MAY THEILGAARD WATTS (Mrs. Raymond Watts) Naturalist, Teacher, Author, Artist, Poet

Personal: Born May Petrea Theilgaard, May 1, 1893, ,. Illinois Died August 20, 1975, Naperville, Illinois One of four daughters of Hermann and Claudia (Andersen) Theilgaard, Danish immigrants. Married Raymond Watts, engineer & aviator, December 27, 1924 · Children: Erica, Tom, Nancy, Peter

Education: Lakeview High School, Chicago. Student of Herman S. Pepoon? B.S. (1918), . Botany and Ecology. Student of Dr. Henry C. Cowles. Art Institute of Chicago, student 1925.

Professional: Public school teacher, 1911 -1924 (Midlothian: Arlington Heights: Wilmette: Lakeview High School, Chicago) , Lisle, Illinois. Part-time teacher, 1939-1941. Naturalist, 1942-1961. Naturalist Emeritus, 1961-1975. Author of Reading the Landscape(l957), Reading the Landscape of Europe(l971): Reading the Landscape of America(l975). Founder of the Illinois Prairie Path (1965)

Honors: L1sted in Who's Who. Member Phi Beta Kappa. Wild Flower Preservatio~ Society, Honorary member. 1950 Friends of Our Native Landscape, Honorary Member. 1954 Margaret Douglas Medal for conservation education, Garden Club of America. 1963 May Theilgaard Reading Garden, Morton Arboretum. 1965 Du Page Audubon Society, President's Award. 1965 National Association of Biology Teachers, Hon. member 1966 Illinois Parks and Recreation, Special Citation. 1971 American Horticultural Society, Citation Award for Teaching. 1971 U.S. Department of the Interior, National Trails Symposium award. With Secretary of the Interior Rogers Morton, she cut ribbon opening up the National Trails System in the United States. 1972 Chicago Geographic Society's Book of the Year Award for Reading the Landscape of America. 1972 City of Naperville, "May Watts Day," May l. 1972 Illinois House of Representatives citation. 1972 Hutchinson Medal, Chicago Horticultural Society. 1972 Arthur Hoyt Scott medal, Swarthmore College. 1973 Association of Interpretive Naturalists, Hon. Member. 1975 American Nature Study Society, Honorary Life Member. 1976 Oikos Conference: "Reading the Landscape: A Tribute to May Watts, 1893-1975," The Morton Arboretum. 1989 May Watts Elementary School, Naperville, Illinois. MAY THEILGAARD WATTS Bibliography of published work

1925 ~How the Pine Tree Became Big Chief of the Friendly Forests." American Forests and Forest Life 31:288-289. 1925 "Vision." In: The Best Poems of 1925, Harcourt, Brace & Co"mpany. ~[Originally published in The Literary Digest, July 2 5, 19 2 5. ) [1936] Ravinia~ _ · H~r Charms and Destiny. Written and illustrated by May Theilgaard Watts, assisted by Hazel Crow Ewell. Ravinia (IL) Garden Club. Reprinted 1980 by Highland Park Historical Society of Park District of Highland Park. 1937 "Gingham Joys." Poem in Better Homes and Gardens, October, p. 156. 1938 My Nature Book: Fun in the Out-of-Doors. Poughkeepsie, NY, Art1sts & Writers Guild (Whitman Publishing Co.) 1943 "The Ferns of the Morton Arboretum." Morton Arb. Bull. of Popular Information 18(7-8). 1943 "Showy Fru1ts of the Forest Floor." Morton Arb. Bull. of

I Popular Information 18(9). 1943 "Fragrance and Flavors." Morton Arb. Bull. of Popular Information 18(10). 1943 "Winter Twigs.w Morton Arb. Bull. of Popular Info. 18(11). 1943 "The Cones of 1:he Morton Arboretum. 11 Morton Arb. Bull. of

I Popular Information 18(12). 1944 "Some Experiments 1n Soil Conservation at the Morton Arboretum.''' Morton Arb • . Bull. of Popular Info. 19(1). 1944 ' "Through a Magnifying Glass." Morton Arb. Bull. of Popular Information 19(2). 1944 "The Flowers Nc5'body Knows." Morton Arb. Bull. of Popular Information 19(3). 1944 iiSpring Wild Ffowers of the Forest Floor." Morton Arb. Btill. of Popular Information 19(4-5). 1944 "Roadside Plantings of Native Illinois Trees and Shrubs." Morton Arb .. Bull. of Popular Information 19(6). 1944 hBotanical Terms Used in Describing Leaves." Morton Arb. ·Bul1. of . Popular Information, 19(7). 1944 "The Maples of the Morton Arboretum." Morton Arb. Bull. of · · Popular tnJ~ormation 19 ( 8). 1944 "The Edge of the Forest." Morton Arb. Bull. of Popular Information 19(9). 1944 "The W1ndborne-Seed~." Morton Arb. Bull of Popular Information 19(10). 1944 "The Oaks of die Morton Arboretum." Morton Arb. Bull. of . Popular Information 19(11). 1945 "They Wear the Snow w1th a Difference." Morton Arb. Bull. of Popular Information 20(1). 1945 "The First Flm~ers of Spring." Morton Arb. Bull. of Popular Information 20(2). 1945 "The Men Behind the Plants." Morton Arb. Bull. of Popular Information 20(5). 1945 '~The Evergreen -Trees: A Pictorial Key to I dent if ication." Morton Arb. Bull. of Popular Information 20(6-7). 1945 "Let's Look at a Meadow." Morton Arb. Bull. of Popular Information 20(8). MAY WATTS BIBLIOGRAPHY, page 2

1946 "Hawthorn Traits." Morton Arb. Bull. of Popular Information 21(4). 1947 Beyond Fire. Rowena Bennett: .illustrated by May Watts. warrenville, IL. Blue Heron Publishing Company. 1947 "See How They Wtear the Weather." Better Homes and Gardens 25:22-23. 1948 "Witch Insurance in the Garden." Nature Magazine 41:38-40. 1948 "Adventure~ in Nature Education at the Morton Arboretum." Morton Arb. Bull. of Polular Information 23(1-2). 195 Tree Finder: A Pocket Manua for Identification of Trees by Their Leaves. Naperville, IL. Nature Study Guild. 1952 "This Is the Way: A Story for Our Hands to Tell." Outdoors Illustrated 4:.52-53. 1954 "Botanizing from a Lower Berth." Nature Magazine 47:19-21. 1955 Flower Finder: A Guide to Identification of Spring Wild Flowers ana Flower Families. Naperville, IL. Nature · ·Study Guild. 1957 Reading the Landscape. Macmillan. 1957 "The Stylish House, or Fashions as an Ecological Factor." Flower and Garden, 44:36-37. 1958 riThe Styl1sh HoUse, or Fashions as an Ecological Factor." Garden Journal of the New York Botanical Garden, May­ June, pp. l03-l05. 1958 "Adventures in Natur~ Education at the Morton Arboretum." University of Washington Arboretum Bulletin, (Winter) 21(4) :124-126. 1961 hThe Trees and Roofs of France: the Traveler's Landscape." Landscape 10(3)~9-14. 1962 "The Tree That Grows in Brooklyn: Do You Want It in Paducah?" tlower and Garden· 49:24-25. 1963 Master Tree Finder: A Manual for Identification of Trees by The1r Leaves. Naperv1lle, IL. Nature Study Guild. 1964 The Doubleday F1rst Guide to Trees. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday. 1966 "Nature Afoot.'' . The Chicago Tribune, weekly column from · .,, January i6 into May. 1967 "I Visit Dead Plants." Morton Arboretum Quarterly 3(1): 1968 "The Story of a Single Footpath." Fitness for L1ving, Sept.-Oct. , pp. 74-80. 1968 "The Illinoi~ Prairie Path." Landscape, spring pp. 11-14. 1969 "The Trees and Roofs of France." In: The Subversive Science: Essays Toward an Ecology of Man, ed. by Paul Shepard and Daniel McK1nley. New York: Houghton Mifflin • . Pp. 168-176. 1970 Winter Tree Finder. Berkeley, CA. Nature Study Guild. 1971 ' Reading the Landscape of Europe. Harper and Row. 1972 "Trees in Your Travels." Curious Naturalist, Dec. pp.2-3. 1972 "So~e Clues for Twig Detect1ves." Cur1ous Naturalist, December, pp. 12-13. 1975 ' R~~dirig the Landscape of America. Macmillan. (Enlarged and revised edition of Reading the Landscape) 1975 "The Herbs of the Prairie." Cornell Plantations, Autumn, dpp. 13-15. . ( ARTICLES ABOUT MAY WNrTS

1947 "Naturalist, Poet Enjoys Canoeing, Hiking." Naperville Sun, November 27, p. 1. Port. 1957 Bern'I'Ce Decker, "Naturalist Shares Lore: Nature Hikes Become Games." Christian Science Monitor, May 9, Section C, p. 4: port. 1961 Genevieve Towsley, "Naturalist Extraordinary." Naperville Sun, October 10, 1961, Section 3, p.l. Port. 1963 Evelyn Lauter, "May Theilgaard Watts: She Walks in Beauty." Lake Forest News, October 31, cover feature: port. 1967 Ruth Wenner, 11 Mrs. Watts." Morton Arboretum Quarterly 3(1):9-13. Illus. port. 1971 Alfred Etter, "'rhe Secret World of May Watts." Morton Arboretum Quarterly 7(4):42-44. Port. 1972? James Elsener, flNaturalist Prefers Simple 'Old' to Senior Ci~~~en Tag." Chicago Tribune. 1975 Alfred Etter, "lReading May Watts." Morton Arboretum Quarterly 11(3):38-41. Port. 1975 Genev1eve Towsley, "Noted Naturalist, May T. Watts, Dies at 82." Naperville Sun, August 28, section 3, page 1. 1984 Philip Berger, ed. Highland Park: American Suburb at Its Best. Highland Park Landscape Preservation Comm1ttee. See pp. 11, 15.

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