When my husband asked me if I would like to go see the Peterson Centennial Exhibit in Jamestown, NY yesterday, my brain scrambled to think of who he was talking about. Nope, I didn’t know who this person was. Funny because I was wanting to buy one of his books the day before at Borders but thought I’d wait and ask for it at Christmas. I thought the Peterson guides (about birds, wildflowers, trees, etc) were put out by a publishing company (which is more or less true now) and didn’t realize that the late naturalist, author and artist was Roger Tory Peterson of Jamestown, NY.

I don’t know how this knowledge escaped me. My husband left the RTPI (Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History) website up on our computer for me to see. He also left the browser tab opened to the Audubon Magazine website that shows Peterson’s career highlights and a tribute to this wonderful naturalist and artist. (It turns out we just missed the Living Bird Magazine editor-in-chief and author of The Grail Bird: Hot on the Trail of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker that gave a presentation at this institute just a few days before.)

We were on the road about 1 PM heading to NY state and the Peterson Centennial Exhibit. It really isn’t all that far, about an hour’s drive and slightly less than 50 miles from Erie, PA.

The building was beautiful, done in craftsman style.

What we saw inside was breathtaking. There were about 50 of Peterson’s original works of art used in his field guides, stamps and other items, the equipment he used to paint and photograph his specimens, his Presidential Medal of Freedom he received from the president, even some of his antique 2000 bird-skin collection that he purchased from John D Smith of the Boston Natural History Society. (These birds were collected and prepared back in the 1800s, some by army surgeons in Texas and alongside the Arizona frontier.) I learned he actually was an artist-in-residence at Falling Water (a Frank Lloyd Wright home) at one time.

I took lots of photographs. They can’t begin to show you the detail you can see when you look at the paintings in person. You really need to see it in person to appreciate the work he has done. Don’t miss this one! The exhibit closes October 15, 2008.

I’ll be adding photos over the next few days of our trip to RTPI.
Detail of one of Peterson’s paintings below. Click here for part one of slideshow.

For 3 days starting January 3, 1917, at what was the New York Central Passenger Depot on Peach Street in Erie, a railroad car was parked selling people cheap Indian land in Oklahoma which was suppose to be rich with oil. I wonder how many people bought the land? I did a search and it seems Oklahoma’s oil is still going strong so it must have been true at least in parts of Oklahoma.

When I’m driving around Erie and see some of the mansions and family estates I often wonder how in the world did these people get that rich? Of course I always suspect drugs :-) but just perhaps a few invested in the Oklahoma Indian land deal. Oklahoma didn’t become a state until 1907 and 10 years later they are selling off the Indian’s land that is full of oil? Maybe all the Indian casinos everywhere are making up for it.

The Erie Daily Times

We are on the board of directors of the “Friends of the Erie Wildlife Refuge.” The board members have talked about getting a tour of all the sections of the refuge and we finally had it happen last Monday evening. It was wonderful and informative and now we understand so much better what is involved with the refuges. Tom Roster manager of the Iroquois Wildlife Refuge in New York, who oversees the Iroquois and the Erie Refuges, was down to take half the group and Patty Nagel from the Erie Wildlife Refuge took the other half.

Some of the refuge used to be farmed by neighboring farmers and is now being brought back to a more natural state. Some native trees have been planted and invasive species pulled out. It is interesting to see how much it has grown in just a year or two. They really have their work cut out for them managing the wetlands, grasslands and woods. I found it most interesting that they don’t maintain a constant level in some of the ponds. They fluctuate the water levels during the season to provide a more natural habitat for the plants and birds.

The Erie Wildlife Refuge is foremost for migrating birds but there is an abundance of wildflowers, plants and other animals to see.

On the way back to the headquarters we stopped at Dave’s Place for ice cream cones. The whole tour was a great experience. The members are all wonderful people and we really enjoyed it.

Wild Cardinal Flower