They divided their efforts among production of sheep, cattle, horses and hogs. James survived his brothers, dying in 1902 and leaving control of the Homestead to his sons, John and William. They began to shift the farm’s focus from livestock to dairy and orchard production. William James”Apples”McClelland was the son of William and his wife, Martha.

During”Apples”stewardship of the farm, he significantly increased acreage, planted thousands of trees, and harvested between 30,000 and 40,000 bushels of fruit per year. The orchard was home to 17 varieties of apples and a sampling of peach trees, red and purple raspberries, blackberries, and grape vines.

WVU ’s horticulture program is housed in the Division of Plant and Soil Sciences of the Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry and Consumer Sciences. Students can pursue an undergraduate major or a graduate track in the master of science program.

“Horticulture is the science of production, processing, and marketing of fruit, vegetable, greenhouse and landscape crops,”said Barton Baker, director of the Division of Plant and Soil Sciences.”Students in horticulture study physiology, culture, harvest, quality control, sales and utilization of horticultural crops.”

The Davis College maintains an extensive horticulture farm, home of its innovative Organic Research Project. Undergraduate and graduate students use the farm to gain practical knowledge of horticultural concepts and apply ongoing research to their education. Another learning resource is the Plant and Soil Sciences Greenhouse on WVU ’s Evansdale campus. At the Greenhouse, students can earn academic credit for assisting in the day-to-day management of the facility, participate in faculty research or conduct their own independent study projects.

The Davis College is also heavily involved in tree fruit and orchard management research at the WVU Tree Fruit Research and Education Center at Kearneysville, W.Va. A collaborative effort of the Davis College and WVU Extension, the center is home to studies in the areas of horticulture, entomology and plant pathology. Center personnel also maintain an award-winning Web site (http://www.caf.wvu.edu/kearneysville/wvufarm1.html) and publish The Orchard Monitor, a newsletter for the area’s tree fruit industry.

The McClelland scholarship was established through the West Virginia University Foundation. The WVU Foundation is a private, non-profit corporation that generates, receives and administers private gifts for the benefit of West Virginia University.