Naturalist Me

How I Became A Naturalist: I returned home to Freeport, Illinois from the US Army in May 1969. A friend from my boy scout troop, Jeff, served two tours in Vietnam as a medic, after which he also returned to Freeport, arriving a couple of months after me. About once a week he would call and say, "I can't take it anymore; you wanna go?" After spending a year in the boonies, crowds, busy intersections, honking horns, and other signs of civilization that differed from the jungles of southeast Asia seemed foreign to us. We felt more at home in the woods. So we'd head out. Often we built a fire and roasted hot dogs. Sometimes we camped. Jeff had a canoe, and on several occasions we paddled down Yellow Creek, which flows through Stephenson County, to find a spot we had not previously explored.

It was during these jaunts with Jeff that what I term my scientific curiosity kicked in. I remember the exact moment it happened. We had found a patch of woods we wanted to explore, and we tied Jeff's canoe to a tree, and scampered up a wooded hill. I was the first to reach the top--Jeff was still tying up the canoe--and came face to face with a mysterious bird in the lower branches of a pine tree. It looked at me calmly for a few seconds then flitted away. I was intrigued, wondering what this bird could be. The next day I bought a bird book, and carried it with me when we went to the woods. Soon I added tree and flower field guides, and carried all three books in a backpack.

I identified everything that stood still, and while doing so developed an appreciation for nature which hasn't faded after all these years; rather, it has snowballed. The things I learned led to further appreciation for the natural world, which in turn prompted the desire to learn more.

For the previous few years I had been making my living as a musician, but I was married with a child on the way, so it was time for more financial stability. I decided I wanted to work in wildlife management or ecology--something to do with the natural world I had come to love. My uncle, my mom's brother, was a forester in Virginia, and was offered an honorary PHD and became the Director of the Applied Forestry Research Institute, Syracuse University. I wrote to him for advice. He said I could study Ecology, Biology, or Wildlife Management, but from his experience most of the people doing work in those fields had Forestry degrees. So he recommended that I study Forestry, and at the worst I'd get a job related to what I wanted to do.

That made sense to me, so our small family moved to Carbondale, Illinois and set up housekeeping in a rented mobile home. I attended Southern Illinois University and earned a degree in Forestry (with Specialization in Natural Resources Management). That led to a career as a Park Ranger for the US Army Corps of Engineers, a great job from which after twenty-eight years I am retired.

The mystery bird? It was a Black-capped Chickadee. 

Family

I've been married for 43-years to a girl, the former Lonnie Ferrari, I met in Freeport, Illinois, my hometown.We have two grown sons and four grandkids. Our oldest son, an actor with a day job, lives in LA. He and his wife have a son and a daughter. Our younger son lives half an hour away, and is a musician, also with a day job. He has a son from a previous marriage, and he and his wife have a daughter.

My parents divorced when I was in my early 20s, and Mom remarried and moved to Tucson. Lonnie's parents retired, sold their house, and became full-time RVers. In the mid 70s they found themselves in Arizona where they stayed for the next 35-years. My mom and Lonnie's parents got together regularly while in Arizona.

Our two moms: mine on the left; Lonnie's on the right.

Family Trees:   Because of space limitations, five generations are shown although they go back a lot further. Ancestry research was conducted only on American shores, so flags of origin are used to denote immigrant ancestors.

Roger's Tree

Lonnie's Tree

The Hayes Line in Illinois:    The first Hayes to move to Stephenson County, where I was born and raised, was Lemuel, my great-grandfather. (My dad's middle name was Lemuel, but he didn't like it, so don't tell anyone.) Lemuel was born in Colesville, Broome County, New York. Records do not indicate why he left New York, but apparently he did so alone, and settled in Illinois. He lived for a time in Nauvoo, where he worked as a wagon maker. In the early 1850s, he moved north to Stephenson County, and purchased 110 acres, on which he established a farm. He married his neighbor's daughter, and the couple raised sixteen children, the youngest of whom was my grandfather, Ralph E. Hayes. The farm is located midway on a line extending from Lena to Stockton, and half a mile north of US Route 20. 

Lemuel's farm, identified by the white border:

As it appears today--well, make that last winter.

In April 2013 our family was together--with both sons and their families.

Zander 15, Miranda 2, Autumn 7, Arden 5

Musician Me

How it started:  When I was seven, my family visited my Uncle Hans and Aunt Helen at their home in Monroe, Wisconsin. After supper I explored his home, which was an intriguing log cabin. In a closet within view of the adults sitting at the table drinking coffee and chatting, I found a black instrument case. As the adults watched, I carefully pulled it from the closet and placed it on the floor. Opening the case revealed a banjo. Its intricate design and numerous parts captivated me, and I examined it for several minutes. Then without touching it, I closed the case and returned it to the closet. My parents took notice, and on my next birthday I received a ukulele--the one shown below.
It came with a pamphlet with tuning tips and charts showing about a dozen chords. A few songs with chords superimposed were in the booklet, and that got me started as it was designed to do. The first song I learned was "How Much Is That Doggy In The Window." Thankfully no audio clips from that era exist.

My first ukulele--1955

When I was 12 I added two lower strings and switched to guitar. That was a long time ago, and I recently returned to my ukulele roots after visiting my son in LA, and playing with his ukulele.

Here's me in my kitchen (good acoustics) performing You Make Me Feel So Young.

I also have a digital, multi-track recorder, and have recorded bunches of stuff, mostly from the 1940s, a period of music I have grown to love. My recording process is as follows: First I record my guitar (rhythm guitar). Next I record the lead vocal while listening to the guitar on track 1 in my headphones. Then I add harmony parts, bass, and a second guitar part if applicable. Then when it's all done, I re-record the lead vocal. At that point it's like singing with an orchestra rather than a guitar. It's more fun, and I can do better.

 Here's Moonlight Becomes You, from the 1942 film, Road To Morocco, starring Bob Hope and Bing Crosby.

Moonlight Becomes You

Note: after this song concludes, another starts, but it's not me. If I can find a way, I'll turn that feature off. Meanwhile, feel free to stop the song. 


Music from the 1940s: Back in the 70s I watched a televised mini series about World War II (the big one). In the soundtrack were songs from the period, some of which were by the Glenn Miller Orchestra. I knew just enough to recognize the sound of Glenn Miller, and considered it rather catchy.  A month or so later I found a double album--back in the LP days--on sale, and brought it home. When I put it on the turntable, I was surprised to hear vocalists; I thought it was mostly instrumental. I had a lot to learn. Or maybe relearn since we heard much of this music on our family radio when my siblings are I were kids.

I grew to appreciate the music I heard on that album, and eventually branched out to include Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Artie Shaw, and a few others. Since I was a musician, it was only natural to try to play some of the songs I heard via those albums, although the chord progressions are challenging at best.

Another of my favorites is this one, written for the 1941 film Sun Valley Serenade, set at a ski lodge and starring Sonja Henie, John Payne, Lynn Bari, and featuring the Glenn Miller Orchestra.

I Know Why (and So Do You)
 

Ohio Buckeye and Fall Colors