Richard S. “Doc” Phillips, the man pictured on the front, started our club. Oakwoods Discovery Center, where we meet, was opened and dedicated to him in 1994. He wrote a weekly article called “In Nature’s Realm” for 36 years for The Courier, our local newspaper. He taught biology at Findlay High School and Findlay College. He banded birds for a half-century and recorded his valuable information. All of his data has been preserved in the archives at BGSU.

The Hancock County Naturalists group was formed in 1974 with its first meeting held on March 13, 1975, at Christ United Methodist Church of Findlay. Doc wrote a book on the birds of Hancock County in 1951 and then wrote an updated book in 1980, which was sponsored by the Hancock County Naturalists. After Doc passed away in 1993, some members of our group got together and compiled selected articles from his newspaper column “In Nature’s Realm,” to be published in book form.

So here we are, years later, continuing to be influenced by “Doc” Phillips and influencing others about our natural world. It inspires us to know that people continue to have a genuine interest and appreciation for all of the nature that surrounds us. We think Doc would be happy to know that his influence continues to spread and that his little club hasn’t gone extinct.