Merrill Ann Clark
Born: in St. Charles, Illinois
Connection to Illinois: Clark grew up in Elgin. Biography: Merrill Ann Clark grew up in Elgin, Illinois and graduated from St. Charles High School, then went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in Communications from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. There, she met her husband, John CLARK, and they were married in 1959. They moved to Berkeley, California, where John earned a PhD in biochemistry and then they took a road trip to Boston where John had a position waiting for him at MIT. They had their first child in Boston and then John got a job at Notre Dame, and they moved to Michigan, living in various locations until starting a 1500-acre organic farm in Cassopolis Michigan in 1980. Merrill was a devoted environmental activist, and always made sure her voice was heard. She was then on the National Organic Standards Board in 1992 which was the first group of people to determine what the term "organic" would really mean.
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Dandelion Roots Run Deep: An Environmental Memoir ISBN: 835095759D OCLC: BookBaby 2024 "Dandelion Roots Run Deep" is the true story of three generations of Midwestern women who "nevertheless persisted". The book focused primarily on Merrill Clark, who fought for organic agriculture and Michigan's environment from 1967 - 2009. Merrill worked on this book for years, but then developed Alzheimer's in 2010 and her daughter Merry finished it for her. The story traces Merrill's background in Illinois, her marriage to John Clark, and their harrowing cross-country trip before launching their ultimate mission: starting an organic farm in 1980. Merrill Clark then became a charter member of the National Organic Standards Board in 1992, and she describes the struggles involved In the first efforts to define "organic" on the federal level. The dandelion analogy works on many levels in this book: the family roots, the roots being part of the solution to climate change, and the roots that connect to other issues that underlie the lived experiences of these three women. "Dandelion Roots Run Deep" will appeal to lovers of Wendell Berry, Rachel Carson, and Aldo Leopold, environmentalists, women, and anyone dealing with Alzheimer's. |