About "Time" written with a capital letter
The collection of the Peters Upītis Horticultural Museum contains many exhibits. Among them are documents, letters, photographs, photographic equipment, work tools, household items and other things. Each of the exhibits is signed, registered in the museum's collection catalog and stored in a designated place. But do we ever imagine how much each of these exhibits can tell us? Each of them stores information not only about itself, but also about the Time, the way of life, the perception of the world, the person to whom it belonged.
We would like to show an object that carries with it the story of a great personality – Pēteris Upītis. An alarm clock that belonged to a breeder. This simple household item, which in itself is just a clock in a metal frame, symbolizes the passing minutes and hours, the flow of Time and reminds us of the brevity of life. Pēteris Upītis was a man who treated Time with great awe.
“ Out of respect and fear for Time – I write this with a capital letter .” (P. Upītis)
The house of the outstanding gardener and breeder had its own rhythm, which was not understandable and acceptable to everyone. More than one of P. Upīšis's friends said: " He devoted everything, absolutely everything to his work. " Work was truly P. Upīšis's faithful companion throughout his life. He was not familiar with lazy weekday evenings or holidays. He did not know what an 8-hour workday was, because he regularly and systematically worked 16, sometimes even 19 hours a day. Even in recent years, leaning on crutches, he worked 18 hours a day.
" I didn't go to the sanatorium this year because I don't have time. I think that work is like a rabbit, and it can run away ." (P. Upītis)
Sometimes it was difficult to get into his garden and house. Stories about Pēteris Upītis's inaccessibility and his dismissive attitude towards various unexpected garden visitors are still circulating among the people. It was characteristic of the breeder to distance himself from unnecessary information and people in order to work and create with full dedication. Due to the large amount of work, he simply could not and did not want to waste his time on unimportant things. Many did not understand the high demands of this hardworking man. He worked hard and his enthusiasm for work was so great that he could not find a common language with those who did not work with full dedication, giving all their time and energy.
Breeder Pēteris Upītis had an unimaginably high working capacity, from him we can learn the love of work and be inspired. His talent, genius and versatile personality are still like an unsolved mystery. Working with the museum's collection, researching and analyzing, we can only get closer to the truth about who this man was, whose life without a garden was unthinkable.
Image: Clock from the collection of the P. Upītis Horticultural Museum (PUPM-1396)