By Tara Schaberg, NJSOC Archives Project Volunteer
Every year in June, Father’s Day honors fathers and father figures, celebrating their contributions of guidance and support and the impact they have in shaping a child’s life and values.
A field biology class studying at the New Jersey School of Conservation exactly 60 years ago found such a figure in Dr. Gene Vivian, a science professor from Glassboro State College (now Rowan University). He imparted his expertise in botany and an appreciation for the scientific relationships within ecosystems to countless students during his long and successful career as a professor and conservationist.
A glimpse into the kind of impact that Dr. Vivian had on students was recently uncovered in the archives of the School of Conservation. At the very end of a folder that contained information about Dr. Vivian’s life and career was a hand-made booklet titled “A Happy Happy Father’s Day to You!”. It was “sewn” together with a plant stem woven through holes in the paper and was inscribed with a poem and signatures of students from a class identified as “203 Field Biology, June 14-23, 1965”. The booklet was made from the reverse side of charts used to measure the diameter of a tree, and a fern frond had been taped inside on the page opposite the poem and signatures.
The gift of this Father’s Day poem, which was written by one of the class students and presented in a way that incorporated so many meaningful natural touches, is a beautiful snapshot of thought and appreciation that was fostered by Dr. Vivian at NJSOC 60 years ago:
“A rose will crumble and die away;
A blade of grass will turn to hay;
A babbling brook will turn to mud;
And life itself will cease to bud.
Though many things will fail to be,
You’ve taught us all there is to see.”
-Walter R. Brahm
Many, many thanks,
Jeanne Neilly, Walter R. Brahm, Anthony Pfister, Laurel Sevack, Peter Puglia, Jan Jessel, Albert, T. Balassaitis, Debby Aronson , Robert Fletcher, Rose Primack, Tommy Myers
Love, Niolge
203 Field Biology, June 14-23, 1965”
The NJSOC Archives Project not only brings treasures like these to light – it preserves them for the future. The natural materials in this booklet and the way it was put together required some preservation measures. Tape is inherently acidic and does not age well. The tape on the fern frond created dark brown stains on the paper, except where the lobes of the fern blocked it. The unintended result looks almost like stenciled artwork, but without intervention, the presence of the adhesive on both the paper and on the fern would continue to cause staining and deterioration.
The tape’s adhesive had already separated from the paper and was dry and brittle enough to be carefully separated and removed from the fern with a tool called a microspatula. The fern was then replaced in the booklet in its original location within a folder of acid-free tissue to prevent any remaining tape residue from causing further staining, and the entire booklet was placed in an archival envelope to protect it within the larger folder.
We hope that measures like these will protect this piece of Dr. Vivian’s legacy for another 60 years, and many more years after that!
Funding for the NJSOC Archive Project has been made available in part by the New Jersey State Historical Commission through the County History Partnership Program, as administered by Sussex County Arts and Heritage Council, and by individual donations from NJSOC supporters.
Donations are always welcome through Givebutter, or by check (payable to Friends of NJSOC) sent to the NJ School of Conservation at PO Box 403, Branchville, NJ 07826.