A Local Hero and Passiflora Expert
The vintage photo of the day is of a spiritual hero of mine, and a truly remarkable physician, explorer, humanitarian, and Christian missionary. What I never knew about him until I did some further research is that he retired to Pacific Beach in 1925, and lived at the northwest corner of Morrell and Hornblend, my old stomping grounds. The photo is of Dr. Karl Friedrich Wilhelm Kumm.
As an ordained Christian minister myself, Dr. Kumm was a man of whom I knew a great deal. He was known as the "last of the Livingstones", and the founder of Sudan United Mission. He explored areas of west Africa that had never been explored by a white man prior to his entry. He, like his countryman and friend Dr. Albert Schweitzer, felt no small amount of guilt and shame about the colonization of Africa by Germany and other European countries. He was determined to love and be doctor to the people of Africa.
He married Lucy Evangeline Guinness, the daughter of a prominent Christian humanitarian and an heir to the Guinness brewery family, Harry Grattan Guinness. Dr. Kumm with the help of Guinness money established medical schools for African nationals in Sudan and Nigeria, and worked as a physician among the Hausa and other indigenous tribes of west Africa. Along with the help of Guinness money he bought the freedom of many Sudanese and Nigerian slaves that were taken captive by muslim invaders from northern Sudan.
Unfortunately, his explorations caused him to become infected with numerous tropical diseases including a fever which severely and permanently affected his health, giving him an incurable heart condition. His dear wife Lucy Evangeline Guiness dies during a miscarriage in 1906. So what does that have to do with horticulture you may ask? He was advised to retire in his late forties to a mild climate which could benefit his health condition. He recalled a speaking tour to San Diego in 1908, and thought San Diego afforded no better climate on earth. He and I agree on that point.
Dr. Kumm retired in 1925, to 2004 Hornblend Street, and established a magnificent garden with 75 roses, a koi pond, many fine trees, tropical plants, and many vines of passiflora. Note that, passiflora. As was the custom at the time, many folks named their homes- he named his Passiflora. Dr. Kumm became obsessed with passion fruit on a trip to Australia, and found the Australian varieties delicious, but awfully small. And the south American varieties were large and prolific growers but lacking in the fine flavor of the Australian versions. His solution? Breed them together. He started with a batch of 500 seedlings, and eventually planted 50 acres on the gentle slopes of Mt.Soledad, and on the Torrey Pines Mesa. He established the first commercial operation for production of passion fruit in the United States. He attempted to sell his operation for $30,000.00 in 1929.
His passiflora business was running in the black, but his health was declining. At the Pacific Beach Women's Club in 1929 held at the Scripps' Braemar estate all the ladies partook of delectable passion fruit ice cream courtesy of Dr. Kumm. He became quite a local celebrity, and spoke at the dedication of the Crystal Pier and other civic events. He would often be asked to regale groups with his tales of African adventure and exploration. H. K. W. Kumm died in 1930 of heart disease induced by the fever he had contracted in Africa. He was 56 years old. Despite his efforts, the passion fruit industry he hoped to develop in Pacific Beach never really took off.
A visitor in 1931 noted that Passiflora, the Pacific Beach home of the late Dr. and Mrs. Kumm, was a particularly delightful spot to visit, with the passion fruit blossoms as well as an abundance of fruit on the vines, but regretted that Dr. Kumm could not have been spared to carry on his work at Passiflora. The second Mrs. Kumm returned to her native country of Australia in 1931, listing her home in the Evening Tribune; ‘Passiflora, a delightful home with an assured income at 2004 Hornblend’. According to the Tribune, 12,000 pounds of passion fruit were picked the previous year and a contract existed for the crop at 12 cents a pound. The property included a 7-room and a 3-room house, a garage, packing house, lath house and greenhouse, 75 varieties of roses, all kinds of bearing fruits and avocados, a fish pond, many fine trees, tropical plants and shrubs. ‘Was appraised at $12,000. Submit any offer over $8,000’. As many of us are presently harvesting passionfruit from our gardens, take a moment and pay homage to a great man, Dr. H.K.W. Kumm.
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| Kumm in 1910 |
As an ordained Christian minister myself, Dr. Kumm was a man of whom I knew a great deal. He was known as the "last of the Livingstones", and the founder of Sudan United Mission. He explored areas of west Africa that had never been explored by a white man prior to his entry. He, like his countryman and friend Dr. Albert Schweitzer, felt no small amount of guilt and shame about the colonization of Africa by Germany and other European countries. He was determined to love and be doctor to the people of Africa.
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| Kumm, left in 1900 |
He married Lucy Evangeline Guinness, the daughter of a prominent Christian humanitarian and an heir to the Guinness brewery family, Harry Grattan Guinness. Dr. Kumm with the help of Guinness money established medical schools for African nationals in Sudan and Nigeria, and worked as a physician among the Hausa and other indigenous tribes of west Africa. Along with the help of Guinness money he bought the freedom of many Sudanese and Nigerian slaves that were taken captive by muslim invaders from northern Sudan.
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| A group of some former slaves liberated by Dr. Kumm and Guinness money. |
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| Harry Grattan Guinness, Evangelist and humanitarian, Kumm's father in law. |
Unfortunately, his explorations caused him to become infected with numerous tropical diseases including a fever which severely and permanently affected his health, giving him an incurable heart condition. His dear wife Lucy Evangeline Guiness dies during a miscarriage in 1906. So what does that have to do with horticulture you may ask? He was advised to retire in his late forties to a mild climate which could benefit his health condition. He recalled a speaking tour to San Diego in 1908, and thought San Diego afforded no better climate on earth. He and I agree on that point.
 |
| At an outpost in Nigeria in 1908 |
Dr. Kumm retired in 1925, to 2004 Hornblend Street, and established a magnificent garden with 75 roses, a koi pond, many fine trees, tropical plants, and many vines of passiflora. Note that, passiflora. As was the custom at the time, many folks named their homes- he named his Passiflora. Dr. Kumm became obsessed with passion fruit on a trip to Australia, and found the Australian varieties delicious, but awfully small. And the south American varieties were large and prolific growers but lacking in the fine flavor of the Australian versions. His solution? Breed them together. He started with a batch of 500 seedlings, and eventually planted 50 acres on the gentle slopes of Mt.Soledad, and on the Torrey Pines Mesa. He established the first commercial operation for production of passion fruit in the United States. He attempted to sell his operation for $30,000.00 in 1929.
His passiflora business was running in the black, but his health was declining. At the Pacific Beach Women's Club in 1929 held at the Scripps' Braemar estate all the ladies partook of delectable passion fruit ice cream courtesy of Dr. Kumm. He became quite a local celebrity, and spoke at the dedication of the Crystal Pier and other civic events. He would often be asked to regale groups with his tales of African adventure and exploration. H. K. W. Kumm died in 1930 of heart disease induced by the fever he had contracted in Africa. He was 56 years old. Despite his efforts, the passion fruit industry he hoped to develop in Pacific Beach never really took off.
A visitor in 1931 noted that Passiflora, the Pacific Beach home of the late Dr. and Mrs. Kumm, was a particularly delightful spot to visit, with the passion fruit blossoms as well as an abundance of fruit on the vines, but regretted that Dr. Kumm could not have been spared to carry on his work at Passiflora. The second Mrs. Kumm returned to her native country of Australia in 1931, listing her home in the Evening Tribune; ‘Passiflora, a delightful home with an assured income at 2004 Hornblend’. According to the Tribune, 12,000 pounds of passion fruit were picked the previous year and a contract existed for the crop at 12 cents a pound. The property included a 7-room and a 3-room house, a garage, packing house, lath house and greenhouse, 75 varieties of roses, all kinds of bearing fruits and avocados, a fish pond, many fine trees, tropical plants and shrubs. ‘Was appraised at $12,000. Submit any offer over $8,000’. As many of us are presently harvesting passionfruit from our gardens, take a moment and pay homage to a great man, Dr. H.K.W. Kumm.
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