From: Sinclair Hart (slobak@bcn.net)
Date: Sun May 16 1999 - 14:34:27 PDT
Thanks, Ron, for a wonderful story Ronald Gillen wrote: > Ronald Gillen wrote: > > Pictures in the URLs below..... > > > ========================= snip ============================================= > > Nick Georgiady recalls story of Gertie the Duck > > By Bob Ratterman > OXFORD PRESS > > A war-ravaged world in 1945 took time out from the stress of dealing > with the death and > destruction of World War II to watch as a duck hatched her young on a > bridge piling in > Milwaukee. > > It was a welcome release in the news of the world as "Gertie" nested on > the piling. She laid six > eggs, eventually hatching five, and then raised the youngsters. > > The news of Gertie the Duck and her offspring went around the world, > inspiring Nick Georgiady > and Louis Romano, a couple of teachers stationed in England while > serving in the U.S. Air > Force. The Milwaukee natives read about Gertie on the front page of > "Stars and Stripes," the > newspaper produced for the armed forces. > > "Anything catching the more human side of living was a nice relief," > said Georgiady, now retired > from Miami University. > > Georgiady and Romano returned to the United States after the war and > went back to teaching > grade school and collaborating on children's books. > > In 1959, they wrote "Gertie the Duck" about the famous nesting mallard > in Milwaukee The book > has since been translated into French, Spanish, German, Swedish and > Danish with a Chinese > version currently in the works. > > Last fall, Georgiady paid a visit to Milwaukee, where a statue of Gertie > and a young duckling > has been erected on the bridge near where the duck nested in 1945. > > The saga of Gertie began in April 1945 when a young boy pointed out the > duck to his mother as > they walked along the Wisconsin Avenue bridge. Gertie and her family > drew crowds of watchers > and became the subject of daily news stories in the city and, then, the > country. > > When some visitors began tossing stones and cigarettes at the nest to > get Gertie to move so > they could see the eggs, the Milwaukee Humane Society posted an officer > near the next to keep > traffic moving and prevent injury to the duck and her eggs. > > Gertie and her family even caused alterations to the city's celebration > at the end of the war in > Europe on May 8 of that year. > > A victory parade was planned along Wisconsin Avenue with high school, > college and military > bands playing and soldiers and sailors marching. "It was a glorious > celebration," Georgiady > said. "The marchers knew the eggs were about to hatch so just before > they reached the bridge, > the bands stopped playing and all the marchers tiptoed quietly across > the bridge, not wanting to > frighten Gertie. On the far side of the bridge, they began playing again > as they marched away." > > Once the eggs hatched, the problems increased as the nest area was small > and the growing > ducks, still unable to swim, occasionally fell in the water. Bridge > tender Paul Benn became a > national hero when he used a rowboat to rescue one of the ducklings with > a net. > > Gimbel's department store, located next to the bridge, provided an empty > store window display > area to the duck family, which was relocated there with the help of the > humane society. Later, > they were moved to Juneau Park on Lake Michigan, riding on a fire engine > with a marching > band playing and crowds lining the streets. > > "When Gertie and her family were set free in the park, they joined the > other ducks (in a lagoon > at the park) and people watching them could identify them because they > had been marked with > a splash of yellow paint on their backs," Georgiady recalled. "Then as > the summer passed and > the weather grew colder, more and more of the birds took off and flew > south for the winter > including Gertie and her family. But each spring, for many years after > that, people would go to > the park and look for Gertie and her now grown-up family." > > "Gertie the Duck was one of 105 children's books written by Georgiady > and Romano. Georgiady > brought his interest in helping children read to Miami University and > continues it even in > retirement. > > Gertie has been immortalized locally, too, as the "Silver Gertie Award" > is given each year at the > Eileen Tway Children's Literature Conference to individuals for > outstanding contributions to > children's literature. The award is a silver pin made by Mik Stousland. > > Georgiady remembers the story as a break from the hard news of the world > in 1945. > > "People who observed Gertie's adventures or who heard about this unusual > duck still talk about > the pleasure and joy that this true story brought to many people at a > very difficult time in our > history," Georgiady said. "It is a story that lives on, as it should." > > > http://www.eppsteinuhen.com/WHATSNEW/90th/wn_in-3.html > > http://www.eppsteinuhen.com/WHATSNEW/90th/wn_in-4.html > > http://www.eppsteinuhen.com/WHATSNEW/90th/wn_in-6.html