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Highlands Today

Agri-Civic Center Renamed For Ag Pioneers

Jasmina Meyer/Highlands Today

Elna Harris stands with her husband Bert Harris Jr. who was honored on Thursday with the renaming of the Agri-Civic Center to the new "Bert J. Harris Jr. Agricultural Center" in Sebring.

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By GARY PINNELL

Highlands Today

Published: November 14, 2008

Next time you're driving around Highlands County, look around.

There are signs everywhere of Bert Harris and the late Sam Polston, said their friends, Don Bates and Claude Howerton. But those signs are subtle.

Back in the 1960s, O.S. Polston, the county's soil and water conservation agent from 1950 to 1984, developed watershed projects like Istokpoga Marsh, along C.R. 621, where most of the caladiums are grown today, said Commissioner Bates.

Bert J. Harris Jr. came to Highlands County from the University of Florida in 1948 as the assistant county agent, and was known for his work improving cattle through breeding and forage. He encouraged better bull selection to produce premium calves.

On Thursday morning, Highlands County commissioners renamed the Agri-Civic Center the Bert J. Harris Jr. Agricultural Center. Inside, a plaque was unveiled naming the O.S. Sam Polston Auditorium. A ceremony was held at 11 a.m., and an invitation-only dinner was scheduled later Thursday at 4509 George Blvd.

Commissioner Andrew Jackson, who chaired the board in 1972 when the Agri-Civic Center was built, said it was always Harris's dream that a building be devoted to agriculture, "so it's entirely proper and fitting that we name this building today for Bert Harris Jr."

Before the Agri-Civic Center, the Soil Conservation Service was on the third floor of the county courthouse, which didn't have an elevator, said Polston's co-worker, Claude Howerton. The county agent's office was in the old post office basement, said Harris.

He remembered moving to the building on George Boulevard. "It was all above ground," a delighted Harris told the crowd Thursday.

"My wife," Harris said, motioning to Elna Harris, "told me to say mature, not old. So I feel mature seeing 4-H members who I worked with that are new granddads today.

Sam Polston

Polston was instrumental in the development of watershed projects such as the Istokpoga Marsh watershed project, the Jackson Creek Watershed Project as well as other watershed projects that helped to better manage both land and water resources in the county.

"He was the driving force in development of the Highlands County Chain of Lakes Project," said Tim Hurner, the current citrus agent, "which allowed for a connection between several lakes in the central portion of the county."

That allowed for better water control and conservation," wrote Hurner, who is currently in the soil and water office. Polston designed and introduced permanent irrigation in citrus groves in Highlands County beginning in the early 1960s. First were the permanent overhead irrigation systems and later the low-volume, under-tree, irrigation systems that were more water efficient and effective.

Homes in Sebring Hills and Sebring Lakes would be under water today, Howerton said, if not for those water control projects.

"You never saw him start a project that he backed off of," Howerton said.

Bert Harris Jr.

Harris improved pastures, which were coupled with native ranges. He introduced cattle forages to Highlands County and adapted their use to soil and pasture conditions.

The annual Highlands/Hardee Feeder Calf Sale, which he introduced and coordinated, attracted buyers from around the U.S.

Caladiums are a large part of Highlands County's economy, but only a small part of the state's agriculture, so Harris recruited Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researchers to work on problems. New varieties and improved growing techniques were developed.

Following his retirement in 1975 as an agriculture agent, Harris served 16 years in the Florida House of Representatives, representing Highlands and central Florida counties. His most notable achievement was the Florida Property Rights Bill.

Gary Pinnell can be reached at gpinnell@highlandstoday.com or 863 386-5828

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