While in Santa Rosa at the weekend, I walked down to Luther Burbank Home and Gardens and sketched in the afternoon. It’s a pretty little place, and the old house is very sketchworthy. Burbank was an important botanist and horticulturalist who created/developed many species of plant and flower, as well as a famous potato. There’s a small chance I may be mistaken about this, but I think he invented Mr Potato Head. The site is in fact California Historical Landmark #234.
I also sketched a fire hydrant, because, you know, I’m collecting sketches of them. This one reminds me of a dalek. Perhaps it needs some Mr Potato Head glasses and moustache to cheer it up.
petescully 
No, he did not create Mr. Potato Head, but he did create a special baking potato.
I used to live near his house in Santa Rosa.
He helped some Olive Street neighbors plant the first park in Santa Rosa. The neighbors bought a plot of land where a development project was proposed. They decided they would rather have a park than a multi-unit development. That is really putting your money where your mouth is. There were no public parks in the city at that time. Burbank contributed plants and supervised the work.
The city later took over the park — Olive Park. The deed had a reversion clause — if the land ever stopped being a park, the property reverted to the original purchasers.