Showing up at five or six o’clock in the morning, every single month for at least one week, sometimes two, for sixteen years. That’s commitment.
This month, Harlow Rothert “retired” from his longtime role as volunteer coordinator for SSI’s water quality monitoring program. On February 2nd, more than 60 volunteer monitors and staffers past and present gathered at SSI’s office for an evening of memories, hilarity and heartfelt thanks, as SSI presented Harlow with an original oil painting of Deer Creek by local artist Thomas Devine as well as a memory book with photos and messages from his many friends and colleagues.
“Harlow would greet everyone with a smile, even first thing in the morning,” recalled executive director Joanne Hild. “He would help you get ready and make sure you had all the equipment you needed. If there was a problem he’d go out in the field with you and help you get the protocol down. He was the expert and the glue that held this program and the people together. We honestly don’t know what we’ll do without Harlow.”
Harlow came to SSI at the urging of his daughter-in-law Elizabeth Sonderstrom in July of 2001, just days after he and his wife Marti had retired to Nevada City. She remembers standing in the garage surrounded by moving boxes while Harlow protested that he needed to unpack. She told him, “You have the rest of your life to put all this away. There’s a man downtown who needs help and I told him I would send you down. My honor’s at stake. You’ve got to do this.”
That man was John Van Der Veen, then running Friends of Deer Creek out of a tiny 2nd floor office on Broad Street. “Elizabeth sent me,” Harlow told John, who replied, “What do you want to do?” Harlow shrugged. “I dunno, I’m just following orders.”
It was the beginning of a stellar collaboration.
Harlow started by outfitting the office with cabinets, but quickly moved on to monitoring, starting at Site 4. According to Harlow, on his first day of monitoring, John told him, “I’ll teach you this time, and next time you’ll do it.” And when Harlow came back on the second day, John said, “There’s only one thing I want to tell you. Remember it or don’t come back: The scientific approach is either right or wrong, it can’t be both. You are to do what is right, not what is wrong, if you’re going to be a scientist with us.”
Harlow was undeterred. He kept coming back, and he quickly learned to do it right. Indeed, he confessed, “I fell in love with Deer Creek about 3 days after starting to work with John.”
Elizabeth Sonderstrom had imagined that Harlow would volunteer once a quarter for a morning; she had no idea he would invest himself hook line and sinker for 16 years. “I should have known because Harlow is one of the most generous, caring and dedicated people to family and friends. It only makes sense that he would have dedicated himself to SSI and to the creek like this.”
“I have always been a man who can’t just sit still stand on the sidelines and not do anything,” Harlow told the sixty-plus people gathered for his farewell party. “From the time I was a little kid, when my dad was in the Second World War, I went around neighborhood asking if women needed help.” He added, “Anything I do, I try to use my God-given gifts, whether I’m digging a ditch, riding a wave in San Diego, or working on Deer Creek. I love being able to use what I know how to do to protect what God has created so other generations and other countries can learn and benefit.”
Indeed, many at the going-away party echoed this theme of generosity and commitment. Longtime monitor Rich Miller said, “Harlow was a real mentor to me. He showed me the ropes from day one, with incredible kindness and generosity. I’ve learned so much from him.”
“It was a real treat to go out monitoring with Harlow,” remembered SSI education director Sol Henson. “He pays such close attention to the details of people around him, and has an amazing ability to link people and their lives and the landscape.”
Eric Jorgensen, who has been monitoring with his wife Frances from the early days of Friends of Deer Creek, added, “Two thirds of the joy of monitoring is the chance to spend time at the creek. The other third has been the chance to say hello to Harlow. He will be sorely missed.”
Steve Rothert, Harlow’s son, was not surprised to hear so many stories about his father’s generosity, reliability, and commitment. But, he added, that says something about Friends of Deer Creek and Sierra Streams Institute. “Harlow wouldn’t have been here for so long if this were not such a special group with a special mission. It’s a testament not just to Harlow but to Sierra Streams Institute and its mission that brought Harlow back for 16 years.”
Thank you, Harlow, for your above-and-beyond contributions to protecting our local creek and watershed. Your legacy will live on in the dedicated community of citizen scientists that you helped to build. And, as Joanne said in closing, “You’re part of our family, come back any time.”