URN_NBN_SI_doc-WSDOAJ1R

450 Šolska kronika • 3 • 2015 Summary The teacher Franc Praprotnik: the father of fruit-growing in Mozirje Natalija Žižić In 2003, a fruit-growers' association was founded in Mozirje, whose aim was to bring to- gether on a professional platform all the supporters of sustainable and ecological fruit-growing from the broader Upper Savinja Valley area. Its aim is to spread awareness of the importance of the old small farmers' orchards as an integral element of our rural cultural heritage by means of exhibitions of domestic fruit, lectures and courses in and demonstrations of the practical skills of fruit growing employed in various orchards. At its founding, particular emphasis was placed on the life and work of a deserving inhabitant of Mozirje – the eminent headteacher Franc Praprot- nik, whose efforts were crucial in furthering the field of fruit growing in this area. This is also why the Association was founded precisely on the 70th anniversary of Mr. Praprotnik's passing and proudly carries his name: the Franc Praprotnik Fruit Growers' Association of Mozirje. Franc Praprotnik began his career as a teacher in 1874 in Selnica ob Dravi, continued it in Limbuš and in 1881 was appointed headteacher at the school of Device Marije in Puščava. After eight years, he moved to Mozirje, where he worked until his retirement as headteacher in 1915, after which he lived on his property in Brezje by Mozirje until his passing in 1933. As a pedagogue, he laid great store on clarity and creative writing skills in his lessons and considered the latter the best tool for mastery of one's native language. A very capable organ- iser, he was active in the Slovene Teachers' Associtation, and the teachers' associations for the Maribor area and the region of Gornji Grad, encouraging the teachers as a committee member and lecturer to write local chronicles, compile collections of folk literature, and to facilitate the development of fruit growing in their areas. A prolific writer himself, he contributed actively to the magazine Popotnik (The Traveller), particularly in its early years, and organized the com- pilation of folk songs for the Slovenian Literary Society. In addition to this he invented Slovene names for fruit tree varieties, helped Fran Erjavec compile a collection of Slovene plant names and contributed numerous word entries to Pleteršnik's Slovene-German Dictionary. His most important contribution however was in the field of fruit growing. Convinced that Slovene farmers could increase their yields significantly with a sensible and scientific approach to fruit growing and thus ease their lives at least a little, he stressed that it was necessary to first foster a love of fruit growing and then imbue people with the practical skills of the art. He encouraged interest in the field through lectures and essays and above all through the local and regional exhibitions he helped organize. Wherever he taught, he established tree nurseries, where he produced cultivars suited to the region - particularly apple and pear trees - and is credited with spreading fruit growing throughout the entire Drava, Upper Savinja and Saleška valley regions.