Writing this column has given me the opportunity to meet people who I might not otherwise have met. Frank Vogt, a long-time resident of Bethel, a life-long educator, birder, fisherman and all-round outdoorsman is one of those people. Last year, I learned through a series of friends that Frank had been reading this weekly column and had some stories he thought I might be interested in hearing.

He was right. Mac Davis took me over to meet Frank who, at 93, couldn’t get out and about as much as he would have liked. Frank and Mac, colleagues and fishing buddies, told story after story of their adventures and escapades. The stories were all set in the outdoors, usually in a canoe and were held together by chance and often seemingly miraculous encounters with birds.

There was the fishing trip where every fish hooked was stolen by a pair of loons before they could be reeled into the boat. I guess the loons considered it their pond and felt Frank and Mac were poaching.

There was the Ruffed Grouse that befriended Frank one day when cross country skiing. For several consecutive days, the bird would approach with no fear and even perch on Frank’s ski pole.

There was the trip to Alaska with his son who was a student of Bernd Heinrich. The two researchers were studying Arctic Bumblebees. Frank tagged along because it was a chance to experience deep wilderness, deeper than even here in Maine. He shared a story from this trip involving Whistler Swans that I wrote about in this column last year.

As I wrote then, birds serve to anchor special events in memory  –  stories of people, times and places. For me, stories about birds are inextricably tied to people who have impacted my life. Frank is one of those people.

He passed away Saturday, September 19. He will be sorely missed by his family and friends. Even so, he will live on through those stories and memories that can be told and retold.

This week, as you go about your business, watch for a bird and take a moment to think of Frank and those like him in your life. Frank’s love and commitment to the wild places and creatures in this world, especially here in Western Maine, is a model for us all.

James Reddoch, of Albany Township and Boston, leads birding events for the Mahoosuc Land Trust. Visit Mahoosuc Land Trust at 162 North Road, Bethel, ME. To learn more visit www.mahoosuc.org. To contact James, send your emails to info@mahoosuc.org.

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