Glorious Times

Descending from Scots-Irish pioneers in Pennsylvania¿s Cumberland Valley, Frank ¿Rattlesnake¿ Craighead and his siblings were forced to choose different lines of work than his family had traditionally followed¿farming, small business, the ministry¿when his family went broke around the turn of the 20th century. Frank and his siblings, including his sisters, all graduated from high school when most didn¿t. More unusual, all five worked their way through college. He chose entomology,...
More Description

Descending from Scots-Irish pioneers in Pennsylvania¿s Cumberland Valley, Frank ¿Rattlesnake¿ Craighead and his siblings were forced to choose different lines of work than his family had traditionally followed¿farming, small business, the ministry¿when his family went broke around the turn of the 20th century. Frank and his siblings, including his sisters, all graduated from high school when most didn¿t. More unusual, all five worked their way through college. He chose entomology, becoming the Chief Forest Entomologist for the Department of Agriculture and an internationally known expert on the subject. When just 15, his twin sons, Frank Jr. and John, popularized the previously unpracticed sport of falconry in America. Their article about their work with birds of prey launched a multi-decade relationship with National Geographic and spawned a visit from an Indian raja and an eight-month trip to pre-partition India. After establishing a wilderness survival school for downed US Navy pilots during WWII, they saved the Yellowstone grizzlies, pioneered radiotelemetry of large mammals, and wrote the Wild and Scenic Act. His Newbery-winning daughter, Jean Craighead George, wrote over 100 young adult books about nature, including My Side of the Mountain and Julie of the Wolves. That so many of her uncles, aunts, cousins, children, nieces and nephews worked in fields related to nature moved Jean to wonder if a naturalist gene runs through the family. This books explores her conjecture.