Hoary Redpoll. A species I have rarely seen as it stays up in the far North even in the bleakest, snowiest of winters. But–Hoary Redpoll will forever be associated in my mind with Eleanor Mattusch, a long-time Linnaean Society Of New York member who died June 1, 2022.
I first met Eleanor in 1977, when I was a rather new member of LSNY. She was one of those people who I had a rapport with, as we had similar views on the absurdities of life, and was able to share it with observational, sometimes ironic humor. She also was a forthright person, never mean-spirited but not sugar-coating either.
Eleanor was a retired school teacher out in Queens, where she resided. She often birded in Central Park, as well as attended LSNY meetings. However, it was on the LSNY’s Centennial trip to Churchill, Manitoba in June 1978 that I really got to know her better.
It was I who discovered the Hoary Redpoll in a low, dense thicket east of the town of Churchill. Despite the fact that Eleanor, in her bright, smooth blue jacket and light patterned scarf, was directly behind me, she failed to see the bird. For years after that, she joked that it was my fault she hadn’t seen the Hoary Redpoll; it was years later while in Alaska, that she finally had that species as a Lifer.
Eventually, Eleanor moved from Queens to Cranberry Township, a place north of Pittsburgh where she had family. Just before she left, I paid a visit to her apartment for the first (and last) time and I have a photograph of our having dinner at a local diner. It is something I will always cherish.
I never saw her again. Through the years we did send email messages, and called occasionally.
She was getting frail with her maneuverability affected. But she still enjoyed her occasional Dewar’s on the rocks!
Last August 9th, I called her up to wish her a happy 91stbirthday. She told me about the assisted living place she was living at; how her wheelchair didn’t quite fit in her room. All with the same old Eleanor humor.
I never was able to speak to her again. She descended into the labyrinth of healthcare facilities where her phone kept ringing and ringing, but no one picked up and there were no answering machines on which I could leave a message.
Grateful. Yes, I am very grateful for the laughter we shared all those years. More importantly, I am certainly glad she finally saw that darned Hoary Redpoll!
Eleanor, I will miss you.
— Richard ZainEldeen