Ted Caspar was one of the reasons I joined the MN. Herb Society.  He
served as our president twice: 1993-94 and 1998-99.

He was a great cook,
always bringing adventuresome, tasty herbal dishes to our pot lucks. Always
making jellies, jams, and mustards   for our sales. Always trying to get us to
try something new and different.  He had an amazing collection of cook
books and miscellaneous recipes, which he generously shared with
everyone.

Ted collected vinegar recipes for many years and passed them
on to Jill. He encouraged even the new and timid members  (that would
be me) to just get out there and try something new. “Just throw some herbs in a
jar of vinegar and wait to see what turns up.  How bad could it be?” What came
of that experiment was blueberry-honey-red basil vinegar.

As he began
to get older, he started to give away his books. I have several………one that
never fails to make me smile is “A Druid’s Herbal for the Sacred Earth
Year”……….not something you might expect to find in the library of a
Lutheran minister………but a good example of his inquiring mind.

Ted
loved all aspects of herbal gardening. I hope that he would be pleased to see
 the bench depicting Pedanius Diosorides, the Greek physician and author of a
five volume encyclopedia on herbal medicine, that we have placed in the Cloister
Garden in his honor.
I know that when I look at it, I will remember Ted
Caspar and smile.

Chip