517 research outputs found
Nell, Benjamin
No full textSee entry in Perry County, volume 3, page 30: https://digital.archives.alabama.gov/digital/collection/voter1867/id/266
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The First Actresses: Nell Gwyn to Sarah Siddons
No full textThis book was written to accompany the exhibition The First Actresses: Nell Gwyn to Sarah Siddons at the National Portrait Gallery, London, 2011-12, curated by Gill Perry. The exhibition included 54 portraits and objects and involved extensive research in British archives, and some collaborative explorations with colleagues in theatre studies, music history and literature. Perry edited the book and wrote 70% (20,000 words), including three chapters and a section on biography. The book explores the role of feminine portraiture in the history and visibility of the first British actresses. It reassesses the often controversial relationship between art, gender and the theatre during the late seventeenth can d eighteenth centuries, providing a critical analysis of the ‘feminine face’ of eighteenth century celebrity culture.
The exhibition was designed to bring to public attention the important role of gender and feminine portraiture in perceptions of the theatre and its cultural influence, and in the construction of early celebrity culture. It also highlighted the remarkable symbiosis between the fine and dramatic arts during this period, and the important role of women in this synergy. In the first chapter ‘Introduction: Painting Actresses’ Lives’ Perry explores the origins of the term ‘actress’, and the complex ways in which the idea of the ‘actress’ and its cultural associations have been mediated through visual culture, and biographical and autobiographical narratives. Her chapter ‘Divas, Dancing and the Rage for Music’ draws on new research on the relationship between musical and visual culture during the period, arguing that portraiture could be seen to embody (and sometimes to seek resolutions for) many of the social and cultural contradictions implicit in public musical performances (both singing and dancing) by women. Perry argues that portraiture offered another form of ‘performance’, a visual re-staging of femininity as somewhere between art and nature. In the final chapter ‘Star Systems: Then and Now’, she explores parallels and differences with modern celebrity culture, considering some definitions and historical overviews of concepts of ‘celebrity’, often argued to have first developed in the eighteenth century with a growing commercial culture of consumption. It is argued that eighteenth century feminine portraiture provided a visual embodiment of the conflation of public and private identities and gendered myths. She argues for the continuation of a ‘distinctively feminine face’ of this culture, and a parallel and voyeuristic obsession with ‘public intimacy’
Imitative ability in preschool age children with autism in the presence of odor
No full textIndividuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are generally thought to be impaired in the ability to imitate, but the causal processes responsible for this deficit are not well understood. Different theoretical perspectives offer different insights as to which behaviors are most difficult for individuals with ASD to imitate and why. This study investigated the imitative ability of five 3-5 year old children with ASD and thirty-two of their typically developing peers of the same ages on several categories of behavior thought to be difficult for individuals with ASD to imitate, including emotional expressions, motor behaviors, and sequences. Imitation was assessed twice using a newly refined imitation test, with approximately 1 week between visits. Imitation was scored for each component of the action imitated for each repetition. Overall, there were differences in imitative ability due to age for every category measured and due to diagnosis for nearly every category, with larger effect sizes for age. When all categories were measured at once, there was a significant age X diagnosis interaction; performance of older children with ASD approximated that of older typically developing children but younger children with ASD were consistently the worst imitators. Odor effects were modest. In general, odor affected imitative performance differently for older and younger children, with younger children benefiting more from odor when imitating more complex tasks. Looking behavior also varied according to age and diagnosis, with younger children with ASD appearing disorganized in their strategy for attending during the imitation task. The other groups appeared similar, with older children with ASD approximating the looking behavior of younger typically developing children. Looking behavior and imitation performance were related. It is suggested that the study of imitation should be broad enough to speak to multiple theoretical perspectives so as to create a more unified description of imitative abilities in individuals with ASD.Ph.D.Includes abstractVitaIncludes bibliographical referencesby Caroline Nell Coffiel
Portside synaesthetics: sensing the politics of place in Marseille
No full textThis dissertation examines sensory experiences of large-scale urban renewal in the diverse port city of Marseille, France, based on fifteen months of fieldwork between 2006 and 2009. Using a range of traditional and sensory ethnographic methods, I conducted research with city planners, architects, activists, social workers, and other residents from throughout the urban geography. By examining the ways Marseillais people experience the varied “renewal” projects’ attempts to change the city’s image, physical landscape, economy, and status nationally and transnationally, I demonstrate that shifting sensory experiences are a primary locus through which urban change can be understood. The sorts of sensory encounters I examine here are, for example, when changes in the built landscape overwhelm a local resident, construction sounds from next door reconfigure one’s internal clock, gentrification and business turnover render familiar spaces unwelcoming, or an architectural model provokes particular bodily movements and a sense of the uncanny. By attending simultaneously to historical and cultural factors like the city’s immigration and port histories and phenomenological experiences, I show the embeddedness of the city within a sensually and materially conceived Mediterranean world and demonstrate that embodied, sensory encounters are a fundamental way through which people come to form the collectivities necessary for politics. In particular, I discuss the formation of a sensually based “Mediterranean Enchantment” and analyze its abilities to connect people in political projects across differences in ethnicity, class, and original national origin. Based on the ethnographic evidence, I argue that there is progressive potential in taking seriously the impacts material “objects” have on human “subjects,” and that therefore, it is important to move towards collapsing distinctions between “subjects” and “objects” and unidirectional conceptualizations of agency. I show that this process is facilitated by taking a mobile, sensory, ecological and experience-based approach that views people, time, space and the material world as in constant flux and recreation. I also demonstrate that a sensory approach to “renewal” is better able to capture projects’ everyday impacts on the broadest possible range of residents, including those who are not permanently displaced, and thereby show the large stakes involved in shifting the built environment.Ph. D.Includes bibliographical referencesby Mary Nell Ques
Institutional inquiry: Campus responses to gender-based violence in British Columbia
No full textSexual assault is among the most common forms of violence perpetrated against women and gender-diverse people; in Canada, university and college campuses are among the most prevalent sites of this violence (MacKenzie, 2019). Since 2016, campuses in Canada have become increasingly responsible for responding to and preventing gender-based violence, including sexual violence related to their campuses. Responses have come in the form of sexual violence policy and, at some post-secondary institutions, the establishment of designated sexual violence response offices and support staff (Albert & Perry, 2024). This research focuses on the experiences and institutional processes of student survivors who seek institutional support for campus gender-based violence at their post-secondary institution in British Columbia, and the support staff who assist them with these processes. To understand these experiences, data come from eleven qualitative semi-structured interviews, six of which were with survivors who have been through the process of seeking support on campus, and five of which were with individuals in the role of supporting survivors on campus. Interview data are contextualized alongside a consideration of relevant post-secondary policies to facilitate a robust analysis of institutional support processes that both survivors and support staff engage with, and the policies that they are both organized and coordinated by. Findings indicate that campus response is critical for survivors to receive support to continue their education and feel supported by their institution. Experiences also showed that academic accommodations were one of the most helpful resources campuses can provide. Yet, the process of reporting gender-based violence is intertwined with institutional betrayal for both survivors and those who support them. The harm caused through institutional betrayal is upheld by policy documents that tend to state institutional values, often performatively, in the response process rather than outlining the entirety of the process. This leads to confusion, betrayal, and a lack of clarity for survivors, demonstrating a diffusion of responsibility for those seeking to support them. I conclude by highlighting promising practices such as providing less punitive responses when desired by the survivor; moving to a policy framework that centers collective safety not just individual safety; decreasing dismissals of disclosures; and, increasing transparency in the reporting process.Graduate2025-10-2
Degli anfiteatri e particolarmente del Flavio di Roma, di quello d' Italica nella Spagna, e di quello di Pola nell' Istria.
No full textPlates are etchings by Francesco Monaco."Questo trattato Degli anfiteatri, forma il libro terzo della parte IIa. dell' opera del sign. commendatore conte Don Giarinaldo Carli, intitolata Delle antichità italiche"--P. [3], 1st sequence of paging.Signatures: pi² A-L⁴.Includes bibliographical references.Mode of access: Internet.Binding: sprinkled paper backed in sheepskin. Spine gilt tooled, author & title on label. Edges sprinkled red. Giovanni Muzio's bookplate etched by Giacomo Manzù
Stress Management/Coping: Limited-English Proficient Mexican American Family Cancer Caregivers
No full textThe health literacy of minorities in the United States is of major concern to citizens and healthcare providers alike. Low health literacy, coupled with limited-English proficiency (LEP), leads to poor healthcare outcomes for Mexican Americans (MAs), particularly those with critical illnesses like cancer. This population faces vulnerability due to limited healthcare access and continuing cultural stigmas that affect healthcare outcomes. Mexican American family cancer caregivers (MAFCCs) who provide assistance to an ill family member are a population that suffers from low health literacy. Low health literacy and LEP increase role stress in caregivers' lives, yet few healthcare interventions exist to provide needed culturally sensitive care to these women. The student author collaborated with two experienced researchers in the field of MA cancer caregiving, Drs. Jo Nell Wells and Carolyn Spence Cagle, to extend a previously developed multi-disciplinary action program of support (MAPS). The student's focus was on developing a low health literacy and LEP educational booklet in Spanish to help MAFCCs manage role strain and stress management. The student author participated alongside Drs. Wells and Cagle to implement role-play situations with MA caregivers and state-certified health promoters (promotoras de salud) to evaluate the efficacy of the student-developed stress and coping booklet. Feedback indicated that the booklet effectively met MAFCC needs and promotora-desired ease of implementation. The booklet, titled Viva su vida: Manejando el estres,is a pocket-sized guide that supplements the larger researcher-developed stress and coping module of the MAPS intervention
Proliferation and Osteogenic Differentiation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells Induced by a Short Isoform of NELL-1
No full textNeural epidermal growth factor-like (NEL)-like protein 1 (NELL-1) has been identified as an osteoinductive differentiation factor that promotes mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) osteogenic differentiation. In addition to full-length NELL-1, there are several NELL-1-related transcripts reported. We used rapid amplification of cDNA ends to recover potential cDNA of NELL-1 isoforms. A NELL-1 isoform with the N-terminal 240 amino acid (aa) residues truncated was identified. While full-length NELL-1 that contains 810 aa residues (NELL-1(810)) plays an important role in embryologic skeletal development, the N-terminal-truncated NELL-1 isoform (NELL-1(570)) was expressed postnatally. Similar to NELL-1(810), NELL-1(570) induced MSC osteogenic differentiation. In addition, NELL-1(570) significantly stimulated MSC proliferation in multiple MSC-like populations such as murine C3H10T1/2 MSC cell line, mouse primary MSCs, and perivascular stem cells, which is a type of stem cells proposed as the perivascular origin of MSCs. In contrast, NELL-1(810) demonstrated only limited stimulation of MSC proliferation. Similar to NELL-1(810), NELL-1(570) was found to be secreted from host cells. Both NELL-1(570) expression lentiviral vector and column-purified recombinant protein NELL-1(570) demonstrated almost identical effects in MSC proliferation and osteogenic differentiation, suggesting that NELL-1(570) may function as a pro-osteogenic growth factor. In vivo, NELL-1(570) induced significant calvarial defect regeneration accompanied by increased cell proliferation. Thus, NELL-1(570) has the potential to be used for cell-based or hormone-based therapy of bone regeneration.Cell & Tissue EngineeringBiotechnology & Applied MicrobiologyOncologyCell BiologyHematologySCI(E)[email protected]; [email protected]
NELL-1, an osteoinductive factor, is a direct transcriptional target of Osterix.
No full textNELL-1 is a novel secreted protein associated with premature fusion of cranial sutures in craniosynostosis that has been found to promote osteoblast cell differentiation and mineralization. Our previous study showed that Runx2, the key transcription factor in osteoblast differentiation, transactivates the NELL-1 promoter. In this study, we evaluated the regulatory involvement and mechanisms of Osterix, an essential transcription factor of osteoblasts, in NELL-1 gene expression and function. Promoter analysis showed a cluster of potential Sp1 sites (Sp1/Osterix binding sites) within approximately 70 bp (from -71 to -142) of the 5' flanking region of the human NELL-1 transcriptional start site. Luciferase activity in our NELL-1 promoter reporter systems was significantly decreased in Saos-2 cells when Osterix was overexpressed. Mutagenesis study demonstrated that this suppression is mediated by the Sp1 sites. The binding specificity of Osterix to these Sp1 sites was confirmed in Saos-2 cells and primary human osteoblasts by EMSA in vitro and ChIP assay in vivo. ChIP assay also showed that Osterix downregulated NELL-1 by affecting binding of RNA polymerase II to the NELL-1 promoter, but not by competing with Runx2 binding to the OSE2 sites. Moreover, NELL-1 mRNA levels were significantly decreased when Osterix was overexpressed in Saos-2, U2OS, Hela and Glioma cells. Correspondingly, knockdown of Osterix increased NELL-1 transcription and osteoblastic differentiation in both Saos-2 cells and primary human osteoblasts. These results suggest that Osterix is a direct transcriptional regulator with repressive effect on NELL-1 gene expression, contributing to a delicate balance of regulatory effects on NELL-1 transcription with Runx2, and may play a crucial role in osteoblast differentiation and mineralization. These findings also extend our understanding of the molecular mechanism of Runx2, Osterix, and NELL-1 and demonstrate their crosstalk during osteogenesis
Ellen “Nell” Prior Baldacchino Oral History Transcript
No full textMs. Baldacchino talks about early life and growing up in Charleston, South Carolina, where she connected with nature through roaming the coastal marshes and fishing and crabbing with her cousins at nearby Isle of Palms. A big influence in her life would be going to the South Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission’s Conservation Camp, spending many summers there as a student and a counselor. She graduated with her bachelor’s in biology from the College of Charleston in South Carolina and obtained her master’s in wildlife management from Virginia Polytechnic Institute (VPI). She discusses her career starting out as an intern (Recreation Specialist) at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge and retiring from Patuxent Research Refuge. She shares some of her work-related experiences as well as some stories from her time with the Service. Ms. Baldacchino still volunteers when she can at Patuxent Research Refuge.The Oral History of Ellen “Nell” Prior Baldacchino
October 19, 2017
Interview conducted by Libby Herland
Shepherdstown, WV
Oral History Cover Sheet
Name: Ellen “Nell” Prior Baldacchino
Date of Interview: October 19, 2017
Location of Interview: National Conservation Training Center, Shepherdstown, WV
Interviewer: Libby Herland
Approximate years worked for Fish and Wildlife Service: 43 years (1969-2012)
Offices and Field Stations Worked, Positions Held: Summer Recreation Specialist at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, Virginia; Recreation Specialist at Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia; Public Use Specialist in the Refuge Manager series at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, Maryland; Departmental Management Development Program (Washington, DC); Wildlife Biologist in the Annapolis (MD) Field Office for Ecological Services; Division of Refuges in Headquarters; and Biologist (Public Use) and Visitor Services Supervisor at Patuxent Research Refuge, Maryland.
Most Important Projects: Worked in public use programs at Chincoteague, Okefenokee, and Blackwater NWRs. While in the Washington, DC, Office, she worked on the Service Education Program; drafted the Trapping policy, was involved in the Steel Shot Program, Horse and Burrow Management, Population Management, Duck Stamp Program, and Publication Program. At Patuxent Research Refuge she was involved with teacher education, habitat camps for inner-city kids, birding for the blind, workshops for deaf teachers, the hunting program, and oversight of the National Wildlife Visitor Center.
Colleagues and Mentors: Dr. Henry Mosby and Dr. Bob Giles (college professors), J.C. Appel, Gene Cypert, Bill Julian, Willie Parker, Denny Holland, Lynn Greenwalt, David Klinger, Bob Hines, Hal O’Conner, Bill Savannah, Matt Perry, John Stasko, Sue McMahon, Diana Ogilvie. Patty Nagel, Brad Knudsen, Chan Robbins, George Gee.
Brief Summary of Interview: Ms. Baldacchino talks about early life and growing up in Charleston, South Carolina, where she connected with nature through roaming the coastal marshes and fishing and crabbing with her cousins at nearby Isle of Palms. A big influence in her life would be going to the South Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission’s Conservation Camp, spending many summers there as a student and a counselor. She graduated with her bachelor’s in biology from the College of Charleston in South Carolina and obtained her master’s in wildlife management from Virginia Polytechnic Institute (VPI). She discusses her career starting out as an intern (Recreation Specialist) at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge and retiring from Patuxent Research Refuge. She shares some of her work-related experiences as well as some stories from her time with the Service. Ms. Baldacchino still volunteers when she can at Patuxent Research Refuge.
LIBBY: Hi, this is Libby Herland, I’m the Region 5 retiree representative on the Fish and Wildlife Service Heritage Committee. And it’s Thursday, October 19, 2017. I’m at the National Conservation Training Center with Nell Baldacchino, who retired from the Fish and Wildlife Service from Patuxent National Wildlife Refuge. Well, it’s probably Patuxent National–
NELL: Patuxent Research Refuge.
LIBBY: Research Refuge, right, Patuxent National Research Refuge. So anyway, Nell is going to tell us about her long and illustrious career in the Fish and Wildlife Service, and it’s a real pleasure to have you here, Nell, and thank you for agreeing to do this oral history with us.
NELL: This is an honor for me as well.
LIBBY: So why don’t we start with a little information about you. Tell us a little bit about you and where you were born, when you were born, where, your early influences, how you got into the conservation field to begin with.
NELL: Okay. I was born in Charleston, South Carolina. My dad was head of the history department at the Citadel Military College. He was originally from New England, then went to Amherst, Brown, Harvard; those schools. My mom was from Charleston, got her degree at Duke, but I was raised on the Citadel campus, and our campus housing bordered on the Ashley River marshes, so I roamed around the wetlands and the marshes and my cousins lived nearby. I was an only child, but they had a house at Isle of Palms, one of the nearby beach areas on the marshes with a dock, and I grew up with my cousins fishing and crabbing. And that got me interested in the out of doors, and we would just spend our summers roaming around in the pluff mud and exploring nature and having a good time together. And then as I got older I was part of a little museum group that they had at the Charleston Museum, again introducing young people to nature, things like that. And then the real thing that had a huge influence on me, and I loved dearly, my aunt got me a scholarship to the South Carolina Conservation Camp run by the South Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. And I was about thirteen years old, and I absolutely fell in love with it. Actually, my dad died when I was ten, I should throw that in there. He did introduce me to the outdoors some and taught me to shoot with this little .22 rifle and things like that; never went hunting though. But the camp was a huge influence; they brought in resource professionals, foresters, soil specialists, wildlife managers; we did hands-on stuff. The foresters let us drill into trees and count the rings, and we did a control burn, and we used capture nets and shot capture guns at make believe animals and got really hands on. And it was just a wonderful experience, and I was invited back for a second year; it was a weeklong camp. And I went a second year, was thrilled to go back as a second year, and then they invited me to come back as a counselor and they were going to pay me. And I said, “No, no, I’m so excited to come back, give the money to some other student, to give somebody else a chance to come.” And I didn’t know it at the time, but later I got the Youth Conservation Award from the National Wildlife Federation. I was clueless about what this was about, how much it meant at the time, but I never even thought about it, it was just an impulsive reaction of a kid who had a good time and was thrilled to be there and participate. And it introduced me to photography too a little bit, but it was just a wonderful experience; I’d been to other camps a little bit, but I was very shy and this really brought me out, and I just loved it. And I guess I went back nine years in total, going back every summer.
LIBBY: Now, where in South Carolina?
NELL: It was in Cheraw.
LIBBY: Where is that?
NELL: Where is Cheraw, not exactly the middle of the state but in the sandhill part of the state.
LIBBY: And what year were you born?
NELL: 1945.
LIBBY: Okay.
NELL: I was thirteen when I started the camp.
LIBBY: Right.
NELL: So this was through my high school years.
LIBBY: Did you have many friends who shared your interest and passion in the outdoors?
NELL: Not really, just my cousins. We’d spend the summers at the beach fishing and crabbing and doing those kinds of fun things. So, then I got my–I was interested in nature, you know that sparked my interests. And got my bachelor’s in biology at the College of Charleston, a very small community college; my mom had been there, my grandfather, whom I never knew, had been there and was on the board. But it’s a much bigger school now, but it had a good solid environmental background. And then after that I went to VPI, Virginia Polytechnic for my master’s. I started out in biology and switched over to the wildlife management, so I got my master’s in wildlife management.
LIBBY: So, what year did you graduate?
NELL: Let’s see, ’69 for my master’s, and Matt Perry was in my class. I got to meet Matt at the same time. So, we go way back.
LIBBY: That’s interesting.
NELL: Of course, I was the only girl in the class.
LIBBY: I was going to ask that.
NELL: And I’d come in–
LIBBY: Really, the only girl in your classes?
NELL: Not in all the classes, but in the wildlife management program. They had a study room, so to speak, and I’d go in and everybody (speaks low). But it was great, and I got used to it. At first, I felt kind of intimidated and out of place, but then I got to be one of the guys, and it was great, and the same thing with my career. So, my major professor that I worked on rabies. They set me up for research doing rabies. And I did trapping, learned how to use steel traps and trapped a lot of mammals, and then worked at the Abingdon Health Lab where I could do fluorescent antibody assessment for brain tissue. And of course, I had to dispense of my animals in the traps, so I bought a little .22 Ruger automatic, and I dispatched all my animals. I roamed the mountains of western Virginia near Abingdon and collected as many kinds of animals as I could, trapping them, going into bat caves, and working with the state trappers who gave me their - they were trapping for rabies at that time. They gave me their carcasses too. And one time I cut myself dissecting late at night in the lab by myself, scared me to death. “Suppose this animal has rabies.” So, they gave me the shots, in the abdomen, which was disgusting, but anyway.
LIBBY: Did you end up writing a thesis?
NELL: Yeah, I did a thesis; that was for my master’s work.
LIBBY: Do you still have copies of that?
NELL: Oh somewhere, yeah.
LIBBY: The archives would love to have a copy of your thesis for their–
NELL: Well it wasn’t very meaningful, but it gave me good experience. It gave me field experience, which of course I never had, and exposure to all kinds of things. So, it was nice, and I met new people in new areas, in a new environment. And later on, when I worked in the Washington office for a spell, I worked on the trapping policy, which I at least had some experience with trapping and that kind of thing, so that kind of paved – greased the skids, so to speak.
LIBBY: Were your professors anybody who was known in the conservation world?
NELL: Oh, I don’t know, I think they probably were. Dr. Henry Mosby I think was famous in his own right. And Dr. Bob Giles was my major professor, and I still keep up with him a little bit. And he steered me towards the Fish and Wildlife Service. He knew J.C. Appel at Chincoteague. And after I graduated from grad school, I went out to look at it in the spring time during spring break when the snow geese were there, and I was just absolutely overwhelmed. So, I started a summer internship position at Chincoteague, the summer of ’69. And it was wonderful! Of course, it’s on the beach. And that was one thing about J.C., he made the point that an environment, a refuge like Chincoteague, was so special in that you could - people came - not because they cared anything about wildlife, but most people came for the beach. And they had extra time on their hands, so then they could come to the refuge programs and learn about the refuge and wildlife and wildlife management. So, you had this wonderful opportunity to reach out to an audience, which would not normally be visiting a wildlife refuge. And that has stayed with me, and I’ve often quoted him, so to speak, in making that comment that the beach was the “hook,” and then once you got them there, you could expose people to other things.
LIBBY: You think he was an early person in the Fish and Wildlife Service to recognize that connection?
NELL: Oh, yes, yes, he was known for his innovative, I think, ideas and what not. And public use was something that he was one of the front runners in the public use arena. And he also had a significant influence in that this was at a time–this was the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife back then, and it was a time when the managers wore suits and ties, you know, they dressed. And he emphasized to me, and I think everybody else that worked there, the importance of appearance. And even wearing a hat and how, when you’re approaching the public and even if you’re telling them they’re doing something wrong, they will respect you more if you’re dressed for the part. If you are professional looking, and that has always stayed with me, and it’s actually something that I have seen sort of go downhill with the Service over the years. I used to be glad that they had class A uniforms for going to meetings and special events and programs, and they don’t anymore. And I used to—even in my later years with the Service, if I went to give a talk to a Chamber of Commerce or have a meeting with somebody in the community, which a lot of refuge managers and visitor services staff have to do all the time—you want to look professional. And everybody else is wearing business attire and you go into a meeting looking like a bum—not exactly like a bum, you wear your uniform—but it’s not quite the same. I see our sister agency the Park Service looking much more professional, and I love the Service and I love being casually dressed, it’s more comfortable, and if you’re out in the field, that’s fine. But I do think there’s a place for the man in a tie at least, if not a jacket, and I think appearance does make a difference. That’s just something that’s stuck with me over the years from J.C., and from a different time when people did dress more.
LIBBY: I know it’s definitely a lot more casual now. So, what were your responsibilities? That was a summer position?
NELL: That was just a summer internship. I did tours, and actually they had no uniforms for women back then.
LIBBY: Oh, really?
NELL: So, they sent me some cloth. I don’t sew, so I had somebody make me a skirt; you know, it was skirts back then, slacks for some things but mostly skirts.
LIBBY: So, you wore a skirt?
NELL: I wore a skirt and a white shirt, and I sewed my patch on there with the rocker that said, “Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife.”
LIBBY: And what did you wear on your feet?
NELL: What did I wear on my feet? I guess pumps, some sort of pumps.
LIBBY: But you were working on a beach.
NELL: Some of the time, yes; and then of course we had pony penning, and I got to ride one of the ponies and schmooze with people. So, I definitely wore slacks then, and just a white shirt, so I tried to blend in.
LIBBY: But you had to make your own uniform?
NELL: Or have it made. Yes, because there was nothing else.
LIBBY: That’s amazing, 1969, no uniforms for women.
NELL: No, no uniforms for women. And yeah, I guess, in a way—I hadn’t thought about it at the time—well, they were looking for token females. They were looking to recruit women into the Service at that time. So I was fortunate. I kind of resented the fact that I was given opportunities because I was a woman, but I wanted to have opportunities because of the merits of what I could do. It was nice to get the opportunities anyway.
LIBBY: So, you have an internship, you have a master’s degree?
NELL: Yes, in wildlife management.
LIBBY: You’re coming out, in wildlife management, you’re doing an internship as a visitor services person for a few months.
NELL: Right, and then they were trying to keep me on. In the meantime, I had signed up with Audubon, but before I–
LIBBY: National Audubon?
NELL: National Audubon had a naturalist training program, a three- month training program. And it ran in the fall of ’69. Their Greenwich Center is where I went. And it was great–
LIBBY: In Connecticut?
NELL: Greenwich, Connecticut, and it was teaching you how to interpret and deal with the public and deal with kids and do education programs, so that was good; I enjoyed that. And then after that they were able to hire me full time down at Okefenokee.
LIBBY: Permanent?
NELL: Permanently.
LIBBY: Okay, and how did that happen?
NELL: Well I guess I applied. You know, they told me to apply, I mean, I was introduced to the people in the Service at Chincoteague, and of course they were looking for women at that time, so they encouraged me to apply.
LIBBY: Someone stayed in touch with you?
NELL: Yes, Larry Givens, I think from Region 4 Regional Office, was I guess my initial contact. But anyway, I landed at “Okie” in January 1970.
LIBBY: And your position was?
NELL: Oh dear, what was my position? I guess I was a Recreation Aide or something at that point; later that changed. And I did tours there, and developed slide shows, and got the kids in the community involved with programs and coming out and exploring this and doing that on the refuge. And it was a great experience, and I got to tag along with the biologist, who was getting ready to retire, but he knew his plants.
LIBBY: Who was that?
NELL: Gene Cypert, I think CYPERT, I’m not sure, but he really knew the plant life. And I would go around with him and take pictures of plants, and he would tell me what they were, and that was good for me, got me out in the field. And they were doing lots of neat things. They’d just built a three quarter of a mile boardwalk out into the swamp, and I would go out in the swamp on my days off in the boat and just explore. One day, I had my camera, I was by myself in a Jon boat going down the canal. And I saw a raccoon on the shore and I said, “oh,” grabbed my camera, jumped off the boat, and had the anchor with me, but the other end of the anchor rope was not attached to the boat. So here I am standing on the shore, holding an anchor, holding my camera, and the boat is going out, and here I am in the middle of the swamp by myself. And, of course, no cell phones back then.
LIBBY: What’d you do?
NELL: What did I do? I put everything down, looked around for any alligators that might be guarding their young, didn’t see any, dove in, and chased the boat down, climbed in, and came back and retrieved my stuff (laughing).
LIBBY: You’re intrepid.
NELL: But it was a little unnerving. Another time I was pulling the boat along the shore and looked down and there was a cottonmouth right under my hand - water moccasin. Anyway, we had a variety of snake stories and things like that, but it was a great experience, and I did attend a photography class while I was there, and it helped me a lot because I’ve enjoyed photography through my career.
LIBBY: So you were at Okie for–?
NELL: For just a year.
LIBBY: Oh, just for one year?
NELL: Just a year.
LIBBY: And you’re not married at this point, right?
NELL: No, no.
LIBBY: You haven’t met your husband yet?
NELL: I hadn’t met my husband then. Then I had an opportunity, I don’t quite remember how it came about, but I transferred to Blackwater, and I was in the refuge manager series then. I think they were, again, looking for their people that were in that career path, although I wasn’t interested in being a manager. Anyway, I got my U-Haul and drove up to Blackwater and another great experience, different kind of refuge. I used to tag along with the muskrat trappers and do a lot of public programs there. I can remember one time I had a group of kids on a bus doing a tour, and I saw a snake on the side of the road. So, I jumped off the bus and I grabbed the snake. And the snake was sort of, it was just a black snake, but it was blind, I think, in one eye. And I just sort of picked it up without paying much attention, not holding it properly behind the neck, and it turned around and bit me while all these kids are standing in front of me; I had gone back on the bus. And of course, I couldn’t react too much, so I used it as an opportunity to say, “This is not how you’re supposed to handle a snake. You’re supposed to hold them right behind the neck, so they can’t turn around like this.” And the kids would scream, and the more the kids screamed, the more the snake bit my finger (laughing).
LIBBY: It kept biting you?
NELL: It kept biting me, just on the finger. It was not horrendous, but I had to try to keep my cool all this time. Ever since then I was a little more careful in how I handled snakes. But anyway, that was just one of my fun experiences at Blackwater, and I guess that’s where I met my husband too. I got very involved in the community, everywhere I went, and we had worked with the art center and had a wildlife photography contest. And my husband-to-be was an editor of a local newspaper, so he came out to cover this event, and that’s how we met.
LIBBY: Oh, that’s cool.
NELL: Anyway, let me see if there was anything else at Blackwater.
LIBBY: Who was the manager when you were there?
NELL: Bill Julian, and he was a wonderful guy. And I got to know his family, his kids and his wife, and became good friends with them.
LIBBY: Was there anybody at that refuge that you felt was kind of like a mentor to you, because you were still relatively young. And again, how many women were on the staff?
NELL: That’s another thing, when I went to Blackwater, as I said, I was in the refuge manager series, and automatically with that came law enforcement authority. And back at that time, there was no law enforcement training. You went you out, and they took me
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