Ronald Rood (July 7, 1920- July 16, 2001) was a
Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
author,
naturalist and
Vermont Public Radio commentator who wrote over 30 books, including ''The Loon in My Bathtub,'' ''How Do You Spank a Porcupine?,'' ''It's Going to Sting Me,'' and ''Mother Can I Keep This Clam - It Followed Me Home.''
''Ron Rood's Vermont: A Nature Guide'' was published by The New England Press in 1988.
Personal life
Rood was born in
Torrington, Connecticut, in 1920. He was intrigued by all of nature from early childhood, stating that his mentor was
Thornton Burgess
Thornton Waldo Burgess (January 17, 1874 – June 5, 1965) was an American conservationist and author of children's stories. He was sometimes known as the Bedtime Story-Man, after his newspaper column ''Bedtime Stories''. By the time he retir ...
. During
the Second World War, Rood was a
fighter pilot
A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and ...
, flying
P-51 Mustang
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...
s over Europe. He earned a bachelor's degree in
forestry
Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. Th ...
and wildlife, and later a master's degree in
zoology
Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...
. He married Margaret "Peg" Bruce in 1942 and in 1953 they moved to
Lincoln, Vermont
Lincoln is a town in Addison County, Vermont, United States. Lincoln is located at the base of Mount Abraham in the Green Mountains. It was settled by Quakers in the late 18th Century. The population was 1,323 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...
, where he shared a home with his wife and their four children. Their friends Al and Norene Thergesen and their children also shared the home for some years. Rood taught the Introductory Biology Laboratory course at
Middlebury College
Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...
, collected biological specimens for biological supply houses, and wrote encyclopedia entries on various biological subjects while beginning his writing career. Rood taught Sunday School at the
Lincoln United Church and directed its choir for 25 years.
Ronald Rood and his family lived for a while in
Massapequa Park, New York, where he was an important part of the
Massapequa Presbyterian Church. He and his wife, Peggy, both sang in the choir.
At his death, he was cremated and the ashes, contained in his favorite coffee pot, were interred in the Maple Shade Cemetery, Lincoln, Vermont, in a plot marked by a boulder bearing his name, dates, Peg's name and birthdate, and the outline of a P-51, among other inscriptions.
Partial bibliography
*''Wild Brother''
*''The How and Why Wonder Book of Insects'' (1960)
*''Land Alive'' (1962)
*''The How and Why Wonder Book: Ants & Bees'' (1962)
*''The How and Why Wonder Book: Butterflies & Moths'' (1963)
*''Loon in My Bathtub'' (1964)
*''The Sea and Its Wonderful Creatures'' (1965)
*''Bees Bugs & Beetles'' (1965)
*''Vermont Life Book of Nature'' (1967)
*''Hundred Acre Welcome: The Story of a Chincoteague Pony'' (1967)
*''Animal Champions'' (1969)
*''Answers About Insects'' (1969)
*''Animals Nobody Loves'' (1971)
*''Wild Brother'' (1971)
*''Who Wakes the Groundhog?'' (1973)
*''May I Keep this Clam, Mother? It Followed Me Home'' (1973)
*''Good Things are Happening'' (1975)
*''Possum in the Parking Lot'' (1977)
*''It's Going to Sting Me!'' (1977)
*''Elephant Bones and Lonely Hearts'' (1977)
*''Laska'' (1980)
*''Insects'' (1982)
*''Ron Rood's Vermont'' (1988)
*''Tide Pools'' (1993)
*''Wetlands'' (1994)
*''New York Public Library Incredible Earth'' (1996)
*''How Do You Spank a Porcupine?''
*''Beachcombers All!''
See also
*
How and Why Wonder Books How and Why Wonder Books were a series of illustrated American books published in the 1960s and 1970s that was designed to teach science and history to children and young teenagers. The series began in 1960, and was edited under the supervision of D ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rood, Ronald
1920 births
2001 deaths
American naturalists
University of Connecticut alumni
Writers from Vermont
Vermont culture
United States Army Air Forces officers
United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II
20th-century naturalists