Date: 1/11/25 3:47 am From: Georgia Shalek <gshalek...> Subject: Re: The Day We Took President Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Birdwatching
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.
>
