The Paul Ecke Collection

Paul Ecke, Jr., Elisabeth "Jinx" Ecke, Paul Ecke III, Lizbeth Ecke, Paul Ecke, Sr., and Magdalena Ecke in a Ranch greenhouse with poinsettias.

Poinsettia watercolor marketing material

California Congressman Bob Wilson presenting Ecke poinsettias to President Richard Nixon.

Flower Fields Alliance Members

From left to right: Joel Goldsmith, Goldsmith Seeds, Joseph Fischer,  Fischer Geraniums, Paul Ecke III, Tom Doak, Yoder Brothers, and Richard Goldsmith, Goldsmith Seeds. The Flower Fields Alliance included four independent flower breeders.

Shipping Bare Root Poinsettias By RailRoad

Picture taken at the Encinitas Train Station, in downtown Encinitas. Second from left: Charlie McCarver. Behind him: Ernie Ruth

Spring Flower Trial at Goldsmith Seeds, Gilroy

Goldsmith employees and members of the Flower Fields Alliance.

Paul Ecke III and Ricardo Campos, manager, Paul Ecke de Guatemala, with the "Exporter of the Year" award, Guatemala.

Paul Ecke de Guatemala Farm 1, near Antigua, Guatemala

Ricardo Campos, general manager, Paul Ecke de Guatemala (PEG) with employee, Andreas Kientzler, and Ludwig Kientzler of the Kientzler company in Germany (they licensed to the Ecke Ranch their New Guinea impatiens for the U.S.)

Paul Ecke Jr. and President Gerald Ford

Society of American Florists event.

Andreas Kientzler, Kientzler Company and Innovaplant with wife, presumably in Costa Rica

Paul Ecke III, Jim __, and Dennis __ from Syngenta plant brokerage company

Third from left: Mable (last name unknown). Far right: Blick Blinkenstaff, office manager

Industry Event

From left to right: Jim Mellano of Mellano and Company, Maureen Ecke (Paul Jr.'s wife), and Paul Ecke Jr. First the right: Bob Otsuka,  market manager for the San Francisco Flower Market, H. Michael Mellano of Mellano and Company, unknown, Monica Mellano, Jim's wife. 

Presumably members of the Hegg family (daughters of Franz Hegg), Norway. The Hegg family were partners of the Ecke Ranch in Europe for plant licensing.

Employee event at the Paul Ecke Ranch in Encinitas

Carlos (last name unknown)  range attendant at the Paul Ecke Ranch with Paul Ecke III. 

Encinitas Holiday Parade

Paul Ecke Sr. (Grand Marshall), Sara Ecke May, and Magdalena Ecke.

Paul Ecke III, Paul Ecke Jr. and Mrs. Amelita Ramos, first lady of the Philippines

Paul Ecke III (center), Mrs. Amelita Ramos, first lady of the Philippines (wife of Fidel Ramos), and Paul Ecke Jr. (right), with the rest of the delegation from the  Philippines.

Paul Ecke III and Mrs. Amelita Ramos, first lady of the Philippines

The Eckes first met with Mrs. Ramos at a poinsettia seminar in the Philippines. This picture was taken on her subsequent visit to the Paul Ecke Ranch. 

PLA booth at the Essen Trade Show, Germany

Paul Ecke III (left) at the PLA booth at the Essen Trade Show in Germany. PLA was an Ecke company based in Denmark that managed licensing for poinsettias and other crops around the world. 

Employees Cutting Poinsettias

Prior to the 1960s, Poinsettia sales consisted primarily of cut flowers.

Employees with field-cut poinsettias

Loading a truck with boxes of bare root poinsettias

Paul Ecke Sr. (lower right). This truck was presumably headed to the Encinitas Train Station to ship boxes of bare-root poinsettias. Customers would plant them and harvest cut poinsettias from them.

Ecke Ranch employees with a delegation from the Japanese Poinsettia Association at the Ecke Ranch House

Ron Cramer (left), Paul Ecke Jr.(right), with the Japanese delegation from the Japanese Poinsettia Association.

Bare-Root Poinsettia Work

Paul Ecke Sr. (left), William Dealy (right, without a hat). Bill Dealy was married to Ruth (Crix) Ecke, Paul and Magdalena Ecke's daughter. 

Staff of J&H Japan, licensing agent of the Paul Ecke Ranch, Inc. in Japan

From left to right: Teruo Takatomi, owner, Ron Cramer, Paul Ecke III, with J&H employees.

Kimie Kurashima

Kimie Kurashima's husband, Manabu, worked with the Paul Ecke Ranch to set up a plant patent act in Japan.

PLA Booth in Essen, Germany

From left to right: Lars Henriksen (general manager, PLA International, owned by the Paul Ecke Ranch), Ron Cramer (Paul Ecke Ranch), Paul Ecke III. Far right: Franz Fruehwirth (head poinsettia breeder, Paul Ecke Ranch)

Paul Ecke Jr. at an Event

Spring Flower Trial

From left to right: Andy Higgins (President, Paul Ecke Ranch, Paul Ecke de Guatemala), PEG employee, Andor Gerendas (head engineer, PEG), grower PEG, and Byron Calderon, (general manager, PEG).

Industry Event in Guatemala on March 25, 2004.

Left to right: Wife of Byron Calderon, Byron Calderon (general manager, Paul Ecke de Guatemala), unknown, Paul Ecke III, and Mayra (last name unknown), head of HR at PEG.

Paul Ecke III at an industry event in Guatemala.

Paul Ecke Jr. and Dr. Harry Tayama at an industry event

Paul Ecke Jr. and Dr. Harry Tayama, professor at Ohio State University (front right).

Chris Calkins at a customer's greenhouse.

Chris Calkins the manager of Carltas Company seen here at a customer's greenhouse.

Paul Ecke Ranch Poinsettias on the set of the Tonight Show with Jay Leno

Jay Leno and Hugh Grant.

Employees in front of the vacuum cooler at Farm 2, Paul Ecke de Guatemala

Ricardo Campos (right), general manager, Paul Ecke de Guatemala, in front of the vacuum cooler used to cool cuttings after harvest.

Paul Ecke Jr. with a group of Japanese flower growers

The picture was taken in Paul Ecke Sr. and Magdalena Ecke's backyard.

Construction of the office building at Farm 1, Paul Ecke de Guatemala

Ricardo Campos (general manager, Paul Ecke de Guatemala) and the engineer who helped design farm 1, near Antigua, Guatemala. 

Paul Ecke Jr. (left) at an event

Sales meeting at Paul Ecke de Guatemala, Farm 1

From left to right: Jamie Kitz (sales representative for Paul Ecke Ranch), Ricardo Campos (General Manger of Paul Ecke de Guatemala), Laurie Scullin (sales and marketing manager of Paul Ecke Ranch), and Joe (last name unknown) (sales representative for Paul Ecke Ranch). 

Christmas blooming poinsettia crop sales

Paul Ecke Jr. (right) and unknown woman

Employee event at the Paul Ecke Ranch in Encinitas

From left to right: Paul Ecke III, Kathy Liggett, and Blair Hoey.

Paul Ecke III (extreme right) at unknown event

Paul Ecke Jr. (left) and unknown woman

Paul Ecke Jr. at an event (front, wearing sunglasses).

Employee Event in Guatemala

Paul Ecke III in Denmark

Paul Ecke III (left), Lars Henriksen (manager, Ecke Ranch European license agency - PLA), the delegation from Sakata Corporation, Japan.

Paul Ecke III and the Flower Field Alliance.

From left to right: Joel Goldsmith, Joseph Fischer, Faith Savage (employee), Paul Ecke III, Tom Doak, and Richard Goldsmith.

Paul Ecke Jr. (right) with unidentified man.

Paul Ecke Jr. And Thony Maurer (Magdalena Ecke’s brother)

Paul Ecke Jr. and Thony Maurer (Magdalena Ecke's brother) at Barn 1, Paul Ecke Ranch in Encinitas. The boxes in the background are filled with bare root poinsettias to be sent by rail car across the country. The large scale on the right was used to weigh boxes for shipping. 

Julie Hampton (left) and Ruth Kobayashi

Julie Hampton (wife of Paul Ecke III) and Ruth Kobayashi who was the head flower breeder at the Paul Ecke Ranch. 

YMCA Roof Raisers Dinner at La Costa

Rollie Ayers (center, no jacket), Paul Ecke Jr. (right to Ayers), and Ed Harloff.

Paul Ecke Jr. presenting the ranunculus photograph to Edwin Frazee and his wife.

Carlsbad, California in the 1980s.

Paul Ecke Jr. (Right) with an Unidentified Man.

Paul Ecke Jr. (in plaid shirt and dark pants) in an unidentified location.

Paul Ecke Sr. in the Early Days of Field Production- 1930s.

Paul Ecke Jr. shaking First Lady Rosalyn Carter's hand at an event.

Paul Ecke Jr. (front, third from left), Dr. Harry Tayama, professor at Ohio State University, and Bob Maddux, friend and customer of the Paul Ecke Ranch at an event.

Paul Ecke Jr. And the Japanese Poinsettia Association (JPA)

Paul Ecke Jr. (front, center). The Japanese Poinsettia Association (JPA) was formed to get royalty income from Japan before a plant patent protection system was in place. Growers paid royalty to be able to grow Ecke poinsettia varieties, and got technical support from the Ranch.

Employees Working in the Greenhouse.

Photo of the Ranunculus Fields in Carlsbad, California in 1995.

Paul Ecke Ranch Employees Group Photograph in 2006

Paul Ecke Ranch Employee Group Photograph in 2005.

Poinsettias provided by the Paul Ecke Ranch, Inc. in the backdrop of a holiday telecast during Christmastime.

Dr. Marc Cathy, Dinah Shore and Paul Ecke Jr. on the Dinah Shore Show.

Paul Ecke Jr. promoting poinsettias on the Dinah Shore Show. The Ranch had to bloom poinsettias out of season to be featured on holiday shows as most Christmas shows were filmed in the previous summer or fall.