Connections between the department of horticulture, George Washington Carver, and Youth and Shelter Services (YSS) will be the subject of a seminar this Thursday.

Sponsored by the department of horticulture and YSS, the seminar, “J.L. Budd: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow,” will tell the story of a home in Ames recently added to the National Register of Historic Places, said Bill Graves, professor of horticulture.

Will Page, a historian from Des Moines, will speak about the history of the Budd home and George Washington Carver.

Page was hired through collected donations to conduct research on the history of the home and have it placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

George Belitsos, chief executive officer for YSS, will speak on the current use of the home.

Located at 804 Kellogg Ave., the Budd home was built in 1888 by J.L. Budd, said Ray Benter, public information officer for YSS.

Budd’s daughter, Etta, was instrumental in bringing Carver, Iowa State’s first African-American student, to the campus, Belitsos said.

Although Carver lived on campus for the majority of his time at Iowa State, he stayed at the Budd home for a short time, Belitsos said.

Historical records show Carver visited the home frequently, even after he moved out.

“It was under professor Budd that [Carver] became interested in horticulture, and [Budd] was [Carver’s] mentor,” Belitsos said.

The home has been operated by Youth and Shelter Services since 1981. It was chosen because of its large size and non-clinical feeling. Youth and Shelter Services restored the home to its original floor plan, Benter said.

“[Youth and Shelter Services] is the current owner of the home, and we run a drug rehab facility there,” he said.

Twenty-five recovering adolescent alcoholics and drug addicts live in the home where they receive treatment, Belitsos said.

The home honors its tradition of “being a place for young people to grow and to have a new start and to have a future,” Belitsos said.

Benter said the home is a comfortable environment for family members, who are integral to the recovery processes of adolescents with chemical addictions.