ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Acknowledgments

I discovered Chester A. Reed in the fall of 1976. I was looking for information on bird nests and eggs. My first book written by Chester was “North American Birds Eggs,” a revised version edited by “Dover Publications” in 1965.

In January 2009, I wanted to learn about Chester A. Reed’s life. I was preparing a website on bird nests and eggs. At first, I discovered that there wasn’t any information on his life. At that point, in May 2009, I started my research.

Jean Mayo

Many people contributed to my research. Among these people, I have to highlight Jean Mayo’s generous contribution (New Hampshire). Jean is a genealogy specialist. She agreed to help a stranger by doing a genealogy research, with very little information to start. She is the first person who gave me a glimpse into Chester’s life.

In a only few months, Jean realized the arduous task of tracing the Reed family tree back to 1502.

Most importantly, Jean was able to find one of the last Reed descendants. Without her precious help, Chester A. Reed’s life would probably still be in cardboard boxes.

Thank you very much, Jean!

Gail Berkshire

Gail Berkshire and John A. Gibbins are the last descendants of Chester A. Reed’s family. Here is a summary of their family tree, starting from Carrie, Chester’s mother:

Gail lives in New Jersey. She agreed to meet me twice and allowed me to consult the Reed family archives. She allowed me to scan many documents that I used to analyze Chester’s life and to get the information for this website.

During my research, Gail provided me with missing pieces of information and gave me, on a few occasions, originals of Chester’s books that were kept in the family archives.

Gail gave me access to the family’s archives without restrictions and trusted me fully. I am very grateful for her help. She is the keeper of the Reed family’s history.

Thanks a lot, Gail!

And many others…

I sent over 200 emails for opportunities to find the smallest pieces of information that would help me know more about Chester A. Reed.
Among these people, many have replied and, in their own way, directly contributed to the preparation of this website.

Mark V. Barrow, Jr.
Associate Professor
Department of History
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, Virginie

Note: Mr. Barrow is the author of the book “A Passion for Birds, American Ornithology after Audubon,” Princeton University Press. He generously agreed to answer my questions. He introduced me to people who played an important role in my research.

Mary LeCroy
Dept. Ornithology
American Museum of Natural History
New York, New York

Note: Mrs. LeCroy provided me with communications between Mr. F. M. Chapman and Charles and Chester Reed. This information was crucial to discover an important part of Chester A. Reed’s life.

Janet Hinshaw
Bird Division Collection Manager
Museum of Zoology
University of Michigan
Michigan

Note: Mrs. Hinshaw allowed me to get important information only accessible in the original “American Ornithology for the Home and School” magazines.

Margaret Anderson
Reference & Processing Archivist
Archives & Special Collections
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Worcester, MA

Note: Mrs. Anderson researched in the Institute’s archives to provide me with information about Chester A. Reed’s years in the electrical engineering program.

Andrew P. Coughlan
Bird Studies Canada
Québec, Canada

Note: Mr. Caughlan didn’t hesitate to support my efforts with stakeholders in the United States.

Travis Rosenberry
Library Assistant
The Peregrine Fund
Research Library
Boise, Idaho

Note: It would have been impossible to analyze Charles K. Reed’s marketing strategy in the magazine “The Oologist” published by Frank H. Lattin without Mr. Rosenberry’s precious help. He helped me determine the precise date of Charles K. Reed’s arrival in his new boutique on 75 Thomas Street, in Worcester.

Frederic Burchsted
Research Librarian, Services for Academic Programs
Widener Library
Havard University
Cambridge, MA

Note: Mr. Burchsted provided me with pieces of information about Carrie B. Reed’s life, Chester A. Reed’s mother.

Betsy Loring
Manager, Exhibits and Collections
EcoTarium
Worcester, MA

Note: Mrs. Loring designated a volunteer in their organization to help with my research.

Ed Plotkin
Volunteer ecotarium
Worcester, MA

Note: Volunteer from the “EcoTarium” museum, previously named the “Worcester Natural History Society.” He searched the museum’s archives for information.

Elaine Pajka
Friends of Hope Cemetery
Worcester, MA

Note: Mrs. Pajka is a volunteer at the “Hope Cemetery”. She did research on Chester A. Reed’s tombstone and provided me with pictures of his tombstone.

Maryon Côté
Liaison Librarian
McGill Library
Québec, Canada

Note: Mrs. Côté did research in the University’s old books.

Alan Marble
President of the Forbush Bird Club.
Worcester, MA

Note: Mr. Marble let me explore the Forbush Bird Club’s archives

Barton D. Kamp
Treasurer/membership
secretary of the Forbush Bird Club.
Worcester, MA

Note: Mr. Kamp provided me with important information about Chester’s and Charles Reed’s 1932 honors. “Reed Ornithological Library”»

Bianca Lipscomb
Biodiversity Heritage Library, Collections Coordinator,
Smithsonian Institution
Washington, D.C.

Note: Mrs. Lipscomb scanned and put one of Charles K. Reed’s books on their website to help with my research.

Robyn Christensen
Worcester Historical Museum
Librarian
Worcester, MA

Note: Mrs. Christensen allowed me to focus my research with people in the Worcester region.

Wayne R. Petersen
Director, Massachusetts Important Bird Areas (IBA) Program
Massachusetts Audubon
Massachusetts

Note: Mr. Peterson allowed me to contact other organizations in ornithology.

Scott W. Gillihan
Executive Officer
American Ornithologists’ Union

Note: Mr. Gillihan researched the archives of “The AUK” and provided me with important information on Chester A. Reed’s life.

Joy Hennig
Local History and Genealogy Librarian
Worcester Public Library
Worcester, MA

Note: Mrs. Hennig researched the library’s archives about Chester A. Reed’s life in the community of Worcester.

Bonnie Conant
General Society of Mayflower Descendants
Plymouth, MA

Note: Mrs. Conant provided me with archived documents about Carrie B. Reed’s involvement in the “Society of Mayflower Descendants” and in the Reed family history.

Thomas W. Bergstrand
Sunday News Editor/Chief Librarian/Archives Editor
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Worcester, MA

Note: Mr. Bergstrand researched the Worcester Sunday Telegram’s archives and allowed me to get the only interview made with Mertice Reed, Chester’s daughter, published in July 1960.

Peter Nelson
Archivist
Amherst College Archives and Special Collections
Amherst, Massachusetts

Note: Mr. Nelson allowed me to get a copy of the copyright page in the first “Bird Guide” written by Chester A. Reed, published in 1905. Mr. Nelson is the curator of Mr. R. Soffer’s ornithology ancient books collection.

Richard Soffer
Collector of ancient books in ornithology.

Note: Mr. Soffer gave his impressive collection of ancient books in ornithology to the Amherst College. He was introduced to ornithology by Chester A. Reed’s “Bird Guides” in the 1940s. Mr. Soffer read and commented on a large portion of my texts. His help was very important and he created the “For the Most Curious” section on this website. For more information about his collection: The Soffer Ornithology Collection The Soffer Ornithology Collection

Rosanna Speller
Office Manager
Public Operations
The Academy of Natural Sciences
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Note: Mrs. Speller researched the Academy of Natural Sciences’ archives in Philadelphia about the photography of bird eggs in “Great AUK,” evaluated at $50,000 at the time. The egg was still kept at the museum, but not accessible to the public.

Joan LaChance
Mohonk Archivist
New Paltz, New York

Note: Mrs. LaChance confirmed with me that the “Mohonk SalesRooms” was the “Mohonk Mountain House” gift shop at the time. The organization didn’t know that they had owned the editing rights of some books published by Chester A. Reed in 1912.

Michelle Arcand
Artist in the art of paper
Beauce, Québec

Note: Mrs. Arcand commented on the cover page of Chester A. Reed’s gift books published in 1912. The book covers seemed to use a glue bath technique, which would result in a different look for each book published.

Jessica Dugal, Jonathan Saba et David Guillemette
Graphisme and programming of Web Site

CyberCap
Montréal, Canada

 

Valerie Levert-Gagnon
Translation of the texts
Ottawa, Québec

A long work which required much perseverance.

 

Note : A huge task…

Josée Campeau
My wife, for all the hours that I dedicated to my project.