WESTMORELAND CONSERVANCY NEWSLETTER
www.westmorelandconservancy.org
October 2006
Editor: Shelly Tichy (724) 325-5523 newsletter@westmorelandconservancy.org
2006 Community Day
The 2006 Murrysville Community Day was held Saturday, August 26th at the Municipal Complex on Sardis Road. The Municipality provided shuttle buses to and from parking areas and ran a smooth production.
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Our
theme this year for the Conservancy booth: RESERVE RESIDENTS.
The Westmoreland Conservancy does much more than protect land from development.
Protecting the land preserves habitat for both flora and fauna.
Our plan was to illustrate how such protection provides for a multitude
of life as well as allowing people a place to enjoy that same land.
We had nearly 100 laminated photographs of things found on and around
our reserves: gray foxes, owls, assorted fungi, butterflies and moths,
cicadas, various insects and plant life.
Bill Powers of Pix Controller, Inc. generously offered the services of his company to monitor sites on several of the Conservancy properties. Motion-activated digital cameras were installed in secluded areas of the reserves and left to photograph resident wildlife over a 3-day period. The digital media was donated to the Conservancy and Mount & Jan Fitzpatrick put together a great display showing rabbits, raccoons, a gray fox and several deer.
Lisa Hyland led walking tours of the Potter’s Corner Reserve throughout the day. Potter’s Corner is adjacent to Sloan School property.
Photo Shoot Outings
There are several of us within the Conservancy who enjoy photography,
eager to crawl over hill and dale in search of interesting things to
capture on film or memory card. This October we have scheduled a few
excursion dates: Friday, 10/13 at Linn Run. Sunday,
10/15 at Pleasant Valley Park at 1 PM. Monday, 10/16:
Ghost Town Trail. Even in the midst of winter there are breathtaking
views and abundant activity to photograph. If you are interested in
joining us for one of our adventures, feel free to e-mail us at: contact@westmorelandconservancy
“The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased, and not impaired, in value."
Theodore Roosevelt
In Memory of Clara Feibelman
I can tell you that the Conservancy is the one thing in Mom's life that she took great pride in as far as 'conventional accomplishments' go. Strangely enough, I think she always felt 'less smart, less accomplished' than others in the traditional sense (even though as you and I both know, her worth was immeasurable in all the ways that really count). But I know that she felt great pride and accomplishment in being part of the Conservancy from the very start. It is a force that is accomplishing things that she believed in passionately, and she felt she truly played a part in it. I can't begin to tell you how much the Thank You award that was given to her meant to her - I guess you probably know that.
The whole family that was there on Saturday visited the Kellman property in the late afternoon that day. I had not been there before. What a beautiful and peaceful place - and how nice to see the plaque for her dear friend Jim Dunbar. And the woods were so quiet and lovely. I truly sensed her spirit there - she did so love the woods.
Ann Barkley
Clara Fiebelman is the reason I sit on the Board of Governors and have enjoyed a memorable 14 year relationship with the Westmoreland Conservancy. I believe it was sometime in the late spring of 1992 that I got a telephone call from Clara asking if I'd be interested in the Board of Governors. I had long been a member of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and had been following the Kellman property story in the Penn-Franklin, but I had no idea how I could be of any use to the WC. But, as most of you know, it was hard to say no to Clara. Her friendly diplomatic approach always left the door open to say no, but you'd suffer a guilt complex if you did. I agreed to come to the meetings on a trial basis. Fred Shirland made me feel very much at home and I finally found a niche. I have Clara to thank for getting me involved with a group of very talented conscientious people and I have been very proud to serve.
I had met Clara years before the WC formed through the Audubon Society and local bird club of which Clara was a member. She invited me to give a talk at her home on the mammals of Pennsylvania to a group of her friends. I was still teaching and came with all my mammal skins and skulls. It was a pleasant evening and we talked on the phone ever after that about the animals and plants she was seeing in her garden. I was always jealous of her green dragon (a plant related to "Jack-in-the-Pulpit") that she always ribbed me about. She often called with bird and insect questions or told me about unusual sightings around Murrysville she had heard about. Our last telephone conversations occurred this past summer about a crossbill someone in town had seen and that members of the Audubon Society had verified it. Neither of us were able to track down which species of crossbill it was.
I will much miss the telephone calls from Clara. I frequently dropped in on her when I was in Murrysville to pick up an animal specimen she had saved for me in her freezer or a plant she wanted to give me. Her pet basset hound was the friendliest dog I have ever known, and I've often wondered if that dog didn't pick up some of Clara's congeniality. Sometimes dogs reflect their owners. She had a most charming way of winning people over to the conservancy cause. She will be missed both as a friend and valuable member of the WC.
Dick
Byers
One of the
rewards for participating in volunteer
organizations is the opportunity to witness the
enthusiasm, vision and dedication that people can muster for causes
they believe in. Clara Feibelman
personified the best of this tradition. She loved
nature and was determined to preserve as much of it as possible. Clara
was a founding member of the
Westmoreland Conservancy and an active board member for many years until
health limitations prevented regular meeting attendance. Not to be dissuaded,
she became "Corresponding Secretary" sending notes of welcome
to new members and reminding current members that their membership dues
were due. If someone were ill, Clara would send a get well card. She
became the Conservancy's historian creating order out of the stacks
of paper that document our progress over the years. She never said "no"
to any request and couldn't resist volunteering for jobs that must have
pushed her to the limit, all without a word of complaint. Clara became
the conscience of the organization. Our own "Miss Manners"
if you please. Scarcely a Board Meeting goes by without some reference
to something Clara has done or might have been willing to do.
Don Harrison
One of the benefits of being President of the Westmoreland Conservancy turned out to be the necessity of walking up the street in order to talk with Clara about membership details and about her work as Corresponding Secretary. She was always smiling; always ready to laugh.
Clara showed a great concern for the well-being of the Conservancy, ready to help with letters, suggestions, membership dues or with anything else that needed to be done.
As a naturalist Clara derived great pleasure from observing the backyard wildlife as viewed from her kitchen window. She loved showing Scott’s pictures of the flying squirrel gliding toward the bird feeder, or to regale interested visitors with her account of the squirrels that took over the house.
Clara seemed to know most of the residents in Murrysville, only had good things to say about the people she knew and in turn she was loved by all who knew her.
Thank
you, Clara, for your presence!
Mount Fitzpatrick
Clara was the type of individual who left an indelible mark on every person she met. It was my great fortune to have met her through the Conservancy. Her friendship was the most wonderful gift. The tea, the talks, the laughter, the comfort. . . Clara shared so much of herself so freely. I can only hope to be such a person.
She
has left her mark, not only upon friends and neighbors, but on Murrysville
itself through her efforts and involvement in the Westmoreland Conservancy
and other interest groups. You need only look at what has been preserved
to witness an amazing legacy to which she, Jim Dunbar and so many others
with vision made such lasting contributions.
Shelly
Tichy
Clara had
suggested that a great holiday gift for loved ones might be an annual
membership to the Westmoreland Conservancy.
Membership information appears
on page 4.
Editor’s note
I continue
to challenge our membership to let us in on your experiences with and/or
observations of nature. Is there a bird or some wildlife that visits
frequently? Do you have a photograph or a story to share? We’re interested!
Send your stories and pictures to : Westmoreland Conservancy, P.O. Box
446, Murrysville, PA 15668 OR email them to newsletter@westmorelandconserva
The following photograph was sent by a friend. Can anyone identify this covey of birds?
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Who Made
These Tracks?
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What about these?
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Answers on page 4.
Can you find these around
your home?
Westmoreland Conservancy
P.O. Box 446
Murrysville, PA 15668
contact@westmorelandconservancy
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Schedule of Upcoming Events
Friday, October 13th: Photo Outing at Linn Run. Contact for meeting information
Sunday, October 15th: Photo Outing at Pleasant Valley Park. I PM. Meet at parking lot.
Monday, October 16th: Photo Outing at Ghost Town Trail. Contact for meeting information
Wednesday, October 25th: Monthly meeting
Wednesday, November 29 * Holiday Schedulend: Monthly meeting
Wednesday, December 27th: Monthly Meeting
hghghghghghghghg2006 Board of Governors/Officers
Officers: President – Mount Fitzpatrick
Vice President – Shelly Tichy
Secretary – Doug Bauman
Treasurer - Bjorg Granger
Governors: Dick Byers, Lisa Hyland, Mark Emerson, Joanne Kendall, Richard Wagner, Cary Bohl, Doug Siler, Hank Kendall
The meetings are open, and we look forward to seeing you there. Meetings are held the 4th Wednesday of each month in the Municipal Room of the Murrysville Library at 7:30 pm.
The next Newsletter is scheduled for January 2007.
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Westmoreland
Conservancy
An all volunteer, non-profit, 501c-3 Corporation dedicated to acquiring and preserving rural and rustic lands for the public good.
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Westmoreland Conservancy
Membership Application
P.O. Box 446
Murrysville,
PA 15668
Membership
Levels
Individual...................…
Family........................
Business membership...………..40.00
Additional Donation…….$_________
Name__________________________
Address_______________________
City__________________________
State _________ Zip Code__________________
e-mail________________________
For your
convenience, you may also renew your membership or give donations through
our website at www.westmorelandconservancy.org
Tracks: White-tailed Deer, Red Fox
