BACG History Post #47
Larry Sommers followed in the footsteps of Tommy Thompson, the founding director of Gardens for All. Like Thompson, Sommers worked tirelessly to help groups and individuals to start and sustain community food gardens.
Thompson's death in January 1983 spurred Sommers to create The Community Garden Book, New Directions for Creating and Managing Neighborhood Food Gardens in Your Town.
Sommers collected community gardening management strategies and photos from across America. He tapped the knowledge banks of fellow organizers from the American Community Garden Association, a nonprofit organization founded in Chicago in 1979. Sommers served as an ACGA board member.
Copy for the book was produced by typewriter. Black and white glossy photos were cut and pasted into the layout.
Lynn Severance, a graphic artist who created many of Ben & Jerry's iconic designs, did the artwork for the cover and graphics for interior pages. George Thabault of Gardens for All edited the book.
Published on January 1, 1984 by Gardens for All, The Community Garden Book was dedicated in memory of Tommy Thompson. Sommers' guide was the go-to resource for countless community garden organizers from 1984 through the dawn of the digital age.
