Cyril Bish, 84, ‘Godfather of Nut-Growing’
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Cyril Bish, a Nebraska nut enthusiast and retired county extension agent, died March 23. He was 84.
Stan Matzke, a nut grower from Bennet, called Bish “the godfather of nut-growing in Nebraska.”
Bish worked to create hybrid nut trees capable of surviving Nebraska winters, and he helped develop black walnuts with large kernels. He was fondest of the walnut, but he also focused on pecans, hazelnuts and hickory nuts.
He served as president of the Nebraska Nutgrowers Association and the national Northern Nutgrowers Association.
