The Rock Lady of Cincinnati, Ohio

[Originally posted March 2008]

Previously I posted about creative moms--specifically, Evelyn Ryan, the indefatigable heroine of The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio. Well, mine may not have won lots of contests, but she raised her children to be curious and to use their brains, just as Evelyn did.

My mom, Betsy Craig, was known as the “rock lady” when I was growing up, because she shared her love of geology and archeology by bringing fossils and pottery shards to school. She also volunteered at the Cincinnati Nature Center and the Museum of Natural History. (I liked to visit the latter because of the two huge and slightly scary woolly mammoths posted outside.) So it’s no surprise to her children that mom just received the North Carolina Wildlife Federation’s Conservation award for Environmental Educator of 2007. She was recognized for her creation of Rivercourse: Coldwater Conservation and Fly Fishing Youth Camp. Here's an article about the award.

I’m very proud of mom. (Even if she did sometimes call me "the little black cloud” when I was growing up. For some reason she and my brother thought I was inclined to be a tad sulky or grumpy in the morning. No comments from the peanut gallery, please.)