Dr. Orra A. Phelps (1895-1986) took the young neighborhood girls – the two Greys, two Stroups, and two Perezs – to the woods to teach and inspire. As a botanist, she intimately knew the flowers, the grasses, the trees, the fungi and as well as the rocks, the animals and many more living things found in the forests around Wilton, NY and the Adirondack Mountains. She could identify the plants whether they bloomed in spring, thrived in summer, seeded in fall or laid dormant in winter. From a discarded seed pod, or broken twig using sight, smell, touch she could tell what plant it came from, whether the plant was edible or not and if its stem, or leaf, berry or root had any medicinal purpose. 
Read more about Orra Phelps
Leslie Dames has been portraying Orra Phelps for a little over a year in a one-woman show. When she walked into the Wilton Historical Society tonight, Dr. Phelps came through the door with her. In several vignettes she depicted Dr. Phelps' life as a naturalist, educator, mountain climber, historian. In a funny and engaging presentation Leslie brought an old friend to life. Good memories.
This extraordinary woman impacted my life and it was a privilege to walk in the woods with her.
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I remember a "nature hike" we took with Dr. Orra. It was spring, just the time when things start to unfurl and renew. We hiked up behind her old family home, where she still lived, and she showed us a small flowering dogwood there -- a rarity so far north (for me back then, Albany was the warm South!). I had never seen a dogwood and this one was blooming, covered with delicate white dogwood blossoms.
I can still recall the glorious day we hiked in -- warming springtime, warming sun, fresh air, the snow all gone. We hiked on behind the big field, through the woods, observing trees, soil, rocks...and came out after a long ramble together in the woods. I remember her pointing out new ferns just up and unfurling in a nice ferny wet spot along the way. She talked about eating them.
I also recall another time when she had us over for a slide show about her trip to the Grand Canyon. I believe we drank Russian Tea and ate cookies. She passed around the wonderful red rocks she had collected there and I can still recall holding one in my hands and both coveting it and also deciding that I would someday get to see the Grand Canyon my self. And I did, with my sister Faith and her family. As a youngster, I also had my own little nature museum my mother helped me put together in our barn. It had my rock collection, a robin's nest with three unhatched, blue eggs, a shed snake skin. I was forever trying to get baby birds and baby rabbits (brought home half-alive by my cat Pussywillow) to live. I still collect rocks, don't you?
I know that each of us who hiked with Dr. Orra have continued to nurture a connection with the natural world that Dr. Orra helped foster with her wonderful combination of science and reverence. Even if I still don't really know my mushrooms!
Thanks for sharing your piece about Dr. Orra and the link. What a wonderful woman we had in our midst. I would love to hear what you might remember of that hike that spring day long ago -- about 1966?
When I try to think of any woman who reminds me of Dr. Orra...I can come up with Julia Child. How about you?
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