Wild Bird Center of Boulder Jan '09 eNewsletter

It is really hard for me to believe that 20 years ago I opened the Wild Bird Center of Boulder for business. It has been a fun and occasionally frustrating roller coaster ride, but one that I wouldn't change. . . .

I have been interested in natural history, and especially birds, since I was a child. My folks fed birds in our Minnesota backyard so I have been a bird feeder since childhood as well. After graduating from St. Olaf College with a degree in chemistry, I joined the Peace Corps and was stationed in Kenya teaching math, chemistry, physics, and Wildlife Club at a local "High School". East Africa is one of the best birding areas on the planet and I had many great adventures in the wilds of Kenya. After returning to the States, I lived in the Washington D.C. area. One day in 1986 I ventured into a store I saw on my way birding at Great Falls. It was the Wild Bird Center, a store I came to love and visited often. The owner, George Petrides, turned out to be a fellow RPCV (Return Peace Corps Volunteer) from Botswana and Kenya. We often talked about Africa and birding (of course.

A couple years after meeting George, I moved to Fort Collins. Just before I left for Colorado, George suggested that I check into starting a Wild Bird Center. After a few months of unemployment, I decided to open my store in Boulder.

Starting the store was a leap of faith because no other bird feeding specialty store existed in Colorado (or the Mountain West) at the time. I store on pearl street

remember getting comments from people asking 'can you feed birds in the West'? It was a long standing tradition in the East, but many people didn't think results were possible in the West. I was still in my twenties when I first opened the doors for business on January 7, 1989. My third day of business I had three customers for a grand total of $9.09. You have to keep the faith on days like that.

As many of you recall, we started out in a building on 826 Pearl St. The first year of business is always exciting and we gained some wonderful customers. Many of which we still see! The Pearl St location had a lot of character and many of you still mourn the move. The Pearl St building was the family home of a Boulder Jeweler named Charles Fry more than a hundred years ago (no relation that I know about).

In October 1992, we moved to our present location on 28th St. It is a more traditional retail space and the move was good for business. After the move I heard a lot of comments like 'Oh, you have bird houses now'. We always had bird houses, but after the move customers could actually see them. Our sales have increased 3-fold since we moved.

In 1997 I married Julie Anne Graf and moved from the mountains to Longmont. Julie and I met because of the persistence of my former employee Tara (Prince) Chace. We had a very "birdy" wedding with wedding pic

Sandhill Cranes serving as a symbol in the ceremony. We even went on the Saturday Bird Walk on the day of our wedding. It was 2� that morning.

We decided to open a second store in Longmont in 2000. It was located on the north end of Main St. It was a beautiful store and we miss having it. It closed at the end of 2004. We had many great customers up there and we still see many of them here at the Boulder Store or when I deliver.

We had great support from our customers in Longmont and we were sad to have to close down. Ultimately, it was poor timing with the economy, the drought, and West Nile Virus that led to our decision to close.

During the time we had the Longmont Store, Julie and I had two kids - Genevieve and Charlie. They occasionally make appearances at the store and Genevieve is getting excited to start writing for the newsletter. They are great kids and love the outdoors, but we don't know if they are going to be interested in birds yet.

A store has to be a dynamic enterprise or it will fade away. I have heard all kinds of remarks over the years about success and the number of years in business. 'If you make it one year, or three, or five years, then you've made it'. As if you can relax and not work hard after a certain point. We still face challenges and we are committed to working hard to improve the Wild Bird Center. Some of the things we are working towards are a new on-line catalog and improved website. Some of the dreams I still am working toward are publishing a kids' bird book, implementing a school habitat program, and a feeder maintenance program for institutions like nursing homes.
kid letter

The Wild Bird Center of Boulder would not have been possible for me to start without the spiritual, emotional, and financial support of my parents Charles and Djina Frye. Thank you for indulging your 'nature nut' as I grew and helping me in every way to start the store. I know my customers are also grateful to you.

We have created a lot of good will over the years by serving as a community resource for nature related questions, for talks at schools, homes, and organizations, and for leading bird walks every Saturday. I have been leading the Saturday Bird Walk for over nineteen years. No two bird walks are the same. We have seen some great and interesting things as a group (in all kinds of weather). Hopefully, we have entertained, amazed, delighted, enlightened, and inspired folks along the way to see the world differently. With a new set of eyes to see the beauty of nature and a new appreciation of our place in the world.

No mention of the Wild Bird Center's Anniversary would be complete without thanking my employees. I have been blessed to have had many great employees over the years. My present crew consists of Marlene Bruning, a former customer who has worked for me for about 15 years. Bill Eeds is a former customer who worked in the Longmont Store and now in Boulder over the last 5 years and Wendy Stuart, a former customer who has worked at the Wild Bird Center for a little over a year. All of my employees are birders, we have over 150 years worth of birding scott

experience in the store. Of course, Scott Severs who many of you know worked for me about 18-19 years. Scott is big part of the success of the Wild Bird Center and I am indebted to him for his hard work, cheery attitude, humor, knowledge, wisdom, and friendship.

Our customers have shown us incredible support and friendship since day one. We are still adding about 60 new customers a month. Boulder County is a great place to have a birding specialty store because of the outdoor orientation and appreciation our community exhibits. I also need to mention that many of our favorite customers have moved or passed away. We miss them very much. Thank you all for the support.

Lastly, thanks to my lovely family for your support of me and my staff. Some day you might have your seed carried out by Genevieve or Charlie! I look forward to the future at the Wild Bird Center of Boulder. May we all benefit from the Wild Bird Center as we join to support, create, and improve it. Thank you very much. -Stephen Frye