Alan Friedman (http://www.avertedimagination.com/) and I delivered long time Buffalo Astronomical Association member Edith Geiger's 12.5" Newtonian reflector to the Buffalo Museum of Science. It will be on loan throughout the year for IYA 2009. It will be on display in the center of Hamlin Hall just outside the "First Observer's" and "Alien Earths" exhibits. http://www.sciencebuff.org/I believe Edith was in her 90's when she passed in May 2008. Edith was a serious astronomer with a sense of humor. I never knew Edith but I know she was an avid observer and she was legendary for her Christmas slide shows. Apparently I've taken on her role in a not so effective way. She was also a huge supporter of our club and Beaver Meadow Observatory. For more on Edith see:
www.orbitjetobservatory.com/baa/Volume%2010%20Issue%204.pdf
That was so nice reading about Edith , thank you for sharing her story !
ReplyDeleteHey Thanks NSG! Thanks for taking a look. I thoroughly enjoy your blog--Such fun!
ReplyDeleteMy great aunt lent her face and her funny side to a great many visits "back home" in Ohio, and whenever any of my family (the descendants of her sister, Lorna) made their way up up to Orchard Park - by train, car, or any other means. She was always up for some sort of mischief, most of which led to wildly educational experiences (though I am uncertain how to categorize her lessons on how to corral the formerly frozen Thanksgiving turkey into the oven...). Some were just silly (the atomic bomb hairdo comes to mind), but many, many experiences with her enthusiastic and infectious intellect had us looking skyward and dreaming of what might be out there, beyond eyesight, hinted at by a squint or measurement gleaned from her exquisite photography of the heavens. Her husband, Carroll (AKA Knuckle - though I'm still unsure why he was given such a nickname), built her home observatory from scratch, right down to gears and motors. A pretty darn good job given it was his "second career"; he had been head of music for the Buffalo City Schools since long before I was born.
ReplyDeleteI think she'd be exceptionally proud to know that one of her great nieces has worked on Mars exploration for some 15 years. My cousin is an amazing woman and lends her engineering and organizational expertise to NASA, as well as with colleagues around the world.
Nettie's music inspired me deeply, and it was always a pleasure to listen to each other - and to break out into raucous fits of piano 4-hand duets. She could bring even the most reluctant to music. What gifts Nattie gave of herself!
Nattie (Edith) loved us all - 7 nieces and nephews and 20 great nieces and nephews, not to mention the great greats - and her own wonderful and unique children, grands, and greats. How we miss her! To say she was surrounded by love is to understate our relationships with her. Nattie was an individual, and she cherished our own individuality. She was also one of the smartest yet humble people I have ever had the privilege of knowing. She was a person who fostered dreams and nurtured every living thing with which she came in contact, from baby chicks to boa constrictors and all the children and friends in between. Her passion still keenly echoes about the universe.
How we miss her!!
Fondly,
Edith's great niece Laura
"Nattie" not "Nettie"... the joys of autocorrect. :-/
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