// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhy did Ellsworth Jaeger go to jail? He was caught jay walking.
Ellsworth Jaeger (October 18, 1897 – August 7, 1962) was an American naturalist and author.
He was a staff member at the Buffalo Museum of Science in Buffalo, New York.
Biography
[edit]Jaeger was born on October 18, 1897 in Buffalo, New York. When he was nine years old, he wrote a letter to naturalist Ernest Thompson Seton, who founded the Woodcraft League of America, which he received a response to. As a boy, he would go on to help start the chapter of the Woodcraft League in Buffalo.[1]
Jaeger graduated from Masten Park High School. He attended Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, paying for his education by working an open-hearth furnace at Bethlehem Steel.[1]
After completing his education, Jaeger worked commercial artist, doing drawings for Acme Steel and street car advertising for Barron G Collier.[1]
Jaeger became a leader in the Woodcrafters, turning the Buffalo group into one of the most prominent in the United States. He then became the field director of Woodcrafters for the northeastern states.[2]
In 1929, Jaeger joined the faculty at the Buffalo Museum of Science in Buffalo when it opened. In 1933, he joined the board of managers for the museum.[1][2] In 1941, he became the museum's education curator.[2] In 1948, he visited and reviewed the adult-education facilities in American museums for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).[2] In 1951, he became the Saturday morning host of Your Museum of Science, a television program on WBEN-TV.[1]
From 1934 to 1939, Jaeger wrote Wonder Trails, a daily syndicated newspaper column that appeared in thirteen newspapers in the United States and Canada. Each day, he would feature a drawing of an animal along with text detailing its behavior and ecology. In 1967, a collection of the pieces were published as a 48 page paperback. [2][3] He published articles and drawings in numerous publications including Natural History and Better Homes & Gardens.[1]
Jaeger was well-versed in the traditions of many Native American tribes. He spent twelve summers of his life living with tribes in Canada and the American Southwest.[1] He was an expert on animal foot prints and animal calls.[4]
Jaeger's books, which were illustrated with pen and ink drawings, focussed on woodcraft and Indian lore.[5] [6] They harkened back to the heyday of young men's interest in the subjects in the early 20th century, when they were popularized by Dan Beard and Ernest Thompson Seton, who guided "young imaginations" in an "innocent pursuit of the primitive." This era, according to one writer, came to an end in the 1910's "when the call to war and the mysteries of electronics and the internal combustion engine" changed their interests.[5]
Awards and honors
[edit]In 1938, Jaeger was named a "great naturalist of the North" by the Manitoba Natural History Society. In 1952, he was elected fellow of the Rochester Museum of Arts and Sciences. In 1954, he received the Luther Gulick Award from the Campfire Girls of America for his work training leaders and counselors.[1]
Personal life
[edit]Jaeger's wife, Zetta,[2] was expert in the legend and folklore of primitive cultures and in puppetry.[1] Jaeger had a pet bobcat.[7]
Jaeger died on August 7, 1962 at Buffalo General Hospital.[1]
Books
[edit]- How to Camp Out If You're Bombed Out (1942)
- Wildwood Wisdom (Macmillan, 1946)[8][9]
- Easy Crafts (Macmillan, 1947)[10]
- Council Fires (Macmillan, 1948)[11][12][13]
- Tracks and Trailcraft (Macmillan, 1948)[14][15]
- Nature Crafts (Macmillan, 1949)[16]
- Land and Water Trails (Macmillan, 1953)[17]
- Woodsmoke (Macmillan, 1953)[18][19]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Ellsworth Jaeger, Author, Naturalist, Lecturer, Dead". Buffalo Evening News. August 8, 1962. Retrieved September 15, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "ELLSWORTH JAEGER, NATURALIST, WAS 64". The New York Times. August 9, 1962 – via NYTimes.com.
- ↑ "Jaeger's 'Wonder Trails' Republished in Booklet". Buffalo Evening News. July 22, 1967. Retrieved September 17, 2026.
- ↑ Halliday, Hugh M. (February 1, 1941). "Man Who Speaks to Birds Gets Reply, to Talk Here". The Toronto Star. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
- 1 2 Wesp, Joe (March 5, 1949). "'Council Fires' Re-lit by Ellsworth Jaeger". Buffalo Evening News. Retrieved September 15, 2026.
- ↑ Lillich, Frank (March 8, 1953). "Jaeger Offers New Work On Outdoor Life". Buffalo Courier Express. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
- ↑ Rising, Gerry (4 February 2002). "'MUSEUM KIDS' OF ALL AGES OFFER THANKS". The Buffalo News.
- ↑ "Camping Out". The New York Times. April 29, 1945 – via NYTimes.com.
- ↑ "Het bos in: bushcraften voor beginners". De Tijd. October 6, 2018.
- ↑ "Brief Browsings in Books: The Educational Forum: Vol 11 , No 4 - Get Access". www.tandfonline.com. doi:10.1080/00131724709339659.
- ↑ Boston, Howard (July 24, 1949). "Camp Fire Programs; COUNCIL FIRES. By Ellsworth Jaeger. 253 pp. New York: The Macmillan Company. $2.95". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
- ↑ "Book Reviews, Sites, Romance, Fantasy, Fiction". Kirkus Reviews.
- ↑ "COUNCIL FIRES. By Ellsworth Jaeger" (PDF). Sierra Club Bulletin. June 1950. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
- ↑ Seibert, Henri C. (March 1, 1949). "Tracks and Trailcraft. Ellsworth Jaeger". The Quarterly Review of Biology. 24 (1): 59–60. doi:10.1086/396851 – via journals.uchicago.edu (Atypon).
- ↑ Sweedy, Theodore S. (September 12, 1948). "Woodsman's "Pinkerton"; TRACKS AND TRAILCRAFT. By Ellsworth Jaeger. Illustrated by the author. 381 pp. New York: The Macmillan Company. $3.95". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
- ↑ ""Nature Crafts" by Ellsworth Jaeger". The San Francisco Call Bulletin. March 11, 1950. Retrieved September 17, 2026.
- ↑ "Land and Water Trails by Ellsworth Jaeger. MacMillan". The Flint Journal. January 8, 1954. Retrieved September 17, 2026.
- ↑ "Book Reviews, Sites, Romance, Fantasy, Fiction". Kirkus Reviews.
- ↑ "New Books in Brief: Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance: Vol 24 , No 5 - Get Access". Journal of the American Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation. doi:10.1080/23267232.1953.10628117 – via www.tandfonline.com.