VOLUNTEERING

Ever wonder what it takes to keep a collection of unique books organized, usable, and available? Lots of stuff.
Here's some of the things that happen during a typical week here in the Bullis Room:

dusting
organizing files and documents
shelf reading
cataloging materials
maintaining the database
repairing books and materials
planning outreach
maintaining display case
researching
interpreting materials
planning publicity
transcribing account books and diaries
evaluating materials
numbering documents
cross-referencing ephemera in books and on data base

AND (equally important)

sitting at the round table or in one of these soft chairs, enjoying a book or some of the fascinating maps, diaries, and other documents that make up this collection.

The Bullis Collection cannot be maintained without the dedicated volunteers who donate their time and talents to its well-being. Come to think of it, that's true for our community...and country...and this world in which we live. Thank you, Volunteers, everywhere, for all you do and for just being there.

IN MEMORY OF...

...THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR US.

In Flanders Fields
by Lt. Col. John McCrae (1872-1918)

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
— Lt.-Col. John McCrae (1872 - 1918)



Local folks often recall the lush poppies Charlie Bullis grew in his garden. As he planted and tended these red symbols of sacrifice, could he have been remembering his comrades who died in World War I? We'll never know Charlie's reason for his choice of flowers, but it seems appropriate to us today.

When we make our traditional poppy purchases this weekend, let's remember Charlie Bullis, his WWI comrades and all those before and after who made that supreme sacrifice.

REMEMBERING ARMED FORCES DAY

Written by Nettie Bullis, November, 1944


HIS NEED FOR A GUN

He'd been playing war on the sitting-room floor,

He sprang to meet you, as you came in the door,

You told him that night as he sat on your knee

How the pirates of old had raided the sea.

And he told you that night how he'd make them run,

If you'd only buy him a little toy gun.


You went out to the store and bought him the toy,

For you realized then the need of your boy.

And now in a war far away from our shore,

In a danger far greater, his need is much more;

but the bonds you will buy on the way home tonight

Will help him tomorrow in winning the right.

THE RIVER

Follow the river as it winds and bends
thru hamlets and towns…

M
E
A
N
D
E
R
I
N
G
DOWN.

Follow the river thru shady green coves
Where in deep pools the bass lay low.

Follow the river thru cities bold
Where barges and boats ferry their load.

Follow the river as it rolls to the sea,
And calls to you, "follow me!"

For those of you interested in waterways, we suggest you stop by the display case outside this room and take a look at some Bullis books on rivers and canals.

These volumes cover local waterways, such as the 1901 STATE OF NEW YORK REPORT ON THE BARGE CANAL FROM THE HUDSON RIVER TO THE GREAT LAKES, and distant rivers, THE NATURALIST ON THE RIVER AMAZONS, an 1875 "record of adventures, habits of animals, sketches of Brazilian and Indian life, and aspects of the nature under the equator during eleven years of travel," written by Henry Walter Bates.

You'll also see a copy of THE RIVERS OF GREAT BRITAIN, (RIVERS OF THE EAST COAST), with illustrations and maps, published in London, 1889, as well as an 1896 copy of Mark Twain's THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN.

Also for you Mississippi River enthusiasts, a "must-read" is DOWN THE GREAT RIVER, published in Philadelphia, 1889, and written by William Glazier. This is a wonderful armchair trip "embracing an account of the discovery of the true source of the Mississippi together with descriptive views and pictorials of the cities, towns, villages, and scenery." Some of the towns and villages mentioned are St. Anthony, St. Paul, Davenport, Rock Island, Saint Louis, Vicksburg, and Fort Snelling.

This is the time of year to get out and enjoy our rivers and other waterways. We encourage you to begin the season in the Bullis Room.

GLIDING AND SAILFLYING

We wrote about the natural flying creatures in our last two postings. Now our attention turns to one of the many man-made flying objects--gliders. And how to build and operate one.

If you want a complete ground course on operation and construction of gliding and sailflying, then here's a book just for you: HENLEY'S ABC OF GLIDING AND SAILFLYING. It's edited by Victor W. Page, Major-U.S. Air Corps Reserve and has 72 illustrations with drawings and instructions for building a primary training type glider.

Henley Publishing Company published this book in 1930, and way back then for the price of $1.50 (bound in paper) or $2.00 (bound in cloth) you could have read a brief history of gliding and soaring "with motorless airplanes" as well as bird flight and its relation to sailflying. You could also have read about popular German and American gliders and soaring planes as well as how to form a glider club, select terrain for gliding, and train glider pilots. And you could have found more books on the subject from the dust jacket list "New Aviation Books Covering All Phases of Operation or Servicing of Modern Airplanes."

Almost 80 years later, this book sits on Shelf GG5 in the Bullis Room, a bit warped from the 2001 water damage but still offering an entertaining and informative look-through, even for those of us who prefer to keep our feet on the ground.

THE ROBIN

Today is sandwiched in between yesterday's Earth Day and tomorrow's Arbor Day. We celebrate these two occasions by sharing with you Charlie Bullis's poem "written and read Arbor Day, May 4, 1906," when he was 14 years old.

THE ROBIN, by C. R. Bullis

In the bright days of early spring
A robin from the south took wing
Thrilled by memories of the past
He flew to the north straight and fast
Through the pale ethereal blue
Unto his native land he flew
Through the bright day and starlit night
He proceeded in his long flight.
At last all wearied from his flight
As the first rays of the sun's light
Appeared over the eastern hill
At home on a pine he sat still.
For a few weeks he flew about
In every tree and bush and out
And in the balmy evening air
His song resounded clear and fair
And floated up to the pale moon
And died away very much to soon.
His singing soon brought him a mate
And they sang together in state
On a swaying evergreen bough
Never chriping his song enow
Until warmer the day did grow
Melting away the lingering snow
And birds became more numerous
The robins grew less humorous
They worked two or three bright days
And constructed a little maze
Of dry grass interlocked and round
With fine feathers all lined and downed
They constructed their little nest
On a brace high above their pest
The cat that goes prowling around
And catches young birds near the ground
Soon two little blue eggs were laid
In the warm nest all in the shade
In due time the blue eggs were hatched
The robins taking turns to scratch
And sit and search for grubs and slugs
And juicy angle worms and bugs
It was a busy time indeed
With two small gaping mouths to feed
But the robins tended them well
And their forms began to swell
When the sweet hay was being mown
I looked and the young birds had flown.

BIRDWATCHING

HOORAY for bird migration! Twice a year, thanks to this behavior, we get a glimpse of birds not usually seen at our backyard feeders or on area hiking trails.

The sight of these visitors may send us fumbling through our worn copies of Peterson's field guide. With only the basics, however, we may have difficulty deciding whether we've spotted a Northern Woodpecker or his black-back, three-toed cousin. Fortunately, there are more extensive sources of bird information right here in the Bullis Room that can help us identify these winged friends.

William T. Hornaday, author of THE AMERICAN NATURAL HISTORY (published by Charles Scribner in 1914) dedicated part of Volume II and all of Volume III to birds. Both these volumes (along with Volumes I and IV) are on the shelves, waiting for you to stop by and take a look. Besides a wealth of information on birds, these volumes are filled with illustrations which include some striking color plates of the Passenger Pigeon, Roseate Spoonbill, Emperor Penguin, White-Headed Eagle, and Bobolink. Also included is a full-page "Landscape Chart Of The Orders of North American Birds." There is detailed information on families, orders, and species of birds and also information about the cause of decreasing bird population, which was a concern to bird lovers in 1914 and continues to be today.

Those of us into literature as well as birds might want to spend some time with John Burrough's book, BIRDS AND POETS WITH OTHER PAPERS (Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1877). This volume includes poetry by Wordsworth praising the nightingale and the lark and Burroughs describing the wonder of a pine warbler along with some of the poetical bird references of Coleridge, Emerson, and Cowper.

On the other hand, those of us who are detail-oriented will get a full serving in Samuel Lockwood's ANIMAL MEMOIRS, PART II, BIRDS (published by Ivison, Blakeman and Company, 1888). We can learn about the anatomy of a feather, the mechanism of a wing, and lots of other fascinating facts about birds in general.

The book that has a little bit of "all of the above" is OUR BIRDS IN THEIR HAUNTS, A POPULAR TREATISE ON THE BIRDS OF EASTERN NORTH AMERICAN (published by S. E.
Cassino & Company, 1884). The Rev. J. Hibbert Langille chose this poem to grace his title page:

How pleasant the life of a bird must be,
Flitting about in each leafy tree;
In the leafy trees, so broad and tall,
Like a green and beautiful palace hall,
With its airy chambers, light and boon,
That open to sun and stars and moon,
That open into the bright blue sky,
And the frolicsome winds as they wander by.
Mary Howitt.

In his preface, Rev. Langille stated: "I have tried to meet a wide demand never yet met in this country--to have a book on birds for everybody. I write almost entirely from personal observation, incorporating in my work a full report for Western New York and the adjoining regions of the Great Lakes, and a pretty full report for Nova Scotia; also a good deal of direct information from Hudson's Bay, by means of an excellent correspondent." A cursory look at this book confirms that indeed it is a bird book for everyone, everywhere, anytime.

If one or more of these books interest you, we invite you to stop by the Bullis Room and take a look at them. And may we wish you an enjoyable birdwatching season.