At 7:00 p.m. on April 7, 2009, the Coastal Bend Audubon Society will feature On the Wings of Cranes at their monthly meeting. For details proceed to AUDUBON

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Reasearching, writiing and publishing books has its ‘ups’ and ‘downs’, but a few words of praise go a long way to grease the skids. Best of all, comments by scholars and critics assist potential readers.
On the Wings of Cranes has only three published reviews. More will soon be forthcoming and posted. Comments from reviews on ‘Wings’ empasize the book’s subject and his role in advancing our natural world. Since Larry Walkinshaw was never a household name among amateur birders, that is completely understandable. Review highlights include:

“A true Citizen-Scientist…” of ornithology and comservation.

“…Walkinshaw make(s) this book a page-turner” a “Hero of American Ornithology”

Walkinshaw was “the exampler of the term ‘Citizen Scientist’”

Your ‘WINGS’ copy will arrive within a few days after ordering directly from the publisherHERE.

La Charrette, has had more review comments. They focused more on my writing style and related techniques. A collage of them proceed as follows:

“La Charrette transports the reader back in time…”

“…an easy to absorb presentation….”

“…a facinating story…meticulously researched….”

“A delicately crafted, absorbing account…”

“This is an important book and recommended.”

It too may be purchased directly from the publisher. Your copy is waiting HERE.
Both books may be ordered by calling the publisher at 1-800-288-4677.

The Wildlife Volunteer of Michigan’s Wildlife Conservancy published the following article in their January-February 2009 issue on page 4. Picture credits belong to Mark Weldon of Fort Wayne, Indinia, Larry Walkinshaw’s companion. The article’s title, subtitle and a picture introduce the story.
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Biography of LAWRENCE WALKINSHAW based on the new book On the Wings of Cranes: Larry Walkinshaw’s Life Story

Lawrence Harvey Walkinshaw (1904-1993) …Who accomplished more, and for longer than any, to save three endangered species

Caption: Dr. Lawrence Walkinshaw was called by some “The greatest bird nest finder of all times.” Here Walkinshaw is seen with one of 600 sandhill crane nests he found, mostly in Michigan. [Michigan Sandhill Crane nest number 307, shown here, was located in Moscow Township, Section 24, T5S, R1W, in Hillsdale County on May 6, 1980.]
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Walkinshaw was born to Calhoun County, Michigan pioneer families on February 25, 1904. Birds fascinated him by age “five or six”, he said. After attending a one-room school, Bellevue High School and Olivet College, he earned an Honors degree in dental surgery from the University Michigan. Dr. Walkinshaw started a dental practice in Battle Creek in 1929. His practice spanned forty-years concurrent with leadership in Boy Scouts of America, Battle Creek Lions Club and three Michigan Dental Societies. In 1931, he and Clara May Cartland married. The Walkinshaws had two children James and Wendy.

Recognized as “The Father of International Studies of Gruiformes” in 1975, ‘Walkinshaw’ and cranes became synonymous. The Walkinshaw Wetlands, a 4,500-acre preserve within the Huron-Manistee National Forest and The Walkinshaw Award, the highest recognition attainable for crane scientists are among his honors. He served as Wilson Society President (1958-60) and held offices in Michigan’s Audubon Society and other ornithological organizations.

Walkinshaw, however, was not into honors or officiating. His passion was saving endangered species with knowledge, and by aiding worldwide habitat restoration. His forte was stalking reclusive birds from the Artic to Africa seeking nests to reveal their secrets. Presidents of leading ornithology societies proclaimed him the “greatest bird-nest finder of all time“and the “model” life history scholar on cranes, warblers and sparrows. Fieldwork for this self-financed amateur birder began before sunrise… tabulating data, typing and editing late into the night. He published nearly 400 works.

Larry considered the 1941 establishment of Michigan Audubon Society’s Baker Sanctuary his greatest achievement. Greater sandhill cranes numbered fewer than forty nesting pairs in the US in 1931 when Larry first discovered a nest there. He proclaimed it “a sight of cranes that completely changed my life.” He published The Sandhill Cranes (1949) followed by The Cranes of the World in 1973, both landmark volumes. These and related works established the foundation for all future crane saving programs. Five-thousand or more Sandhills now roost at Baker Sanctuary during CraneFest each October.

His whooping crane rescue efforts were as intimate as with sandhills. Rather than accept leadership of the bi-national Audubon Society research program in 1947, he instead volunteered. He searched for their Canadian nesting grounds, captured the first pictures of active nests in Wood Buffalo National Park, studied them at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, provided the first sandhill to be used as surrogates for whooper egg incubation, helped charter the Whooping Crane Conservation Association, and served on three national recovery committees.

Simultaneous with crane studies, Walkinshaw conducted extensive fieldwork on Kirtland’s warblers in Michigan and the Bahamas. He was first to band one, and later established Kirtland’s genealogies, studied Cowbird infestation control and habitat restoration techniques culminating in Kirtland’s Warbler: The Natural History of An Endangered Species (1983) and Nest Observations of The Kirtland’s Warbler (1988).
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Michigan Wildlife Comservancy Web site is accessable below. JOIN their nobel conservation efforts led by Dennis Fijalkowski, Executive Director of the Bengel Wildlife Center, P.O. Box 393, Bath, MI 48808. JOIN
Dennis related in his note announcing the article’s arrival, “I have so much respect for Dr. Walkinshaw. He was one of my heros. A true citizen-scientist. Contratulations on your book.”

A picture of On the Wings of Cranes is also shown at the article’s end along with related details.

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Seeing this article with his picture prompted Mark Weldon to write me January 6, 2009. “I enjoyed the book very much. I thought I knew Larry fairly well from our conversations during our trips but you presented so much more. You know I was a fledgling crane enthuasist when Larry and Ron Hoffman took me under their wing so-to-speak. Both shaped and influenced my life. Thanks for writing the book.”
Mark obtained his copy of ‘WINGS’ during Michigan Audubon Society’s CraneFest activities last October at Baker Sanctuary. Purchase your copy now… HERE.

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Learn interesting details about all of the Sandhill Cranes in Wikipedia’s free on-line discussion on the SANDHILLS> Interestingly, Walkinshaw, the acknowledged “Father of International Crane Research”, who led in the establishment of the world’s first crane sanctuary and who first published a technical treatise on the species plus 60 other articles, does not appear as a reference. One may think missteps and time have taken their toll as an oversight. Not really, however. Should one delve into to the references that are cited, the name Walkinshaw would repeatedly appear. Progress.

Be a hero. Plan a plesant surprise for your birding friends. Provide them a copy of On the Wings of Cranes: Larry Walkinshaw’s Life Story. Save ‘double’ shipping cost by sending them directly to your friends. Not only will they have a great read but you’ll be shopping smart in our tight economy! After ordering, tell them something special will soon arrive on the wings of cranes. Available in either paperback or hard copy.

Click below on the hot spot to BUY NOW.

"BUY NOW"

Any history buffs for friends? Lowell Schake’s La Charrette: A History of the Village Gateway to the American Frontier Visited by Lewis and Clark, Daniel Boone, Zebulon Pike - offers readers “A delicately crafted absorbing account of an American past seldom encountered in conventional history… meticulously researched,” according to Kirkus Discoveries. Others think the same attributes apply On the Wings of Cranes.

To purchase this STAR volume reissued by the publisher in 2006, click on BEST of AMERICAN FRONTIER HISTORY

The above volumes represent my two latest books fourteen years into retirement. My first post-retirement volume is free. This extensive Schake family history and genealogy, The Schakes of La Charette is posted on the Internet and recommended as a ‘Must read’ by Missouri geneagologists.

Click on READ for FREE to enjoy Germanic history, Missouri frontier life and genealogy galore. The geneanology of about 15,000 entries spans from the 1100s to the present and is on file at the Family History Center, Salt Lake City, Utah. Should you discover a need for assistance with your genealogy involving these families from Lippe-Detmold that came to Warren County, Charrette Township, Missouri, let me know. I have several valuable reference books that have benefitted many others.

To find more on these three topics, proceed down the ‘Books’ menu of these Web Pages to entries of May 2, 2006 for La Charrette: A History of the Village Gateway to the American Frontier Visited by Lewis and Clark, Daniel Boone, Zebulon Pike - and to April 18, 2006 for The Schakes of La Charette. Considering all the varied publishing options employed - hard copy, paperback, electronic with reissued volumes - eight ISBN book codes appear.

Genre: Nonfiction/Biography/Autobiography/History/American/Ethnohistory/Genealogy

Other menu alternatives within these Web Pages include the ‘Press Room’, ‘Reviews and Praise’, an ‘Events Archives’, and of course the all purpose ‘Blog’. Pages sometimes appear under more than one catagory as the topic dictates.

Search. Study. Enjoy. Leave a comment or two. Its been my pleasure sharing these thoughts and experiences. Thanks for the opportunity!

The news release of November 3, 2008 proceeds:
The Northwest Brach Public Library’s Clif Moss Nature Education Center invites birders of all levels of interest to a series of programs focusing on the newly released book, On the Wings of Cranes: Larry Walkinshaw’s Life Story. The first program will be held at 2p.m. Saturday, November 15, 2008 at the library.

Dr. Larry Walkinshaw, who died in 1993 at the age of 88, was one of the nation’s leading authorities on a number of bird species, including Whooping Cranes and Sandhill Cranes. Among other things, he was involved in the recovery efforts of the Whooping Crane population, which winters in South Texas each year at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge.

The discussion of the book will be led by its author, Lowell M. Schake, son-in-law of Walkinshaw. Schake is a retired professor who now lives in Port Aransas. The topic of the first program will be: Overview of Walkinshaw’s Life Accomplishments. What Motivated Him and Why?

In addition to the November 15th program, Schake will lead other discussion at 2 p.m. Saturday, December 13, 2008 and at 3 p.m. Saturday, January 10, 2009. The Audubon Outdoor Club of Corpus Christi will have copies of On the Wings of Cranes: Larry Walkinshaw’s Life Story available for purchase at the library for $24.95. The Proceeds will be used to support local birding and conservation activities.

Contact: Lynda Whitton, Northwest Branch Library 361-241-9329.
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The Northwest Branch Public Library of Corpus Christi premiers as the city’s ‘birding library’ in the “Birdiest City in America”. The ornithological honor represents a three-year running record of 241 or more species spotted and verified by local birders, mostly representing local Audubon Outdoor Club and Coastal Bend Audubon members.

“The library wishes to encourage youthful participation in birding and nature in general,” Head Librarian Lynda Whitton told me in April, 2008. Fourteen children and their families completed a birding class sponsored by the library in July. The five-week Saturday series that commenced at 5 p.m. at the library located at 3202 McKinzie Road in Corpus Christi included field-trips to nearby Tule Lake to assit in identification of bird calls and other details of avain life history.

The current series of monthly educational programs evolved from my previous contacts with the General City Librarian for Corpus Christi, Texas. Herb Canales introduced me to his ‘Friends of the Library’ group to stag a signing event for my La Charrette: A History of the Village Gateway to the American West in 2003. By 2005 it was reissued by publisher iUniverse, Inc., by then taking on a life of its own.

In July 2008, I met Herb in the parking lot of his Flour Bluff branch library. “Hey, you’re the book guy” was his attempt to grasp my name. We visited about the upcoming release of On the Wings of Cranes and my desire to establish another signing event. One thing led to another and soon Herb had provided the necessary contacts to establish the upcoming November-December-January series of programs. Herb also aided my introduction to local Corpus Christi Caller-Times bird columnist Phyllis Yochem. Her “Rave Review’ was previously featured in this blog series.

Not only do I owe Herb “Thanks” for that much appreciated assistance, but for all the diligent work completed over the last ten-years by his staff. Those at his Main downtown library, as well as at Flour Bluff, processed at least a thousand request of mine - interlibrary loans, routine retrievals, reorderings, and obtaining rare or difficult to locate volumes.

Perhaps we can all extend “Thanks” by attending the many excellent birding programs offered by my local Corpus Christi libraries.

Shown above is Dr. Lawrence H. ‘Larry’ Walkinshaw (1904-1993) when searching the Kirtland’s Warbler nesting grounds associated with the Mack Lake burn of 1980, Crawford County, Michigan. Nonetheless, neither the exact location of the amateur Michigan birder when this portrait was taken nor its phototographer are known with certainty. During this interval Walkinshaw was asked to contribute to a research project funded by the USFWS and administered by Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources to help salvage another endangered species. The author was told by Kirtland’s Warbler experts that he was the only one who could find their nests with any regularity.

Phyllis Yochem concluded her review On the Wings of Cranes: Larry Walkinshaw’s Life Story saying the book exposed “one of the heros of American ornithology”. Certainly she was correct but if Larry Walkinshaw had heard or read such laudable praise he would downplay it in the extreme. Walkinshaw was a very reserve and unpretentious individual… perhaps even to a fault.

So much so that his modesty even became a motivating factor in the origins of his biography. Everyone in the Walkinshaw family knew how hard he worked, how he loved birding, traveling to study them in the wilds of nature and the long hours devoted to recording field notes, and writing. What we did not know was the eventual impact of it all. Did his sacrificing actually make a difference? That’s why Wendy, my wife - Walkinshaw’s daughter - asked that his biography be compiled.

Discovering for the first time the full reality of his species conservation successes places his family in Yochem’s camp…he really was one of the heros of American ornithology. Better than that however, the cranes and warblers he worked to save offer living testiment well beyond any other acclaim.

You can never really judge a book by its cover… or can you?

The origin of the ‘Cover Story’ and its message both followed what I had researched, written and later submitted for publication. What followed could only have been the work of serendipity.

Its composite picture was, at least to me, something of an accident. When I submitted the manuscript for publication only the picture of cranes flying across the face of the moon was to appear on the cover. Michael Boyce, Resident Manager of Michigan Audubon Society’s Baker Sanctuary had only recently photographed them. When Wendy, my wife - Larry Walkinshaw’s daughter, and I visited there in August 2007, Mike graciously offered it to us for the cover. Walkinshaw’s portriat beneath the cranes is the work of celebrated LIFE photojournalist Alfred Eisendstadt when assigned to Larry during week-long studies of Sandhill Cranes in Nebraska in the 1950s. It was submitted to iUniverse the publisher as the book’s Frontiespiece.

Unbeknown to me the iUniverse, Inc. graphic artists thought otherwise. They combined the two images to creat the stunning one appearing on the front cover (more subdued here than in actuality). Little did they know the interwinning of aesthetic beauty and history they had created!

The essence of this is its poignancy. For years, Walkinshaw led the charge as Chairman of Michigan Audubon Society’s Crane Sanctuary Committee leading to establishment of Baker Sanctuary in 1941. At that time it represented the world’s first and only sanctuary devoted exclusively to saving cranes. During the 1930s Walkinshaw and Aldo Leopold, the preeminant academic conservationist with the University of Wisconsin, Madison, thought fewer than 40 pairs of Greater Sandhill Cranes nested in the United States. Once there were thousands. After Larry published The Sandhill Cranes in 1949 and Cranes of the World in 1973, everyone knew he had established the foundation upon which all future crane research and salvation would reside. Thus Baker Sanctuary… within walking distance of Larry’s boyhood home, where he first sighted Sandhills and encountered their first nest providing him inspiration … represents the very genesis of all worldwide crane recovery - for Larry and for cranes.

Today, thousands of crane lovers flock to Baker Sanctuary each October when attending CraneFest. Thanks to the foresight and actions of Larry Walkinshaw they sometimes see as many as 8,500 roosting Sandhills in a single day… a new Michigan record.

Restoring the World’s crane populations… It all started at Baker Sanctuary. As noted on the front cover, the return of the cranes is “the wildlife equivalent of putting a man on the moon“, according to John Christian, USFWS, 2003.

Everyone knows you can’t judge a book by its cover… or can you now that you know the rest of the ‘Cover Story’? To proceed with rest of Larry Walkinshaw’s improbable Life Story,, obtain a copy and probe beyond its cover.

Copies available across the Internet, call the publisher at 1-800-288-4677 or purchase several from your favorite conservation organizations: International Crane Foundation; World Birding Center; Aransas National Wildlife Refuge; Corpus Christi Audubon Outdoor Club; Michigan Audubon Society; The Port Aransas South Jetty newspaper among many other commercial outlets.

Every afternoon of Saturday and Sunday, October 11 and 12, 2008, thousands of Sandhill Cranes displayed their majestic calls, dances and flights into Baker Sanctuary. When Larry Walkinshaw discovered their first nest there in 1931, fewer than twenty nested east of the Mississippi River. Once there had been thousands. Baker Sanctuary, the first sanctuary in the world devoted to protection cranes, was founded in 1941. Walkinshaw led the effort as Chairman of the Michigan Audubon Society Crane Sanctuaty Committee. Typical of Walkinshaw’s birding protocol, friends assisted the amatuer Michigan birder at every turn along the way.

On the Wings of Cranes: Larry Walkinshaw’s Life Story was featured here as it was at four previous events over as many days. Appropriately, this was the book’s showcase presentation to the public. The book’s author and editor (shown above) were there joined by the public to honor their father-in-law and father 77-years after he began his study of Greater Sandhill Cranes. Other family members present (but not shown) were J. R. ‘Jim’ Walkinshaw’s wife, Jan, their son Alan, and his son Jimmy. Schake, the author, is shown holding a copy of the newly released book.

Each day, about equal numbers of people and cranes arrived. About 5,000 was the estimate. Mingled among the book signing activities appeared members of Larry Walkinshaw’s ‘extended’ birding family. They offered many memorable experiences and many new insights into his life. Mark Weldon of Fort Wayne, Indiana came with an especially poignant picture of Larry measuring Sandhill Crane Nest Number 307. Mark took the picture on May 6, 1980 as they worked the Michigan and Indiania marshes. Their friendship spanned decades as Larry eventually logged over 600 nests of these elusive creatrures. The picture showed Larry with his pants legs rolled up, stretching a tape measue, while admiring the nest’s two eggs.

A PreFest Fundraising Dinner was held on the evening before CraneFest. Before then Olivet College (where Larry attended for two years), the Kiwanis Club of Battle Creek, and the Battle Creek’s Brigham Audubon all hosted programs. Schake presesnt an overview of the On the Wings of Cranes with a superb power point presentation developed by Baker Sanctuary Manager, Mike Boyce.

The entire Walkinshaw family expresses their gratitude for this warm welcome in recognition of an exceptional Michigan ornithologist.

As the book claims in its Introduction, “Birding is its theme; Inspiration its message”.

Captive nesting Whooper ‘Jo’ shown with Walkinshaw’s daughter Wendy Ann in 1950. The entire Walkinshaw family, along with Robert Porter Allen, studied two nesting pair at Aransas Refuge in 1949 and 1950.

My latest copy of the Port Aransas South Jetty reported that the first Whooping Crane arrived at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge on October 20, 2008, that according to USFWS Whooping Crane coordinator Tom Stein. More are expected soon, concluded Klein who was instrumental in providing me access to the Refuge archives when researching On the Wings of Cranes: Larry Walkinshaw’s Life Story. When Larry Walkinshaw initiated their salvation in 1937, only 13 Whooping Cranes remained in the wild.

Today, around 250 arrive at Aransas from Wood Buffalo National Park in Canada each fall, thanks to a half a century and more of struggling by a handful of concerned individuals like Robert Porter Allen, Walter ‘Bud’ Tholen, J. J. Pratt, Walkinshaw and others. Walkinshaw, Tholen and Allen first became so-called Whooper Pen Pals, then attempted to locate their Canadian nesting grounds in 1947 and 1948. Later they became founding members of the Whooping Crane Conservation Association, the first association devoted exclusively to saving a single species from extinction.

The South Jetty is soon to carrying copies of On the Wings of Cranes in their office at 141 W. Colter, Port A, Texas. Drop by or call 361-749-5137 to place your order.

On January 24, 2009, a day-long program will be hosted at Aransas Refuge near Austwell, Texas featuring On The Wings of Cranes. Friends of Aransas & Matagorda Island National Refuges of Austwell will offer copies for sale. Those buying a book from them helps to support activities important to programs held at the Refuge. Arrange to attend, purchase several copies… the beautiful book makes a great gift. Both the ‘Friends’ and the Refuge staff may be contacted at 361-286-3559.

Book signing starts at 9:00AM and runs until 3:00PM with a noon break. Over the noon hour, I will make a power-point presentation in the Refuge Conference room and share salient experiences when researching for the book. Join us, bring friends and family. The Whoopers are staging a magnificant comeback! Be there! The Refuge is a wonderfully unique wilderness area that offers everyone an opportunity to see the best of nature first hand.

Don’t forget to stop by and see the Whoopers from the tower at the Refuge. Wendy Ann Walkinshaw Schake, my wife of almost fifty years, will try to join us too. She remembers being at Aransas Refuge with her mother Clara, brother Jim, and her dad, Larry. They all stayed in one of the little white cabins immediately north of the Refuge at Hopper’s Landing. See you at Aransas.

Book explores life of hero of American ornithology

I am reading the fascinating biography of a remarkable man who researched and helped to preserve several species of birds, among them the greater sandhill crane, the whooping crane and the Kirtland’s Warbler.

He was Dr. Larry Walkinshaw, member of a pioneer Michigan family. His life and achievements are all the more impressive because they took place against the background of the Great Depression. His hard-earned formal education included the difficult choice of first becoming a dentist to support his family. Ornithology research and field documentation were not a second choice but a co-choice by him for a career.

Lowell M. Schake, author of the book, is another remarkable man. He was Walkinshaw’s son-in-law. He and Wendy, his wife are residents of Port Aransas [Texas]. The book, “On the Wings of Cranes: Larry Walkinshaw’s Life Story,” will be featured in Corpus Christi Northwest Library’s Amateur Birding Series, the first of which will take place Nov. 15. Schake is a retired Texas A&M University college professor.

Schake, in writing this biography, fully used the abundant notes and documentation of research by his subject, a dedicated scholar, and worked it into the minute history of the family.

Walkinshaw’s interests began early and he was faithful to them all his life. A favorite book in boyhood was “Two Little Savages,” by E. T. Seton. Walkinshaw was later able to tell the author what inspiration he had found in his works.

One of his most remarkable skils was his ability to inspire others to cooperate and work with him. He led with total enthusiam in many public projects, was a dedicated Boy Scout leader, and was a member of many boards, including service as president of the Wilson Ornithological Society.

Walkinshaw’s pioneer ancestors settled around the Big Marsh in Michigan, so he spent many of his early years exploring the territory. Here he found bird nests and observed the development of their habitants. He felt a strong conviction and a compulsion to learn more about everything natural that came his way. As an adult he almost single-handedly saved the marsh from a fire.

On another occasion, he and his wife, Clara, found an anbandoned cranelet and raised it to adulthood. The little chick was named Brownie and became totally imprinted on human beings. Wendy (Walkinshaw’s daughter and Schake’s wife) was 3 years old at the time and remembers her little bird sister well.

Of special interest is a chapter on Walkinshaw’s field techniques. Dr. George Archibald said of this aspect, “His mother taught him how to take field notes.”

Another friend commented, “I swear Larry never filled his boots, he glided through the cattails with his hands folded…never getting stuck in the mud. He reminded me of St. Peter, walking on water.”

Accounts of sometimes perilous adventures always enjoyed by Walkinshaw make this book a page-turner. It has extensive extras including the catalog of acronyms and abbreviations, a list of characters who are famous or well-known friends and fellow scientist with whom Walkinshaw worked. Black and white snapshots and family portraits add to the insider feel given to the reader.

Of special interest are the chapters about Walkinshaw’s research at Aransas Wildlife Refuge and with the whooping crane. There are anecdotes of revelance to his writing two books, “The Sandhill Crane” and “Cranes of the World.” The book was edited by Walkinshaw’s son James R. Walkinshaw. This very complete, yet readable, book was obviously a labor of love, collecting the episodes and work of one of the heros of American Ornithology.
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Published in the weekly BIRD WATCH column of the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, Saturday, October 11, 2008, City Edition, Home & Garden Section, page 8E. Authored by columinist Phyllis Yochem, a Corpus Christi resident in ‘America’s Birdiest Region’, who has studied birds since 1960.

The Michigan Audubon Society’s Baker Sanctuary near Bellevue will be the public’s introduction to On The Wings of Cranes: Larry Walkinshaw’s Life Story. The October 10, 11 and 12, 2008 events feature the book along with thousands of Greater Sandhill Cranes roosting there. Proceed to http://www.cranefest.org/prefest.html for some of the details. The general public is invited to enjoy this spectacle as well as the works of many naturalists, artists and authors. The story behind the origin of this event is poignant.
All of Larry Walkinshaw’s ancestors were Michigan pioneers who settled around the ‘Big Marsh’. Three generations later Larry was born and grew-up within walking distance of this marsh of some 500 acres. By age 5 or 6 his interest in birds aroused him, at thirteen he first saw Greater Sandhill Cranes glid overhead as he worked in a nearby corn field. Then, shortly after he became an Honors graduate from the University Michigan School Denistry at age 25, he saw another Sandhill family. But in 1931 he discovered a nesting pair of Sandhills that, as he said “completely changed his life.”
What changed?
Walkinshaw and Aldo Leopold declared the cranes endangered. They thought fewer than 40 pair nested in the US where once thousands had lived. Larry led the cause for the Michigan Audubon Society to establish Baker Sanctuary in 1941, a k a the ‘Big Marsh’, as the World’s first sanctuary devoted to cranes. Subsquently he published the life histories on all the crane families in the world leading to his becoming The Father of International Crane Research and ‘the model life history scholar for Cranes, warblers and sparrows’! His 40 years of serving nearby Battle Creek as a dentist allowed him to finance his compulsion that led to him having done more for longer than any to save endangered Greater Sandhil Cranes of the east, the Whooping Cranes as America’s symbols of conservation and Michigan’s unique Kirtland’s Warblers.

ON THE WINGS OF CRANES: Larry Walkinshaw’s Life Story is scheduled for release by publisher iUniverse, Inc. of NY in September 2008. In April 2006, I predicted its appearance this year under the title of Larry: Amateur Birdman of the World. Actually, several titles were considered including Dear Walkinshaw, each with various subtitles.

ON THE WINGS OF CRANES was selected as the most descriptive and inviting title to recognize an amateur Michigan birder now known as the “Father of International Crane Research”. The 350-some page volume includes unique features along with 22 never before published plates. All of Walkinshaw’s 400 published works are chronicled along with access to his banding recorders on over 40, 000 birds. Most importantly, perhaps, “At last, the true story of Larry’s contributions to… the recovery of the Whooping Crane is exposed,” according to past Whooping Crane Conservation Association President and Operation Migration Board Member, Walter Sturgeon of Spring Hope, NC.

Over a half-century span Walkinshaw contributed more, and for longer than anyone, to the salvation of three endangered species - Whooping Cranes, Greater Sandhill Cranes and Kirtland’s Warblers. Acknowledged as “The Model” bird life history scholar for his studies on cranes, warblers and sparrows, Walkinshaw is hearlded as perhaps the world’s greatest finder of bird nests ever.

Signing and presentation events are being scheduled. Contact Dr. Lowell M. Schake, the author, at wschake1@centurytel.net or call 361-749-2315.

Book Details:

An ornithological biography published by iUniverse, Inc. NY 2008 as ISBN 978-0-595-48497 (pkb), $24.95 and as ISBN 978-0-595-71999 (cloth) $34.95. Available through local Barnes & Noble, at Amazon.com, various wholesalers or call the publisher at 1-800-288-4677 to place orders.

Key Words:

Ornithology; Amateur Birding; Species Saving; Conservation; Naturalist; Cranes; Warblers; Sparrows

Lowell M. Schake, Ph.D., is the book’s author.

The Author

From the August 31, 2006 column “Do You Remember” in the Warren County Record appeared with events of 100-years ago: “Mrs. Adolph Schake and her son left Thuesday morning for Cleveland, Ohio, on a visit with relatives.”

Undoubtedly this was the first out-of-state trip for my grandmother. Baptized at the bier of her father; soon her mother died resulting in her being reared as an orphan by an uncle whose surname was Ritter. As a very young girl she was a ‘live-in maid’ for the Kurt Schake family of my great grandfather. She and Adolph eventually married in middle age and rear their family of five. The relatives they visited in Cleveland were half-brothers to Kurt. He and those two brothers all came to America from Lippe in the 1850s.

To learn more about how these German families lived both in Germany and on the Missouri frontier proceed to my electronic book at http://www.rootsweb.com/~mowarren/schake/intro.html    

To purchase this STAR designated volume reissued by the publisher in 2006, click on BUY NOW to order. Delivery usually takes about 10 days. Paperback copies for $18.95, e-copies for $6.00.

La Charrette provides a first-ever historical look at America’s westernmost frontier settlement, which, over a mere thirty-year existence, managed to leave behind a rich, vibrant legacy that is firmly rooted in local, state, and national history.

Located sixty miles beyond St. Louis on the banks of the Missouri River, La Charrette Village began as an eighteenth-century French fur-trading outpost. The citizens of La Charrette—one of America’s earliest melting-pot communities of Native Americans; African descendants; and French, Spanish, and German immigrants—played a vital role in shaping the American West. Its people were the first to be granted Indian trade rights and to map the Santa Fe Trail, and La Charrette was the last outpost of civilization along the monumental trek toward westward expansion.

A virtual Who’s Who of the American frontier, La Charrette documents the life and times of the families who lived in this influential riverbank village. It also chronicles many legendary heroes who passed through, including Lewis and Clark, Daniel Boone, Captain Pike, ‘Indian’ Phillips, John Colter, Flanders Callaway, Syndic Chartran, and others who helped to shape history and forever change the face of our nation.

This was my first post-retirement project lasting from 1995-1999. My interest in La Charrette Village intensified after learning that all of my ancestors disembarked at old La Charrette Landing on the Missouri River upon arriving from Germany. Notice that La Charette carries only one ‘r’ in this spelling, one of the many alternate ways it appears in older documents. It was not until a year or so into village research that I became fully aware that my families had actually owned many of old La Charrette Village farms.

This story of our Schake family from Humfeld, Lippe (Germany) of the Teutoburger Forest with related history and Ethnohistories is lovingly dedicated to the first Schake mother of America. Wilhelmine Friederike Kuhfuss Schake came to the SCHAKES OF LA CHARETTE farms in Charette Township, Warren County, Missouri with her farmer and blacksmith husband Kurt in 1855. To this day we do not know when she died or where she is buried. Little apparently was recorded on her behalf. We have every reason to believe she was a loving wife, mother and grandmother.

This family history is typical of the German experience in Missouri’s German Belt. It is presented in four parts;

Part One - Auswandering (Wandering-out or away from home)

Part Two - Genealogies

Part Three - Schake Pictorial History

Part Four - Oral History

To learn more about this electronic book, click on ‘here’.

This is the subject of my current writing project…due to appear by about 2008

Lawrence Harvey Walkinshaw (1904-1993) and the Michigan Audubon Society were separated by only two-days in age when he published its 75-year history1. Born in rural Pennfield Township, Calhoun County, Michigan, Larry’s birding interests emerged early in life. By age 12, ten of his one-room schoolmates joined his new Junior Audubon Society but he continued Christmas Bird Counts alone until 1929. “No one else liked birds the way I did” was his admission2. He first attended local Olivet College but earned the D.D.S. degree from the University of Michigan, with honors, at age 25. By then he had published 13 articles and established notable contacts with Michigan Audubon Society leaders. Soon Josseyln Van Tyne, the University of Michigan’s Curator of Birds, would become his mentor directing his interest toward cranes and Kirtland’s Warblers. Once Van Tyne wrote3 “I am very much pleased with the way you are progressing in ornithology. You may be sure that I would not have bothered to annotate your manuscripts so extensively if I did not think you are ’going places’…” Larry’s 80-years of ‘amateur’ birding concluded with 350 other publications including The Sandhill Cranes (1949), Cranes of the World (1973) and Kirtland’s Warbler: The Natural History of an Endangered Species (1983).

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