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by Joanie Cradick
He brought a well equipped shop, countless tools, and matchless skill, experience and efficiency to bear in box building. Without him, we would have been spending all our time making boxes instead of monitoring trails and helping other bluebirders. Without him, we wouldn’t have been able to give county coordinators thousands of boxes to distribute. And without those boxes, we wouldn’t have been able to enlist so many coordinators, acquire so many members or fledge so many bluebirds. And there wouldn’t have been any one-of-a-kind nest boxes, including the beautiful chalet birdhouses he built and donated for our annual fundraisers. What he accomplished for our organization is almost unimaginable. How Connie became involved in BAN is one of Pam’s (Connie’s wife) favorite stories. In her words: “Looking for a new project, he remembered Tim Knott whom he knew from the Save the Niobrara River effort. Tim steered Connie in the direction of Steve Eno. Steve and some others were moving the boxes on a trail and invited Connie along to see what this conservation endeavor was all about. When the trail destination was reached, Connie (unwittingly) commented that someone could just drive down the road and shoot this row of boxes! Connie would (later) say he then got the look from Steve that this was exactly why they were out there that day moving boxes. As they moved box after box on that trail and then onto another trail, Connie (said he) was telling himself that dragging all this stuff and traipsing in weeds up to his waist was not his idea of a good day. This was also the first time he thought of Steve as the Pied Piper and knew that an organization with this much enthusiasm was something he wanted to be part of. At the end of the day, he told Steve he did not think he was interested in doing this again but if Steve had some wood, he could probably make some boxes.” Over the years, and with the help of a most loyal sidekick, Sanford Downs, and a few others in the past year or so, Connie made nearly 25,000 birdhouses for BAN. Connie’s personality, however, wasn’t anything like the chief-in-charge of a cut and dried production of nest boxes. With his whisk-broom mustache, his unruly mop of iron-gray hair and a pair of startlingly blue eyes, Connie could cut through baloney like a car’s low beam cuts through fog (only better). He had mettle. He was candid. And he was mischievous. Sometimes it was hard to tell if he was giving in to an impish streak or playing the disciplinarian in earnest. Probably only Pam knew. His life experiences as a hospital corpsman in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and his ownership of the Conover Oil Company and MC Distribution in Havelock, undoubtedly contributed to his knowledge of people. And his tendency to indulge this impish streak sometimes nonplused us -- and, no doubt, delighted Connie. Bill Seibert recalls one of those times. Realizing he needed some starter wood to feed an outdoor fireplace in his backyard, Bill asked Steve Eno if there might be some cedar scraps left over from the nestbox building. Steve indicated there were and referred Bill to Connie. So Bill asked Connie who then gave him a box full. Weeks elapsed before Bill ran into Connie again. He told Connie he could use some more scraps. Connie said gruffly, “Well, you never brought my box back!” “It was a plain old cardboard box, the kind that fruit comes in with holes in it,” recalled Bill somewhat indignantly. “To Connie, that was a pretty important box. He let me know in no uncertain terms that I hadn’t returned it.” Were Connie’s eyes twinkling when he made that accusation? Bill’s not sure but he figures it was Connie’s way of both having fun and teaching a lesson. Dealing with BAN’s continual need for nest boxes was undoubtedly taxing but Connie met those goals with a wry sense of humor. For instance, many remember the time he left on a trip south and for weeks no one could reach him. Did he turn off his phone? Change his number? Refuse to answer the phone? Only Connie and Pam know. On another occasion, when Connie was honored with the Howard L. Wiegers Outstanding Wildlife Conservation Award in 2002, mention was made of a bluebird trail all the way across the state. Pam recalls Connie’s response: “Connie rolled his eyes skyward and said, ‘oh, ya, only another 5,000 boxes needed.’” At a meeting in Kearney, it was suggested to Steve Eno that Connie make a small kestrel box, complete with pulley system used to lower and raise the box, for demonstration at meetings. Steve paused. He hesitated. Then he indicated he was afraid to ask something more of Connie. However, it wasn’t long after the meeting that Connie produced a miniature replica for us. Despite all the weight we BAN members put on Connie’s shoulders with our expectations, Connie derived happiness and satisfaction from us too. Pam said recently, “All the personal enjoyment he received from being a part of this (box building organization) was eclipsed by all the good people he met and the wonderful friendships that were made.” Connie has touched all of our lives. We shall miss him.
Memorial to benefit Mahoney State Park Bluebirds Across Nebraska has established the Connie Conover Memorial Fund. Money donated to the organization in Connie’s memory will be used to create a special stopping spot along the hiker/biker trail at Mahoney State Park. Plans for Connie’s memorial include a park bench located on a concrete pad surrounded by various plantings and a boulder with an inlaid plaque remembering Connie and the important part he played in bringing bluebirds to the park. Pam Conover said chose the site for the view and the fact that there are a lot of bluebird boxes in the area that have a good record for producing bluebirds. She said she also chose the site because it is close to the hiking and biking trail so she and others could get to it easily. Once the memorial is complete, BAN plans a special dedication at one of its future meetings.
Thank you to all the wonderful BAN members who sent cards, brought food, phoned, took photos, attended Connie’s Celebration of Life gathering, and donated so generously to Connie’s memorial fund. All of these are so gratefully appreciated by his family. Connie and my life changed for the better when we began to know the good people in this organization. We made enduring friendships, had so many laughs, heard so many good bluebird stories, and ate lots of good food! Connie so enjoyed the challenge of getting just one more box part out of that piece of wood so there was less waste. The challenge of producing a jig to make the building process better and easier and any way the box could be made that was advantageous for these beautiful bluebirds. I thank you for all the wonderful memories and the love and caring shown to our family during this difficult time. Thank You, |
Connie Conover was a
main pole in the BAN organizational tent. Without him, BAN wouldn’t have held up
so well – if at all. Maybe it’s more accurate to say our tent would have
collapsed without the thousands of boxes he made.