Hometown: I was born in Wilmington, California, but grew up in Lamberton, Minnesota, a small, idyllic, agricultural prairie town.

When did you become a member of UMRA? 2002.

What was your first job? Babysitting, house cleaning, and ironing. The first “big” job I remember was washing and waxing my great-uncle Sam’s immense Cadillac to earn enough money to go to Vacation Bible School.

What was your occupation when you retired from FT work? I was curator and professor at the James Ford Bell Library, a collection of rare books, maps, and manuscripts dating from 1400 to 1800 in Wilson Library (now moved to the Elmer L. Andersen Library) on the West Bank Campus.

Where were you in 1968? I was the assistant curator of the Bell Library. My first book, A Naturalist in Russia, was published in 1967. In 1968 I was lucky to make an extensive bird-watching trip to the Soviet Union. I also met colleagues at the Russian Academy of Sciences. A banner year and a great introduction to the fun of travel!

If you could learn a new skill, what would you like it to be? I think it would be great to be a mushroom expert.

Do you have a favorite place on the U of M campus? The outdoor spaces around Wilson Library. Some wonderful butterflies, birds, and trees are there. I used to see a red fox regularly over the retaining wall nearby.

What is a fun fact about you we might not know? When I retired I rented a space in the St. Anthony Shopping Center in Northeast Minneapolis to open a bookshop, Corner Books. We specialize in art, history, nature, local writers, and children’s books with nature subjects.

What is something you currently enjoy doing with your time? Writing. Since retirement I’ve published, with two Russians and a Dane, a very scholarly book on Vitus Bering. Also, David Lanegran and I wrote Minnesota on the Map, published by the Minnesota Historical Society. And I’m currently finishing a series of nature essays that I hope to publish.