1967 Pieter at Max Planck Society Germany's Most Successful Research Organization

Fond memories of the old days when Pieter visited the Max Planck Society in Hamburg, Germany.
Pieter did his internship with Professor R. von Sengbusch.
The Max Planck Society, Hamburg was also involved in Mushroom Research.
Some important names in Mushroom Science are:
Gerda Fritsche; Walter Huhnke; Gertraud Lemke; Otto Till

Pieter is seen to the left, while Professor Reinhold Von Sengbusch is giving some Fatherly advice to a young Pieter.
~
Professor Von Sengbusch who also did the breeding for the famous Senga Sengana strawberries, named after him!
Even my Dad grew them, when I was a child, and we had women coming in to harvest them. Fond memories...
~

Link for this text just click Strawberries

Pieter with his back towards us and to the right is Ferdinand Dohme, who later became a large mushroom grower in Germany. We had dinner with him, his wife and son at Regensburg's, Conference - see link below.

Most of these names would be listed over the decades at the I.S.M.S. Congresses held all over the world. 
I.S.M.S. for: The International Society for Mushroom Science.

Pieter just stated that back in those days, he managed to travel to foreign countries on his own and NO GPS yet! 
How in the world did we ever manage without?!

Related post:

Lecture by Pieter and Stay at UNESCO site Regensburg during German Mushroom Conference | previous post where we had dinner with Ferdinand Dohme and family...

The Living Mushroom Cave in Le Puy Notre Dame on the Loire, France

Just have to share this unique story with you and the world...
Open for Tourism and as restaurant and shop!

We met the person Jacky Roulleau who is running this!
See link at the very bottom under final photo...

In French: variété blonde du champignon de Paris

This is the brown variety of the champignon de Paris, what we call button mushroom or Agaricus

Okay, on Sunday, January 8 of 1989, husband Pieter left via Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (we lived in Shillington, Pennsylvania at the time) to Kalamazoo, in Michigan for meeting with 6 French men. One of them was Jacky Roulleau.

They went to the Glenn Farm, one of Campbell's mushroom farms on January 9 and to the Brighton Farm on January 10. 

On January 11, Pieter flew back to Philadelphia with lots of delay, his 1st time with Piedmont airlines... 

In the evening Pieter did take me along to the Sheraton hotel in Reading to meet with the French men. We all went to a Mexican restaurant for dinner together.

We received a tile from Le Puy Notre Dame with it's Church

Also a bottle of Fiji eau de toilette and a Taste Vin...

This French Pewter Taste Vin from ETAINS DU MANOIR was a gift from our French mushroom colleagues.

Inside you read the French Wine Quote: Beuvez toujours ne mourrez jamais. 

Drink always and never die. Widely attributed to François Rabelais.

Below post is a link to my previous post for learning more about this piece...

A special card from Le Puy Notre Dame

Le Puy Notre Dame seen by... Richard Kleeman

Edition The Corner of the Eye

On January 26, 1989 Jacky Roulleau wrote a very nice letter:

Dear Friend,

I don't know how to thank you for everything you did for us. Having been all my life around mushrooms, I've always wanted to shake hands with a man we only knew from his book, the famous Vedder.

I won't say more except that I'm sure our fathers would have loved to be with us.

My colleagues and myself have understood that simplicity and efficiency are the keys to success in the mushroom world.

Please give our best regards to your charming wife, and I hope we'll see you soon in France.

Sincerely,

Jacky Roulleau

Another treasured 'mushroom' editorial review.

CULTURE MODERNE DES CHAMPIGNONS is the book Jacky was referring to.

Pieter's French edition, out of 8 official languages being published.

~

We met again on May 20, 1989 during the Tecno Mico in Verona, Italy where Pieter worked out a construction design for them and Gerard Derks built it in France, in late summer.

At that time we already lived and worked in Italy and on May 27, Gerard and his wife Pauline Derks came to dinner at our apartment and they delivered 4 bottles of French Chinon wine from the French men! Surprise...

~

Small world and now Jacky and his son Julian, are running their business of mushroom growing inside the cave and opening it for tourism from end of March through early October.

The Living Mushroom Cave - Tourist Attraction from end of March till early October in Le Puy Notre Dame on the Loire, France click link

Year round they sell their product and also other varieties of mushrooms they grow inside the cave.

Regional restaurants buy their produce and prepare delicious food, a wonderful way for visiting and learning!

Look at those broad stems as a good mushroom quality criteria...

Hope you enjoyed this post!

{French Pewter Taste Vin} | previous post

modern mushroom growing 2020 harvesting | post about our newest publication

From Regensburg, Germany to Bordeaux in France and Marl Cave Mushroom Growing

Sunday morning, October 26, 1986 we had breakfast and started packing up and left by 10:40 for our journey towards Paris, France.
Yep, in our cute Fiat Uno rental car...

We made it till Dourdan and spent the night there after driving 960 km that day or 596 miles.

We stayed at a four-star kind of castle; Hostellerie Blanche de Castille in Dourdan click through.

We had lovely weather with a little rain but good Interstates with high toll! It was expensive driving in France.

We ate a soup and went to bed.

Monday, October 27, after breakfast we started driving to Bordeaux with great weather and we made steady progress, covering another 540 km or 336 miles.

We easily found the Mercure Bordeaux Lac Hotel click it.
We did team up with François Falconnet and Jean & Marianne Laborde for a great dinner in our hotel at 20:30.

Tuesday October 28, we packed up and had breakfast with François Falconnet and we went with him by 8:15 to the Experimental Station where Jean Laborde was working.

Admiring Jacques Delmas' Pleurotus lactarius at their experimental station.

Yes, it was chilly when we went to look for some mushrooms and Pieter had lend me his jacket... Jean Laborde next to me and in the white jacket is another scientist colleague and then François Falconnet to the right.
We now proceed towards Châtellerault where we first have lunch en route.
The beautiful West of France!

What we covered that day. Departing from Bordeaux and lunch before Châtellerault and on to the compost place in Dangé-Saint-Romain, see below. End of day was our hotel in Tours...
Too bad we could not linger and explore... work related visits only.

After lunch we proceeded to a Compost Place:
Centrale de Compost du Chatelleraudais in 86220 Dangé-Saint-Romain

Me, overlooking the compost slab...

At the compost slab... You see the piles of raw material.

Now it's on to Tours where we stay for two nights at LOGIS HÔTEL DES CHÂTEAUX DE LA LOIRE in VIEUX TOURS, FRANCE just click through.

We have dinner with François Falconnet and his wife and Jeanne and Gilles d'Hardemare and walked through Vieux Tours together.

On Wednesday, October 29, Pieter joins François Falconnet after breakfast for a visit with Gilles d'Hardemare and seeing Old Tunnel and Caves.
Also new experiment tunnels, short composting.

Claude Desjouis in Mamers

François Falconnet in the white shirt inside the caves from Royal Champignon

Harvesters busy inside such caves for Royal Champignon in Bagneux

Brown mushrooms from the caves and harvested with their roots!
~
Pieter spent his day together with his scientist colleagues and I explored Vieux Tours, the Old City Center of Tours from 11-16:00 and enjoyed lunch in a 15th century restaurant.

Finding little gifts for daughter Liz, for Uncle Bo Whaley and a cute Limoges candleholder for in my letter box. See above next to a US penny... It is small!
Did write some letters, also to a French born lady that lives in Dublin, Georgia; Genevieve Alexander...
We had once more dinner in Vieux Tours with François Falconnet and walked home to our hotel...

Next day after breakfast we started the journey back to Horst aan de Maas and doing so we completed our total of 3,311 km or 2,057 miles in the little Fiat Uno rental car.
From Horst aan de Maas to the German Mushroom Conference in Regensburg and then on to Bordeaux etc.
That's how Pieter stayed in close touch with the international colleagues within the Mushroom Industry and gathered information and knowledge for his students.
It always worked mutual, by giving away knowledge, you also gain...

Fond memories!

Related posts:
Lecture by Pieter and Stay at UNESCO site Regensburg during German Mushroom Conference | previous post
{Vintage Religious Paper Lace from France and Immaculate Conception} | previous post