Howard County Bird Club

Fifty Years of HCBC Seed Sale

Joanne Solem

(click to enlarge photos)

Loading crew

In the late 1970s, the young Howard County Bird Club (HCBC) was looking for a way to raise money for three purposes: maintain a stable dues structure, sponsor some special projects, and support a variety of conservation and environmental causes. When Chuck Dupree suggested to the board that the club sponsor one or more seed sales each year, little did he know that these sales would become a major fundraising engine for the club for 50 years.

Eileen Clegg volunteered to chair the experimental sale and went on to head the effort with efficiency, imagination, and problem-solving skills for 27 years! The date for that first sale was November 10, 1979. Ads were placed in local weekly newspapers (not deemed necessary after the first year), orders received, and volunteers scheduled for the Saturday morning pickup period at the First Presbyterian Church (known for its support of community groups). Its location near the intersection of US 29/MD 108 was used with gratitude for 26 years. That first sale moved 4,900 lbs. of sunflower seed and 260 lbs. of nyger (thistle). Those were the only two items offered in an attempt to help customers reduce the number of House Sparrows and assorted blackbird species at their feeders. The profit was $150.00—and so it began.

Weighing out nyger seed

August & Eva Sunell, Eileen Clegg

At that time, nyger was just catching on as a feeder seed. It was referred to as “thistle” which raised suspicions that spilled seed would sprout into noxious purple-flowered weeds. In reality, that was not a concern. The species is not a close relative of the North American thistles, so nyger gradually became a regular, if pricey, addition to other seed options. After listing it as a choice for the first sale, it was learned that the seed was available only in 50 lb. bags. Few people were likely to purchase that amount of the tiny seed so it fell to some of the volunteers to repackage it into 5 lb. units. The number of customers preordering the smaller bags never exactly equaled the 50 lb. bags. As a result, on pickup day, desk volunteers encouraged customers to purchase a bag of nyger in addition to their regular order. It was a major relief when, within a year or two, distributors began selling this seed in 2 lb. bags.

Seed goes on the trunk

Max Casper & John Clegg

For the first 18 years (through 1996), sales were held twice a year (the first in late October/early November, the second in late January/early February) always working around the church’s scheduled use of either a small room or the larger fellowship hall. Eileen listened to requests from customers, so year by year, items were added: mixed seed, sunflower chips, white millet, and peanut hearts. Sale prices were set based on the wholesale price with a modest markup providing both attractive prices for purchasers and a small profit for club activities.

The sales were not only a service to members, but were a way for the HCBC to reach a wider audience. For more than a dozen years there was a steady increase in the number of customers and the amount of seed sold. By the second year, in addition to the inside check-in desk, Brenda Ericsson set up the club “bookstore,” which offered a selection of field guides, checklists, and bird song LP records (yes, really, LP records) at attractive prices. A table with baked goods to sustain the loaders and other volunteers proved essential. The January 1981 sale sold 6,700 lbs. of sunflower, 1,625 of mixed seed, and 300 lbs. of nyger. Some of the people who were part of the volunteer crew included Eileen and John Clegg, Grazina and Mike McClure, Jo Solem, Eva Sunell, Max Cooper, Alice and Terry Kretz, and Martha Waugh.

Seed goes in the station wagon

By the third year, white millet and sunflower pieces helped raise the tonnage to 12,000 lbs. in the fall and 11,800 lbs. during the winter sale. Inevitably, some purchasers forgot or overlooked the pickup date. An hour or so before the end of the pickup period, Eileen checked the list and began calling customers. Many appeared promptly to claim their seed, but there were always some who couldn’t be reached. Those individuals found that, in the days following the sale, their seed was delivered to them. This was possible because people with pickup trucks and vans (Max Casper, Mike and Grazina McClure, Eva Sunell, Warren Long, Terry Kretz, Don Randle, Fred and Nanine Rhinelander, and others) were quick to volunteer to load their vehicles and deliver orders the following week. Although going the extra mile to make sure everyone received his or her order made for good customer relations, it was not feasible as the seed tonnage grew. Eventually, customers were warned in a statement on the order blank that if they did not pick up their seed (unless prior arrangement had been made with Eileen), they would be assessed a modest fee and their seed sold to walk-in customers at the end of the pickup period.

Loading a pickup truck

Mark Wallace, Mike McClure, Dave Kubitsky

Word of mouth advertising, cold winters, good customer relations, plenty of winter birds, and little competition enabled the amount of seed sold to climb steadily. By the sixth year, the two-sale seed total was 49,770 lbs. The summary for the tenth year noted “the most successfu ever,” only to be exceeded the following year with a new record of 76,000 lbs. from 300 customers. February 2, 1991 set a new high for the second sale of the year of 52,000 lbs. with 44 volunteers.

Those were the glory years. Not only was there a large and loyal customer base, but cold winters and multiple years with boreal bird visitors created a strong demand. Moving that much seed required a large cadre of volunteers of whom loaders were key. Individuals signed up for a two-hour shift and were given a bag of seed for their help–often under difficult conditions. Yes, some fall sales enjoyed “bluebird weather,” but several of the winter dates were brutally cold, and there were others held in rain or snow. Despite the sometimes unpleasant conditions, the crew usually worked with good humor and exhibited real teamwork. The 30 to 40 or more volunteers involved many more jobs than loading, as there were multiple opportunities inside.

Helping a customer

Eileen Clegg & Nancy Magnusson (treasurer)

When the sale was fortunate enough to have the use of the large fellowship hall with numerous tables, there were possibilities for displays and activities. As the sale totals expanded, ideas multiplied to make each pickup day an anticipated event. Several people staffed the always-present club bookstore including Michele Wright and Don and Jan Randle. After the Randles opened The Nature Nook in Ellicott City, they were invited to bring nest boxes and feeders to sell. Marty Chestem made it a point to set up a club publicity and conservation display with information and handouts featuring some of the most important environmental issues of the day. She also created posters listing coming club activities. Jo Solem provided a display of winter bird specimens from the club’s mounted bird collection (now under the ownership and care of the Robinson Nature Center). Often, there was a “free” table where people could recycle nature magazines and bird books leaving some and picking up whatever caught their eye. The table with baked goods was well-stocked. Eileen Clegg always found time to bake something, and, depending on the year, there were anticipated items like Monika Botsai’s brownies, Kate Tuft’s lemon bars, or one of Alice Kretz’s special desserts. The HCBC’s large coffee pot contained hot water so there was a choice of hot or cold beverages (especially popular among the loaders). Eventually, a 30-minute winter bird identification class was offered in the course of the morning.

For those members who could not attend regular club meetings or scheduled field trips, pickup days were especially valuable. They offered an opportunity to meet some of the people whose names appeared in the newsletter, to exchange information, and to obtain answers to questions from experienced birders.

The pickup days were also useful for active birders. Prior to eBird and smartphones, the exchange of bird sighting information was dependent on landline telephones or in-person contacts. The fact that a large group of birders would be present in one location on a Saturday morning made each date an excellent way to pass on sightings in a timely manner. For some avid field birders, the sale site was an anticipated stop in mid to late morning where they could pick up birdy news and occasionally brag about a special bird sighting.

Although the scheduled pickup hours ended shorty after noon, totaling, cleanup, and sale of leftover seed continued for another hour. Often, at the end, there were still some bags of unclaimed/unsold seed. John and Eileen Clegg loaded the bags into their Volvo station wagon and hauled them home, storing the bags in the dining room of their small townhouse. They reloaded the wagon prior to the next scheduled HCBC meeting and usually managed to sell the remaining seed. Also, for years, the club donated seed, and volunteers filled feeders at the main Howard County library and at least one nursing home.

Over the decades, there were bound to be glitches, even major problems. Several stand out in memory. On January 26, 1985, the loaded truck from the distributor was stuck on the Baltimore Beltway for several hours in a backup resulting from an accident. The truck finally arrived mid-morning and eventually all customers received their orders. Then there was September 25, 1993 when the driver unwittingly brought a semi full of seed destined for a different customer. The error was discovered by loaders at 7:15 a.m. According to Eileen’s summary, this situation required a “crash course in field management and public relations.” The correct trailer was located and delivered by 10:00 a.m., but it required all of Eileen’s skills to smooth some ruffled feathers. Many loaders stayed long beyond their shift to help get through the bulge of customers (some of whom were making a second trip). For those who couldn’t return, people volunteered to deliver the orders. It was indeed a magnificent team effort. The situation had created such chaos on such a large scale that Eileen wangled a substantial donation from the supplier for their error. There was also January 22, 1994 when icy roads the morning of the pickup made driving so treacherous that the truck could not navigate unsalted highways and the sale had to be postponed one week. Desk volunteers at the pickup site (Connie Bockstie, Marty Chestem, Eileen Clegg, Marjorie Mountjoy, Bonnie Ott, Elise Seay, Bob Solem, and Helen Zeichner) were handed sheets of customer’s names, pointed to one of the church’s phones, and directed to call each person. Amazingly, all but one person was reached. Again, if you couldn’t pick up your order on the altered date, it was delivered to you. What a committed group of volunteers! On January 28, 1995, when Eileen had an emergency on the pickup day, Jane (Farrell) Coskren quickly stepped in to provide seamless, competent leadership. As Eileen observed more than once over the years, the seed sales built an amazing sense of community within the bird club.

As was inevitable, change was coming. After the problems with both of the 1993-94 pickup dates, tonnage totals never again reached the same lofty levels. A combination of circumstances, including church construction of a new fellowship wing that moved the sale to a small room and kept the parking lot a construction zone, was a major headwind. After completion of the hall, an increasing number of weekend scheduled church activities made it obvious the sale’s time at that location was coming to an end.

Fortunately, HCBC member Cathy Franklin, owner of The Wildlife Authority on US 40, generously stepped in. She offered to order the seed as well as allow the store’s parking lot to become the pickup site. The October 8, 2005 (27th) sale was the first held at the new location. After that sale, Eileen (and Mary Jo Betts, who had been assisting her for several years) passed the leadership role to Sherry Tomlinson who continued to head the effort for three years. The 30th year brought an unexpected challenge. Areas of the U.S. and Canada where sunflower was grown had suffered what appeared to be an almost total weather-related crop loss. By late summer, prices were not only climbing rapidly, but the situation was changing so frequently and prices fluctuating so wildly that distributors were unwilling to commit to prices for delivery of seed two months in the future. Reluctantly, the sale was cancelled. The 30th sale was rescheduled for September 26, 2009, but, by then, Cathy had closed The Wildlife Authority. Sherry came up with an alternative site at Pennington Seed in Laurel as both the supplier and the pickup location. The distance customers needed to travel for pickup made this site an unlikely possibility long-term, but it got us through that particular sale.

By October 10, 2010, the new owner of The Wildlife Authority, Kevin Cassidy, indicated a willingness to continue the annual relationship that Cathy had begun. Michael O’Sullivan volunteered to oversee the sale after Sherry resigned. Prior to the October 1, 2011 sale, Kevin moved the store a few blocks to Bethany Lane where it has remained. Michael stepped down as chair after the 2012 sale.

The 34th seed sale was October 5, 2013. At that point, sale leadership became a team effort. Ward Ebert was assisted by Bob Solem and, when Ward had a business travel conflict in 2014, Jeff Friedhoffer stepped forward to receive and process orders. As in all of the sales, the club treasurer played a vital role. From Chuck Dupree, Nancy Magnusson, Shiras Guion, and Emmalyn Holdridge through Cindy Albright (who instituted all-electronic deposits) to current treasurer Brian Moyer, their assistance and cooperation was key. The slightly changing leadership group worked well with Kevin Cassidy who was kind enough to extend the pickup time from a single day to the entire week following the Saturday date—and his employees did the loading. His cheerful willingness to assist this fund-raising effort was much appreciated.

With Jeff’s retirement in early 2020, the HCBC advertised for a replacement without success. Reluctantly, the board announced there would be no seed sale in 2020; they believed that 40 years of seed sales in their current format had come to an end.

Some board members continued to explore a way to make a sale a reality, both to support The Wildlife Authority during a difficult period of the pandemic as well as to offer a special benefit  to members while providing outreach to the community. Bob Solem discussed several options with Kevin as both parties searched for a way to eliminate physical orders without creating additional work for Kevin.

Technology and Kevin Cassidy’s strong desire to come up with a way to continue the sales provided a solution. In mid-September 2020, Kevin proposed a one-day online-only sale. It would couple a discount with an option for a donation to the HCBC which he would match, dollar for dollar. The online form would enable a customer with the necessary password to choose an assortment of seed and suet without any physical order, while the matching option would make even a small donation attractive. The HCBC board was willing to try this novel suggestion—it was certainly not the first time the pandemic had put a premium on flexibility in planning club activities. A Newsgram on September 30 to HCBC members and all previous seed customers announced the sale with an order period from October 1 – 16 with a one-day pickup date of October 24. Despite this last minute announcement, 65 orders were received and amazingly 34 customers made a donation! With Kevin’s match, that resulted in a total of $1,230 for habitat preservation and environmental projects. The generosity Kevin showed in helping the sale move in a new direction during a challenging time was a strong indication of his environmental commitment. The special sale was repeated in 2021 but dropped for 2022 because of fluctuating seed supply problems, transportation disruptions, and uncertain economic conditions. HCBC no longer sponsors seed sales.

Hundreds of people were part of the success of the first 40 years of HCBC seed sales. Now, technology, the pandemic, and creativity are taking these sales in a new direction. We would be remiss if we did not thank those who made those first 40 years so successful. If, at any time, you were a customer, served in a leadership role, or participated as a volunteer in any capacity, you have contributed to the preservation of the nation’s birdlife. Enjoy the memories of a vital part of the HCBC’s first half century.

In recent decades, emphasis has been placed on using sale proceeds to preserve habitat or to assist special projects. The profits, along with member contributions and bequests, have enabled the HCBC to donate more than $100,000 to projects near and far, as shown in this list.

My thanks to Eileen Clegg and Ward Ebert for providing memories and clarifications. Their input was invaluable. –JS.