Author Christie Palmer Lowrance will present a talk on: “Thornton W. Burgess: An Extraordinary Naturalist, Children’s Author, and Cape Codder”

Wednesday, April 10th at 2pm

“In the realm of wildlife conservation and natural history, there is one name in the United States that must not be forgotten: Thornton W. Burgess,” wrote Dr. Theodore H. Reed, Smithsonian Institution’s National Zoological Park director.  

From a Cape Cod childhood to work as a journalist, then a beloved children’s author and wildlife advocate in Springfield and Hampden,  Massachusetts, Thornton Burgess’ career as an internationally loved story-teller, a respected naturalist, and pioneer in environmental education and radio programming for children was ground-breaking. Christie Palmer Lowrance, author of Nature’s Ambassador: The Legacy of Thornton W. Burgess, will describe highlights of his career, including his great friendship with “animal whisperer” Alice Conant Cook, whose Conant relatives lived in the headquarters of Falmouth Historical Society. Ms. Lowrance will read excerpts from Aunt Sally’s Friends in Fur, his fond literary tribute to Cook, as well as show slides of her famous Woodshed Night Club.”

Talk is free thanks to the generosity of the Ellis Family in memory of Robert Conant Ellis (1931-2023) and Susan Yeager Tow (1936-2019), grandson and granddaughter of William and Margaret Conant.

BIO

Christie Palmer Lowrance has passionately pursued a lifelong career as a writer/editor, journalist, biographer, and writing instructor. She has written extensively about Cape Cod’s historical, artistic, literary, and commercial life, and taught writing at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and Cape Cod Community College. Ms. Lowrance is the author of Nature’s Ambassador: The Legacy of Thornton W. Burgess published by Schiffer Publishing. Her children’s book The Last Heath Hen, illustrated by artist Mike Berndt, will be released early this summer. A biography, Ships and Shards, on Dr. George F. Bass, known as the father of underwater archaeology, is a work-in-progress.

Ms. Lowrance has a B.A. from William Smith College and an M.A. from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. She taught writing at the University of Massachusetts and Cape Cod Community College.

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