My Dad
Bill Wasserfall (1922-2011)
This past winter OBBA lost another founding member, long-time supporter, and friend: William (Bill) Wasserfall died in Markdale, Ontario on 22 February 2011, after several years of declining health. He was in his 89th year.
On 19 November 1955, a meeting was held at Bill Wasserfall’s home. Others present were Alf Bunker, Bill Gunn, Reg James, and Frank Smith. Plans were made to form the Ontario Bird Banders Association (later renamed the Ontario Bird Banding Association).
The first formal meeting was held on 24 March 1956, at which Bill was appointed Secretary-Treasurer. Bill was not only a founding member but was a major driving force behind OBBA’s development over the next 20 years.
William John Ralph Wasserfall was born in Croydon, Surrey, England. In World War II he became a Petty Officer in the British Navy and served in the Fleet Air Arm. He was fortunate to be stationed in Canada and met his future wife in Dartmouth NS, where she was a radar plotter in the RCAF. After the war he immigrated to Canada, married Margaret Elizabeth (Betty) Jennings, and moved to Toronto where he started his own company, Adelaide Electric Ltd.
I don’t know when or how he developed his interest in birds and banding, but he was an early participant in the Point Pelee banding station, initiated in 1954 by the Federation of Ontario Naturalists (FON). By 1957 the future OBBA was essentially in charge of the Point Pelee station and FON formally turned it over to OBBA in 1958. Bill was the organizer of the Pelee station until John Roberts took over in 1961.
Bill once told me that in the 1950s he visited every banding permit holder in Ontario to get to know them and encourage them to join OBBA. So it is not surprising that by the time of its first meeting OBBA already had 30 members from among the 50 or so Ontario permit holders. Bill was a member of the OBBA Executive Committee or Board nearly every year until 1975 and served in several positions over that period, including Secretary- Treasurer or Secretary (until 1959), President (1961-1963), Vice-President (1966-1967), and Treasurer (1968-1972).
Bill was also one of the founders of Long Point Bird Observatory and an active participant throughout the 1960s and 1970s. His construction skills were invaluable in those early days when Observatory work seemed to consist of equal (or sometimes unequal) parts of banding and building. Equally valuable were Bill’s unobtrusive mentoring skills: he was the kind of person that people like to work with; consequently work got done not through any obvious plan or leadership, but simply because Bill was doing it and others pitched in to help. He was always supportive of the slightly younger group, including myself, who worked hard to establish LPBO.
Bill took his skills elsewhere as well, assisting Marshall Field in setting up the Hawk Cliff Raptor Banding Station and John Roberts with spring expeditions to band Sharp-shinned Hawks at Whitefish Point, Michigan.
Bill received his banding permit in 1953. Over the next 17 years he banded 5,201 birds on his permit of which 93% were gulls and terns, mainly on Mohawk Island in Lake Erie, or waterfowl, mostly at Long Point. (Thanks to Louise Laurin, CWS Banding Office for providing banding data). Much of his extensive banding at bird observatories was on station or other permits. Bill was not into amassing a personal banding list: his contributions to banding were in other ways.
My introduction to banding in North America was also largely via Bill. I first met him in December 1957 barely 3 months after coming to Canada from England. By 1958 I was regularly going on weekend trips to Point Pelee with Bill and other Toronto banders. This was before Highway 401 was complete, so the trip took several hours. It usually involved a stop in St Thomas for a late-night cup of tea and a chat with Marshal Field. We would arrive at Pelee often in the early hours of Saturday morning, catch a few hours of sleep somewhere, band all day Saturday and much of Sunday, leave late, get home in time for another short sleep and go to work on Monday pretending to be wide awake. This routine was a bit too rigorous even for us youngsters, encouraging some of us to explore other prospects closer to Toronto, eventually leading to the founding of LPBO.
Bill had big hands and fingers, but he could extract tiny and large birds from nets with equal gentleness and dexterity. He must also have had thick skin. On one occasion we set up nets early at Pelee and were soon swamped with an influx of Sharp-shins. It was one of those emergency situations where clearing the nets becomes the top priority. With no bags or other containers handy, I noticed that Bill was busily extracting Sharpies and stuffing them inside his shirt.
In the 1950s Bill started importing and selling Japanese mist-nets as a service to Canadian banders. For many years he was the only source of mist nets in Canada. Also he sold net poles: steel electrical conduit from his business, conveniently fitted with connectors to convert two 5 ft sections into a 10 ft pole. He invented or made a variety of traps and supplied many banders with his carefully labelled pins (like giant safety pins) to hold different band sizes as well as the slotted cloth bags (sewn by Betty) to hold them in a convenient package for use in the field. Later he and his daughter, Kathy, took over Reg James’ Conservation Enterprises and continued to supply nets and other banding equipment.
Bill was not a scientific ornithologist or writer. I was hard pressed to find any published writings other than numerous reports in early OBBA newsletters. His most important legacy was his influence on the organizations he helped to create and foster. The tradition of friendly cooperative banding projects, which I think of as a hallmark of OBBA, was there from the beginning, in part through Bill’s influence. Likewise, his influence on people lives on. Following are some tributes from people who worked with him.
"He was a great person in so many ways. I have many memories of the very good times spent with him and the rest of the gang at Long Point. They were the best of times.” (Gary Page)
“I have not seen Bill for about 30 years but I think of him often. He (and you and the others) did so much for me at LPBO and OBBA that I can honestly say that my life would have been totally different without you.” (Bob Montgomerie)
“It was a great privilege to have known him; he was one of those people who made my transition into a new life in Canada so much easier; I hold his memory dear.” (David Brewer)
In 1998, OBBA presented its Janette Dean Award to Bill for his contributions to bird banding in Ontario.
In the 1969, Bill & Betty bought a farm near Markdale and moved there permanently when they retired. Bill continued gardening and added farming and collecting paperweights to his interests. He kept up his contacts with several banding friends, including Marshall Field and Jim Anderson, as well as myself and Erica Dunn.
Bill’s oldest daughter, Anne, was Secretary of OBBA from 1967 to 1971. She died in a car accident in 1982. Betty passed away in 2007. Bill leaves his 3 other daughters, Kathy, Judy, and Valerie, (who provided some of the information herein) and several grandchildren.
David Hussell
June 2011
OBBA Newsletter Spring 2010
In the Beginning: LPBO's Origins and Early Days
The Use of Miset-Nets & a Heligoland Trap at Point Pelee
The Paper Weight Chase Feb 2011
Bird Studies Canada Annual Report 2011
Eastern Bird Banding Association
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Obituary
William (Bill) Wasserfall
WASSERFALL, William (Bill) - On Tuesday, February 22, 2011 in his 89th year, William John Ralph 'Bill' Wasserfall, born in Croydon, Surrey, England and formerly of Toronto, passed away peacefully at Grey Gables in Markdale. Loving father of Kathleen Wilson of Toronto, Judith Wasserfall (Dave Cann) of Mississauga and Valerie Wasserfall (James Cullen) of Chesley. Dear grandfather to Peter Morris (Raluca); Ian, Blair, Anne and Mary Wilson; Gregory, Heather and Margaret Cann; James and Stephanie Cullen. Predeceased by his wife Margaret Elizabeth 'Betty' Wasserfall and daughter Anne Morris. Bill started his working career in England with Southern Rail and Burroughs Incorporated amongst other jobs. During WWII, he became a Petty Officer in the British Navy and served in the Fleet Air Arm. He immigrated to Canada to join his new wife Betty and started his own company, Adelaide Electric Ltd. He was a founding member of the Ontario Bird Banding Association (OBBA) and the Long Point Bird Observatory and spent many years banding at Long Point, Point Pelee, Whitefish Point and in his backyard. In 1976 he moved to the Markdale area and built his second family home, adding 'farmer' to his list of accomplishments. Bill was an avid gardener, transforming his properties in both North York and Markdale into showcases. He was also interested in antiques and was a member of the Paperweight Collectors Association of Ontario. The family will receive friends at the May Funeral Home, 63 Main Street East, Markdale, on Saturday, February 26, 2011 from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. A memorial service will be held at the same location at 3:30 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Heart & Stroke Foundation or the Long Point Bird Observatory, Ontario.
Published in the Toronto Star on February 24, 2011
