MHS Newsletter Volume 16 Number 2 Page 4 she contributes to the Society, Marilyn is a treasure her own self. And thank you to the Heroes of the Blizzard who volunteered at the newsletter folding on Jan. 17th. Braving hazardous driving conditions, those attending were; Dan Bergquis~ Marilyn and Randy Blasus, Jeff LeClere, John Levell, and Karin and James Rea. What dedication! As luck would have i~ we got an inch of rain instead of a foot of snow. It was too close to call. Volunteers are invited to sign up for newsletter folding at the monthly general meetings. All newsletter folding participants receive volunteer hours good toward one "priceless" MRS mugs. Newsletter folding takes place at 7:00 pm in the usual room in Borlaug Hall on the Wednesday which falls 16 days before the general meeting (subject to rescheduting). Help is needed to collate, staple, inse~ tab, and label newsletters to prepare for mailing. If the printer commences to fold the pages for us, we may have to change the name of this activity from "folding" to "assembly." James Rea.
Thank You Festival Volunteers! We completed another successful year at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival, this year receiving the Best of Parade Award for one of the largest, most consistent groups in parade. Of course, it wouldn't have been possible without the help of so many people. Overall, MHS members put out the best showing - 53 volunteers contributing 643 two hour shifts for a total of 1286 hours. 25 Como Zoo Docents and 5 Junior Docents did 147 programs for 294 hours, and the Minnesota Companion Bird Association had 14 members as guests of ComolMHS contribute 48 shifts for 96 hours. Realize that these hours are ONLY time actually spent "on fence" doing hands-on to the public, and doesn't included any time contributed behind the scenes or during the year. The "Core" Committee, headed by Bruce Delles for MHS and Mike Backer for Como Zoo Docents, included; Bill Moss, Nancy Hakomaki, Gloria Anton, Liz & Fred Bosman, Michelle Stephan, Sean Hewitt, Doris Wahl, Judi Brumfield and Marla Wilbur. Hats off to these people for taking the extra time spent making costumes, scrounging items from garage sales, planting & gardening, cleaning, cooking, animal care, and other johs to numerous to mention. Also thanks to Gidget Houle who cared for the bam animals on weekdays, to the Waltons who provided the barn animals to be cared for, and to Bruce Delles for many additional reptiles so we'd have enough animals for people to handie. We also had quite a few "converts" (a polite word for "addicts") who ended up working every weekend and who have promised to be back again next year! The following individuals participated in the 1995 Renaissance Festival: 70+ hrs; Nancy Hakomaki, Mike Backer and Gloria Anton. 60+ hI's; Sean Hewitt, Michelle Stephan and Judi Blumfield. 50+ hrs; Fred Bosman, Mike & Donna Gaun~ Bill Moss and Bruce Delles. 40+ hrs; Sean Menke, Dennis Daly, Liz
Bowlds, Jared Kirby, Jim Hoffman and Jeff LeClere. 30+ hrs; Lindsay Brice, Liz Bosman and Shelley LeTendre. 20+ hrs; Franke Forstner, Doris Wahl and Mark Webber. 10+ hrs; Sandi & Brad Weseley, Kathy & Dave Boron, and Brandon Delles. 1 - 9 hrs; Jeff Klatt, Ginny and Alex Larson, Beau, Merle & Jan Larson, Dominick & Derek illveness, Keith Tucker, Barb Radanke, Jake Jacobsen, Gordon Merck, Sarah, Zachary & Megan Richard, and Mark Schmidtke. Again, many, many thanks to all of you who helped make this year another super special success!! Remember 1996 Festival is only 6 months away! Gloria Anton.
Toads and the Tube Frasier and Friends may be favorite television shows among America's human viewers, but those programs don't even rate among TV-watching toads, which prefer the cable offerings of BUG-TV, the all insect cable station. Okay, BUG-TV does not really exis~ but couchpotato toads are definitely in the making. This is happening by design, not accident, as biologists at ·Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant seek to discover whether pollution is linked to significant declines in amphibian populations around the globe. James Gillingham, a biologist at the university who helped develop BUG-TV, puts toads in front of a computer screen, then shows them computer-generated images of crickets. The toads respond as if the technocrickets are real, tongue lashing the screen in an effort to snare one of the little video temptations. "We hope to compare the responses of healthy toads with the responses of toads that have been exposed to pollution or too much ultraviolet radiation," says Gillingham. "This may tell us how the environment is affecting their behavior and, ultimately, their populations." BUG-TV may never win an Emmy award, but it may help to clarify the connection between amphibian declines and such factors as orone depletion or global warming. Editor's Note: The preceding article, author unknown, has been reprinted from the FeblMar edition of National Wildlife magazine. JPL. • Reptiles· Amphibians ~-inveriebrates. Small Mammals -;FIsh;-sTrds. Complete line of Cages, Food, Books & Supplies for ALL Animals
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