Date: 1/11/25 4:49 am From: Mary Phalan <ma.phalan1...> Subject: Re: The Day We Took President Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Birdwatching
I'm particularly tickled that he came to my childhood stomping grounds:
Alan Seeger. I loved that place and still do.
On Sat, Jan 11, 2025, 6:47 AM Georgia Shalek <gshalek...> wrote:
> What a wonderful experience, and how interested and nimble they were.
> They represent everything we would hope to have in our leaders.
>
> On Fri, Jan 10, 2025, 12:39 PM Grove, Deborah Shuey <dsg4...> wrote:
>
> > Some people wanted to know more about the details of our morning with the
> > Carters. I just sent an article to our local newspaper . Of course the
> > paper will have a photo that I cannot attach through this listserve.
> >
> > The Day We Took President Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Birdwatching
> > By Deb Grove
> >
> > On Memorial Day 2005 we took the Carters birdwatching at Alan Seeger and
> > Bear Meadows Natural Areas in Rothrock State Forest in Huntingdon and
> > Centre counties. How did it happen? I read an article by President
> Carter,
> > “The Remarkable Rio Grande Valley”, in the September/October 2004 issue
> > Bird Watcher’s Digest.
> > I knew that he and Rosalynn had been coming to the Harpster farm near
> > Spruce Creek for many years for fishing and relaxation. In fact, Harpster
> > met Carter in 1978 when a member of the Spruce Creek Rod and Gun Club
> > invited him to come and fish. I decided that they needed to see some
> > Huntingdon County birds. So I stuck my neck out and sent him a letter.
> > In the letter to the Carters I mentioned that he was very close to great
> > birding in Huntingdon county and that we had 23 species of breeding
> > warblers. Then I forgot about it. So I was really surprised when I got a
> > call from the Carter Center telling me that the Carters were
> interested! A
> > decision was made to come on Memorial Day May 30, 2005.
> > In preparation I can’t remember the details of us being checked out but I
> > do remember the scouting trip with the Secret Service agent to Alan
> Seeger
> > Natural Area and other sites that we would be visiting. We arrived at the
> > area and walked the trail through the rhododendrons and beyond on the
> spur
> > to Detweiler Run valley.
> > On the way we talked about what we would be doing and he was really
> > surprised when he found that his phone did not work deep in Rothrock
> > Forest. One more thing to work out.
> > After he dropped me off, he told me he had to go to each hospital in the
> > area which included Mount Nittany in State College, Lewistown Hospital,
> and
> > Blair in Huntingdon.
> > Before the date we would be getting together, I scouted Alan Seeger
> > Natural Area, a site nearby where Northern Goshawks had nested, and Bear
> > Meadows Natural Area. In particular, I was looking for Canada Warblers,
> > Black-throated Blue Warblers, Black-throated Green Warblers, Louisiana
> > Waterthrush, Blackburnian Warblers, and Hooded Warblers among others. Of
> > course, I had birded in the area many times so I was fairly confident of
> > finding some of these species.
> > The morning came and my husband Greg, son Lewis and I drove to the
> > Harpster farm, arriving about 5:30 am. And there he and Rosalynn were!
> Off
> > we went back over Tussey mountain, the fourth and last in line following
> > big black SUVs. We went to Alan Seeger Natural Area not far from our home
> > at McAlevys Fort. No one was out to see the little convoy.
> > At Alan Seeger we were introduced to the Carters and went off down the
> > trail. The main bridge was broken from floods and with some of the boards
> > missing. A Secret Service agent offered to help the Carters, Rosalynn at
> 77
> > years and the President at 80, but they declined assistance. The Secret
> > Service agent who had driven me to check out the area had said that she
> was
> > the better at fishing and could scramble up and down the banks of a
> creek.
> > So far, no sounds from the expected Canada Warblers, usually at the
> > beginning of the trail.
> > It was about 46 degrees, very cold for a Memorial Day, and likely the
> > reason for the lack of bird activity. The cold stayed with us along the
> > rest of the trail with few of the expected birds moving or singing.
> > Our visitors did enjoy the Rhododendron tunnel and the old hemlocks
> lining
> > the trail. (When we moved to McAlevys Fort in 1985, there was still a
> 1000
> > year old tree standing and another close by on the ground, now long
> gone).
> > We finally emerged on Standing Stone Road with depressingly few birds in
> a
> > place and an area where there should have been much activity and bird
> song.
> > President Carter spent a lot of time talking to Lewis about what he did,
> > including his degree in Nuclear Engineering, and telling him about some
> of
> > his own experiences. He mentioned his book “An Outdoor Journal:
> Adventures
> > and Reflections” and said he would send Lewis one. And one arrived not
> long
> > afterward.
> > We crossed the road to the spur to Detweiler, hoping to find one of the
> > Hooded Warblers usually in that area. Nothing. We did see someone coming
> > down the trail towards us and it turned out it was one of the Secret
> > Service men who had circled around to check out the area. Then one of the
> > others motioned to Greg and pointed whispering… Yes it was a Dark-eyed
> > Junco! Finally a bird!
> > Then we went on up to Bear Meadows where we finally found a Hooded
> > Warbler, a new bird (a “life-bird”) for them and Rosalynn was happy.
> There
> > was also a colorful drake Wood Duck on a limb of a dead tree with a hole
> > behind it. President Carter regretted not bringing his camera and
> remarked
> > about what a beautiful bird it was.
> > At one point a van drove past, the only vehicle we would see, and if
> > the driver had looked to his left, he would have seen Carter with his
> > famous grin standing less than a yard away. Rosalynn then declared that
> she
> > was really cold (in fact, she appeared to be shivering!) and wanted to go
> > back to the farm and sit in front of a fireplace and warm up. I wanted a
> > photo of us, but how do you ask? Then President Carter said How about a
> > picture? Of course!
> > So ended our Birding Trip with the Carters. Up until then, I had been
> > calm about the whole experience but after they left, I suddenly felt
> > butterflies. We left the area and went to the Waffle Shop in State
> College
> > to warm up and talk over what had just happened.
> > Few of us get a chance to spend time with our heroes but when we do, the
> > experience soars high in our memory.
> > A special thanks to my husband Greg Grove for helping me remember the
> > details of our morning and edit this story.
> >
>
