description

Birds of Western Lake Erie..., was Milton B. Trautman's last publication. In it he shares over half a century of his observations and notes concerning the birds of western Lake Erie, which accounts for a total of 223 species.  The book was compiled from the author's daily diaries and check lists of birds by species and numbers, which were initiated in his early adulthood and continued throughout his lifetime.  The notations have been supplemented through relevant publications and conversations with ornithologists, personnel associated with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, residents at Lake Erie, managers of marshes, former market hunters and sportsmen, wildlife writers, fellow birders, and many others.  The writing was initiated in the spring of 1977 and most of the manuscript was completed before the death of his wife and scientific collaborator, Mary (Auten) Trautman.

The manuscript was re-read during the summer of 2001 by Professor John M. Condit and Jennifer Matthews, then a graduate student at the University of Ohio, and made additional corrections.  John revised the scientific nomenclature to agree with the present-day accepted names of the birds, and upgraded this information using the 7th edition (1998) of the A.O.U. Checklist of North American Birds. This edition does not list subspecies, so only the specific name of each bird is used in this book. 

about the authorS

Milton Bernhard Trautman (1899-1991), a self-taught student of natural history who became an internationally known ornithologist and ichthyologist, authored two books prior to his death, The Birds of Buckeye Lake, Ohio (1940) and The Fishes of Ohio (1957, revised 1981).  Both books were considered models in their disciplines as they were meticulously executed.  Milton was born in Columbus, OH, a sickly child.  He attended elementary school, but by age 14 his illness prevented him from further formal education. Tutored by his parents, Milton developed a passionate interest in birds. During the next 17 years, despite his illness, he became quite skilled in his father's successful plumbing business and qualified as a master plumber. At age 29, following intestinal surgery, his health promptly improved.  Museum curators James S. Hine and Edward S. Thomas, and professional zoologists and ichthyologists Edward L. Wickliff and Raymond C. Osburn, tutored Milton on field and library research and to write and publish the results.  He was employed by the State of Ohio Department of Fish and Game from 1926-1934. Subsequently, he was appointed assistant curator of fishes in the Museum of Zoology at the University of Michigan and assistant director and research biologist for the Michigan Department of Conservation (1934-1939), research biologist at the Franz Theodore Stone Labroatory of the Ohio State University (1939-1955), curator of vertebrates in the Ohio State Museum of the Ohio Historical Society (1955-1970), and curator of birds in the Ohio State University Museum of Zoology (1070-1991). Milton received an honorary Ph.D. from the College of Wooster in 1951.

Mary Auten (1898-1986) met Milton in 1939 while attending an evening lecture at the F.T. Stone Labroatory on Gibraltar Island, Ohio. She was born in Rawson, Hancock County, Ohio, and was a graduate of nearby Bluffton College. Mary received a Ph.D. in entomology from the Ohio State University, and later became an assistant professor of biology at Ashland College. The Trautmans were married in 1940. Mary relinquished her college teaching career and research interests in entomology to devote her efforts to Milton's research on fishes, which led to the completion of both editions of his award-winning book, The Fishes of Ohio. Together, they published an "Annotated list of the birds of Ohio" in 1968.

In 1974, he Trautmans were the first husband and wife team to be inducted into the Ohio Conservation Hall of Fame, and they were the first team to be awarded Honorary Doctor of Science Degrees by the Ohio State University in 1978.

Linking Ohio Geology and Botany

Papers by Jane L. Forsyth

Compiled by Ronald L. Stuckey

2003.  8.5 x 11.25" inches, xiv + 338 + 7 pp.
B&W photos, maps, and tables, 5 color plates
Hardcover, Stuckey-2

$49.95  (0-9668034-7-7)

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description

Linking Ohio Geology and Botany is an illustrated book of 48 papers and 18 abstracts by Dr. Jane L. Forsyth, Pleistocene Geologist and Professor Emerita of Geology at Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio.  This book is a collation of Jane's scientific and popular papers published from 1956 to 1998 on the geology of Ohio in the United States. The major theme emphasized is her genuine interest in basic geology, Pleistocene geology, soils, and the exciting relationship of plant distribution and natural vegetation to geological phenomena in Ohio.   The book also contains a reprint of Jane's abstract titled "Geology, the Basis of Ohio's Biodiversity," published in 1998, which is perhaps the best and most succinct summary statement on the theme of this book.  Linking Ohio Geology and Botany was compiled by Dr. Ronald L. Stuckey, Professor Emeritus of Botany, Ohio State University.

about the author

Jane L. Forsyth was born November 9, 1921 in Hanover, New Hampshire, the daughter of a Mathematics professor at Dartmouth College. As a child, she hiked the New England woods, learning from her father how to identify the different flowers, trees, birds, and animals seen along the way, which became the basis for her life-long interest in geology. 

In 1943, Jane received a B.A. in Geology at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, followed by her Masters in Geology at the University of Cincinnati in 1946.  From there she taught geology at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, University of California, Berkeley, Adams State Collage in Alamosa, Colorado (during the summers), and the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio before earning her Ph.D. in Geology at OSU in 1956.  From 1955-1965, Jane was a Pleistocene Geologist for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Ohio Geological Survey, in Columbus. From 1965-1968 she taught Geology at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio, and retired from Bowling Green State University in 1992.  She also worked as a research associate at the Ohio Historical Society in Columbus from 1967-1970. 

She is the author of at least 62 known scientific and popular papers, 50 abstracts, 20 field trip guides, 12 geologic maps published independently, and 21 book reviews on various aspects of geology, mostly pertaining to Ohio. Jane loved to teach college students and lecture to amateur groups about the geology of Ohio.

Bibliography and Archival Guide to the Writings of

Edwin Lincoln Moseley

Compiled by Ronald L. Stuckey, with the assistance of Relda E. Neiderhofer

2003.  7 x 10" inches, 650 pp.
32 color photos, 263 line drawings
Hardcover, Stuckey-3

$19.95  (no ISBN)

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description

Edwin Lincoln Moseley was college professor with an eccentric personality, developer of original teaching methodologies, and a keen observer as a scientific investigator. He was a man of diverse interests who garnered the attention of popular writers and newspaper reporters. Moseley was a frequent subject of magazine and newspaper articles, and via those media, his popularity and fame spread widely. During the 1940s, Paul W. Jones of the Bowling Green State University news bureau continually wrote and distributed press releases about the man's unusual peculiarities and scientific research. The University, itself, was responsible for his popularity, while at the same time the institution gained wide recognition as a growing research university moving toward shedding its teacher college image.

The Bibliography and Archival Guide to the Writings of Edwin Lincoln Moseley is an attempt to list all of the known written contributions, as well as those of other authors, who wrote about or interpreted Moseley's writings to professional scientists in journals or to the general public in magazines or newspapers. The bibliography as compiled here, therefore contains more than only the writings by Moseley.  Copies of nearly all of these writings by and about Moseley and his work have been assembled by Ronald L. Stuckey as an archival file deposited in the manuscript collection at the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center in Fremont, Ohio.

about the author

Edwin Lincoln Moseley (1865-1948), a pioneer in outdoor natural science education, taught students science at Sandusky High School in Sandusky, Ohio, from 1889 to 1914. Between 1914 and his retirement in 1936, and until his death in 1948, Moseley served Bowling Green State Normal College, now Bowling Green State University, as its first professor of science. His title was truly accurate for he was a one-man science depart-ment, and member of the institution's original faculty.  Here he taught all of the sciences and some related subjects, including astronomy, biology, chemistry, geography, geology, hygiene, physics, philosophy, and sometimes courses in English, Latin, and geometry. Within these disciplines, Moseley conducted original research and reported what he learned to students, professional scientists, and the general public. These efforts were achieved by making presentations at meetings and scientific organizations, by giving lectures to students and general audiences, and by publishing the results of his efforts in a multitude of scientific journals, popular magazines, and local newspapers.

Edwin Lincoln Moseley

Naturalist, Scientist, Educator

by Relda E. Neiderhofer and Ronald L. Stuckey

1998.  7.25 x 8.75" inches, xxvi + 291 pp.
B/W photos and illustrations, index
Hardcover, Stuckey-4 

$34.95  (0-9668034-2-6)

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description

Edwin Lincoln Moseley was born March 29, 1865 in Union City, Michigan, attended public schools, and graduated at the age of 15.  In 1885, he graduated with the degree of Master of Arts from the University of Michigan, the youngest member of the class of 82 students. He began his teaching career at Central High School in Grand Rapids, MI, and taught science and mathematics. After a University of Michigan scientific expedition to the Philippine Islands for 12 months,  Moseley continued to travel widely in China and Japan. In 1889, he was appointed teacher of science at Sandusky High School, in Sandusky, OH, and opened a museum of natural history in the high school. He continued to teach and learn his entire life and published numerous scientific papers, and became nationally known for his accurate long-range weather forecasts.

Until the publication of this book, no book has been written on the life of Edwin Lincoln Moseley (1865-1948).  Moseley was probably the most widely known (and the most colorful) member of the original faculty of the Bowling Green Normal School, now Bowling Green State University. He has been recognized for his wide scientific qualification, his popular and numerous field trips, his frugal habits, his financial support of students, and the many legends generated about him--attributes of Moseley that have become the focus of this book.

Unlike most biographies, which are written in a chronological sequence, this book presents Moseley's life by topics, developed in 20 chapters.  Information presented here is based on writings by people who knew Moseley personally (college presidents, former students, and local friends).

about the authorS

Relda Elaine (Grunder) Niederhofer was born April 15, 1928 in Creston, Ohio, and graduated from Creston High School in 1946. She earned a B.S. in Education in 1950 and an M.S. in Education in 1956 from Bowling Green State University. Her high school teaching experiences included Pontiac, MI; Mansfield, OH; and Sandusky Public Schools (from 1953 to 1965). In 1957 Mrs. Niederhofer taught part-time for Bowling Green State University, Sandusky Academic Center as a full-time instructor in 1969, and assistant professor at Firelands College in 1983. After 40 years of teaching, she retired Emerita in 1991. Niederhofer's research includes medical history and horticultural therapy. She has had a horticultural therapy program for geriatric residents at Erie County Care Facility since 1982. Her interest in Moseley has resulted in publications and presentation. She became interested in Moseley as an undergraduate working on Moseley's museum specimens. Campus stories depicted Moseley as an eccentric professor who made tomato soup from hot water and ketchup. Teaching the the Sandusky-Huron area afforded her an ideal location to interview Moseley's students to gain a better insight into his life and achievements. She married James W. Niederhofer in 1952, the couple had a daughter, Sandra (Niederhofer) Douglas. Mrs. Niederhofer was widowed in 1997.

Ronald L. Stuckey was born January 9, 1938 in Bucyrus, Ohio. His first 18 years were spent in Lykens Township in Crawford County as a self-described "country farm boy." Stuckey graduated as valedictorian from Lykens High School in 1956, earned a B.S. cum laude in Biology from Heidelberg College, Tiffin, OH, in 1960, and his Ph.D. in Botany from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 1965.  From 1965-1991 he served as Professor of Botany in the Ohio State University, Columbus, where he taught courses in Local Flora, Aquatic Flowering Plants, and Plant Nomenclature. Stuckey is an internationally recognized authority on the identification and geographical distribution of aquatic and wetland plants in North America. He has also written extensively on the botanical history and exploration of eastern North America. Stuckey is past president of the OSU Chapter of Sigma Xi, the Ohio Academy of Medical History, and the Ohio Academy of Science. Stuckey is a recognized authority on the contributions and lives of the botanists of Ohio. Stuckey is the author of more than 100 scientific journal papers and several books. His initial interest in Moseley came from his mother, who completed an elementary teaching program at Bowling Green College, and from his use of Moseley's "Sandusky flora" while studying the flora of the Erie Islands at the F.T. Stone Laboratory.

Predicting Droughts and Floods:

Edwin L. Moseley's Essays on Long-Range Weather Forecasts

With Stuckey's Commentaries and Rainfall Predictions

Compiled and Edited by Ronald L. Stuckey

2005.  7 x 8.75" inches, xiv+ 180 pp.
B/W photos and illustrations, index, chronology
Hardcover, Stuckey-5

$29.95  (0-9668034-7-7)

Click here to buy this book

description

This book is a compilation of most of the known written contributions of Edwin Lincoln Moseley's investigations in meteorology from 1903 until his death in 1948. His concentrated effort in this discipline was developed over the last 13 years of his life beginning in 1935, one year before his retirement from active teaching. During this time, Moseley was (1) making detailed studies of tree-ring widths obtained from logs and stumps of trees, (2) recording water levels of Lake Erie and the other Great Lakes, (3) collecting accounts of the floods along the Ohio River, and (4) compiling the amounts of rainfall at various locations, especially in Ohio, but also throughout mid-western United States. From these data he derived rainfall cycles and made long-range weather forecasts. Moseley developed the theory that the amount of rainfall in most areas of the interior of the North American continent repeats itself in cycles of 90.4 years, or four times the period of the magnetic sunspot cycle. In this endeavor, Moseley became widely known in the popular press for his successful weather forecasts.

The book is organized in four sections.  Section I is an overview of Moseley's contributions as a weather forecaster.  Section II, Parts 1 and 2, contain the main components of this book, including 20 of Moseley's essays on weather forecasts and ten commentaries reprinted from newspaper articles. Part 3 contains Stuckey's commentaries that confirm and verify Moseley's predictions for each year from 1938 to 1976, by comparing them to the actual weather facts and rainfall amounts recorded for each of these years in the publications Monthly Weather Review, Climatological Data National Summary Annual Volumes, and Weather of U.S. Cities. Section III is a list of Moseley's writings on meteorology and long-range weather forecasts, taken from Stuckey's book, A Bibliography and Archival Guide to the Writings of Edwin Lincoln Moseley (2002). And, Section IV reproduces the biographical sketch of Edwin Lincoln Moseley (1865-1948) by Ivan E. "Doc" Lake taken from Stuckey's book, A Bibliography and Archival Guide to the Writings of Edwin Lincoln Moseley (2002).  Moseley preferred Lake as his biographer to any other newspaper writer because of his careful concern for accuracy.

about the author

Ronald L. Stuckey was born January 9, 1938 in Bucyrus, Ohio. His first 18 years were spent in Lykens Township in Crawford County as a self-described "country farm boy." Stuckey graduated as valedictorian from Lykens High School in 1956, earned a B.S. cum laude in Biology from Heidelberg College, Tiffin, OH, in 1960, and his Ph.D. in Botany from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 1965.  From 1965-1991 he served as Professor of Botany in the Ohio State University, Columbus, where he taught courses in Local Flora, Aquatic Flowering Plants, and Plant Nomenclature. Stuckey is an internationally recognized authority on the identification and geographical distribution of aquatic and wetland plants in North America. He has also written extensively on the botanical history and exploration of eastern North America. Stuckey is past president of the OSU Chapter of Sigma Xi, the Ohio Academy of Medical History, and the Ohio Academy of Science. Stuckey is a recognized authority on the contributions and lives of the botanists of Ohio. His initial interest in Moseley came from his mother, who completed an elementary teaching program at Bowling Green College, and from his use of Moseley's "Sandusky flora" while studying the flora of the Erie Islands at the F.T. Stone Laboratory. Stuckey is the author of more than 100 scientific journal papers and several books, including Edwin Lincoln Moseley: Naturalist, Scientist, Educator (authored with Relda E. Niederhofer) 1998, and A Bibliography and Archival Guide to the Writings of Edwin Lincoln Moseley (2002).

E. Lucy Braun (1889-1971):

Ohio's Foremost Woman Botanist

Her Studies of Prairies and Their

Phytogeographical Relationships

Compiled by Ronald L. Stuckey

2005.  7 x 9.75" inches, xxii + 240 pp.
B/W photos and illustrations
Hardcover, Stuckey-6

$24.95  (0-9668034-4-2)

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description

To create this book, Ronald L. Stuckey combined biographical information on the life and work of Dr. E. Lucy Braun with her studies of the prairie and other herbaceous flora of south central and southwestern Ohio.  Braun is referred to by Stuckey as "Ohio's Foremost Woman Botanist."  She was a most respected colleague, indefatigable worker, and original thinker in the fields of plant ecology, vascular plant floristics, plant geography, and plant conservation leading to the establishment of nature preserves.

The book is organized in three  parts.  Part  I is the biographical portion and consists of a reprint of Stuckey's 1973 paper on E. Lucy Braun that appeared in The Michigan Botanist. As an introduction to that contribution, he selected the abridged article "Memories of E. Lucy Braun" by Lucile Durrell, published in the Proceedings of the Sixth North American Prairie Conference  held in 1981.  Part II contains five journal papers written by Braun on the topics of prairies in unglaciated Adams County, Ohio, the phytogeographical relationships of the prairie plants, and the geographical affinities of other floristic elements of both unglaciated south central Ohio and the Illinoian Till Plain of glaciated southwestern Ohio.  Part III is labeled "Notes on Prairie Preserves in Adams County, Ohio," and is comprised of the reprinting of four guide booklets written on these prairies. These accounts contain information on the historical acquisition, geological setting, general ecology, names of plants, descriptions of trails, and a map of each preserve.

A section on "Remembering E. Lucy Braun," written in 2001, 30 years after her death, is a recollection of how Dr. Edward G. Voss and Ronald L. Stuckey came to know of her. This section is placed at the front of the book and also features several photographs of Lucy and her sister Annette at different ages in their lives.

about the author

Ronald L. Stuckey was born January 9, 1938 in Bucyrus, Ohio. His first 18 years were spent in Lykens Township in Crawford County as a self-described "country farm boy." Stuckey graduated as valedictorian from Lykens High School in 1956, earned a B.S. cum laude in Biology from Heidelberg College, Tiffin, OH, in 1960, and his Ph.D. in Botany from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 1965.  From 1965-1991 he served as Professor of Botany in the Ohio State University, Columbus, where he taught courses in Local Flora, Aquatic Flowering Plants, and Plant Nomenclature. Stuckey is an internationally recognized authority on the identification and geographical distribution of aquatic and wetland plants in North America. He has also written extensively on the botanical history and exploration of eastern North America. Stuckey is past president of the OSU Chapter of Sigma Xi, the Ohio Academy of Medical History, and the Ohio Academy of Science. Stuckey is a recognized authority on the contributions and lives of the botanists of Ohio. His initial in prairies in Ohio began to take focus, when during the planning meeting for the Sixth North American Prairie Conference, Charles C. King, the conference coordinator, asked Stuckey  to present the history of the development of Transeau's concept of the Prairie Peninsula in addition to editing the conference proceedings. Guest speakers who had pioneered in the study of Ohio's prairies included Paul B. Sears, Robert B. Gordon, and Milton B. Trautman; as well as those who could speak about these pioneer investigators: Edward S. Thomas on Edgar N. Transeau  and Lucile Durrell on E. Lucy Braun. These historical accounts of the Ohio prairies and their investigators became part of the conference proceedings and were published.

Women Botanists of Ohio

Born before 1900

by Ronald L. Stuckey

1992.  7 x 10" inches, x + 67 pp.
B/W photos and illustrations, references, appendix
Softcover, Stuckey-7

$14.95  No ISBN

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description

This book has two entirely different purposes. First, it is an essay (on even numbered pages) concerning the contributions to the discipline of botany by 18 Ohio women botanist and one librarian, all who were born before 1900.  A list of 90 names of women who were involved with botany in Ohio are in Appendix I. Two botanists born later are also included, because the book is dedicated to their memory. Second, it is a unique compilation of 14 different calendars (on odd numbered pages) which cover all possible dates between the years 1776 and 2028. These calendars are a handy ready reference for determining future dates necessary for planning events at the office of in the home. They also serve as a ready reference for dates of the past that occurred in the course of the nation's history, in one's own personal life, or among associated family members. The calendars further provide a means to determine what day of the week a particular birthday or event occurred.

about the author

Ronald L. Stuckey was born January 9, 1938 in Bucyrus, Ohio. His first 18 years were spent in Lykens Township in Crawford County as a self-described "country farm boy." Stuckey graduated as valedictorian from Lykens High School in 1956, earned a B.S. cum laude in Biology from Heidelberg College, Tiffin, OH, in 1960, and his Ph.D. in Botany from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 1965.  From 1965-1991 he served as Professor of Botany in the Ohio State University, Columbus, where he taught courses in Local Flora, Aquatic Flowering Plants, and Plant Nomenclature. Stuckey is an internationally recognized authority on the identification and geographical distribution of aquatic and wetland plants in North America. He has also written extensively on the botanical history and exploration of eastern North America. Stuckey is past president of the OSU Chapter of Sigma Xi, the Ohio Academy of Medical History, and the Ohio Academy of Science. Stuckey is a recognized authority on the contributions and lives of the botanists of Ohio. His interest in the history of botany began in 1962 while he was a graduate student at the University of Michigan. Dr. Edward G. Voss, his major professor, and Dr. Rogers McVaugh, curator and senior research professor, encouraged that  interest. After his appointment as Assistant Professor in Botany at the Ohio State University, Stuckey came to admire the botanical writings on the Ohio flora by Dr. E. Lucy Braun, and in the early years following her death in 1971 published her biography and list of publications. As his research continued during the 1970s on nineteenth century Ohio Valley botanists of the opposite gender, he also kept information on other women who had engaged in botanical work about that time.

Lost Stories:

Yesterday and Today at Put-in-Bay

Including Theresa Thorndale's "Island Jottings" of the 1890s

by Ronald L. Stuckey

2002.  7 x 8.75" inches, xvi + 180 pp.
B/W photos and illustrations, index, notes
Hardcover, Stuckey-8

$29.95  (0-9668034-5-0)

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description

Reading stories from century-old newspapers can be fun, interesting, and informative. It is anticipated that these "lost" stories will bring back memories from past eras and provide a contemporary and factual account of what happened at various points in time at selected sites on South Bass Island, Lake Erie, Ohio.

 Lost Stories is a collection of previously printed accounts revealing past happenings, for the most part, on those properties now owned by the State of Ohio at the village of Put-in-Bay on South Bass Island. These articles, printed in the book from their original source, appeared as early as 150 years ago in newspapers published in Sandusky, Ohio. The principal source is the Sandusky Register, a daily and weekly newspaper that has appeared under various other names since its establishment in 1822. The majority of the articles are from the 1890s when Miss Lydia Jane Ryall was Put-in-Bay's news correspondent to that paper. Mss Ryall's articles were written under her pseudonym, Theresa Thorndale.

Theresa Thorndale's articles described activities at the Hotel Victory, the Lighthouse, the Cincinnati Fishing Club, the United States Fish Hatchery, and the Forest City Ice Company.  All of these venues have been acquired by the State of Ohio.  Miss Thorndale also wrote on the activities of the first biological survey of plants and animals in Lake Erie waters, which was conducted from the United States Fish Hatchery, and gave a vivid description of Peach Point after taking a tour of that peninsula in 1894.

about the author

Ronald L. Stuckey was born January 9, 1938 in Bucyrus, Ohio. His first 18 years were spent in Lykens Township in Crawford County as a self-described "country farm boy." Stuckey graduated as valedictorian from Lykens High School in 1956, earned a B.S. cum laude in Biology from Heidelberg College, Tiffin, OH, in 1960, and his Ph.D. in Botany from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 1965.  From 1965-1991 he served as Professor of Botany in the Ohio State University, Columbus, where he taught courses in Local Flora, Aquatic Flowering Plants, and Plant Nomenclature. Stuckey is an internationally recognized authority on the identification and geographical distribution of aquatic and wetland plants in North America. He has also written extensively on the botanical history and exploration of eastern North America. Stuckey is past president of the OSU Chapter of Sigma Xi, the Ohio Academy of Medical History, and the Ohio Academy of Science. Stuckey is a recognized authority on the contributions and lives of the botanists of Ohio. Stuckey's first acquaintance with South Bass Island came in 1959 when he was an undergraduate at the Franz Theodore Stone Laboratory, studying the flora of the Erie Islands. It was during this time that he began collecting postcards, published papers, and books on the subject of Bass Island.