The Boyce Thompsoni hedgehog cactus, named after the great benefactor of the Boyce Thompson Arboretum in Superior, Ariz., allegedly grows “glorious magenta” flowers that emit an “irresistibly fragrant” aroma. It sprouts “showy red fruits” so tasty that early desert settlers raced to pick them before animals could eat them. Unfortunately, repeated visits to the arboretum have yet to provide first-hand confirmation […]
Victoria’s Secret Catalog Shot at Alder Manor
Our January 2008 trip to Alder Manor, William Boyce Thompson’s Italian Renaissance Revival estate in Yonkers, N.Y., revealed many interesting bits of trivia. Did you know that a Victoria’s Secret catalog was shot there, or that this is the house where Russell Crowe, playing the delusional John Nash in “A Beautiful Mind,” makes his secret letter drops? The juxtaposition seems oddly […]
Kids Largely Bored By Visit to Thompson Museum
We drove a hundred of miles out of our way during the summer of 1997 to visit Virginia City, Montana, the place where my great grandfather, J.E. Thompson, and his brother William Boyce Thompson were born. There’s a museum there that celebrates the history of the mining town of Alder Gulch. I was fascinated by the […]