CHASING BIRCHES, LIFE, AND ART WITH BVB

摘要

After growing up outside of Chicago and in rural northern Wisconsin, I came to the University of Michigan in the fall of 1962 to major in forestry at the School of Natural Resources (SNR). Two years later, in the fall of 1964, I met Burt Barnes soon after he had returned to Ann Arbor, when I took his Silviculture course (which really emphasized forest ecology rather than silviculture). His enthusiasm for the topics, his intense interest in all of the students, and his good humor were infectious. He readily brought his knowledge and appreciation of art and music into the classroom, which included performances of "You Gotta Know the Territory," "76 Trombones," and other numbers from the Music Man. Just recently I found the postcard from Burt that reported my final grade, with a little handwritten congratulatory comment ("top banananana!") in his distinctive, tiny penmanship next to the final grade.