Writing Process

I have no direct connection to Lois Nestel, the Museum's founder. Many people remaining in our community do, though, and the occasional chats with them have helped to lift the veiI on the various mysteries, assumptions, and misunderstandings surrounding the life of this indelible friend, relative, and mentor. 

Lois Nestel, Cable Natural History Museum Director from founding in 1967 to 1988.
Lois's skills as an artist and naturalist served the Museum well in its
first twenty years of operation. 

Materials produced by Lois - phenology notes, botanical illustrations, and taxidermy, are preserved in part within our permanent collection. These remnants of her work open many mysteries and provide a glimpse into her naturalist career. 

I particularly enjoy diving into her wild edibles manuscripts, currently in a set of two volumes - Our Wild Bounty and Wayside Bounty. Together, they offer a sense of Lois's writing process. The samples below demonstrate an evolution of both the written account and illustration of a coveted spring edible - the wild leek. 

Wild Leek page, scanned from the Wayside Bounty manuscript found in our collection (1995.01.03).

Side-by-side comparison of Wild Leek pages found in the Wayside Bounty and Our Wild Bounty manuscripts.  Aside from formatting changes, descriptions of the plant habits and uses
have slight editorial adjustments between each sample.

Illustration of a Wild Leek from Our Wayside Bounty manuscript (1995.01.04).

Any readers with insider information about the history and publication of the wild edibles manuscripts are encouraged to reach out! We would love to fill any blanks within our records. Please email Mollie Kreb-Mertig at mollie@cablemuseum.org.