Frank Newell spent 38 years in the military. When he came home to his family farm in North Carolina, the bluebirds were gone.
When Frank was young, the fence posts around the pastures in Warrenton were wood, and Eastern bluebirds nested in them by the hundreds. When he came home decades later, the posts had been replaced with metal. The bluebirds had nowhere to nest and were disappearing.
Bluebirds can't excavate their own nest cavities. They depend on old woodpecker holes and natural rot in dead wood, both of which vanish when a landscape gets tidied up. So Frank started building them nest boxes by hand, 25 a week, with donated lumber and a Sears table saw that lasted him 33 years.
The word spread, volunteers joined, and businesses donated wood. The Eastern Bluebird Rescue Group, which Frank founded in 1996, has now built and distributed more than 500,000 bluebird houses, sold at or below cost. Warren County is now believed to hold the largest concentration of Eastern bluebirds in the United States.
Frank Newell has since passed away, but the group he started is still going, run by his daughter and son-in-law and a few dozen volunteers.
Today, we remember a legend.
On this day in history, Harambe would have celebrated another birthday. An icon that became part of internet history, American culture, and an entire generation’s timeline.
Tomorrow marks 10 years since we lost him. Ten years since the moment the world stopped scrolling and collectively mourned something bigger than a meme.
He became a symbol of loyalty, strength, chaos, unity, and the strange beauty of the internet bringing millions of people together for one cause: never forgetting Harambe.
Everyone remembers where they were when they heard the news. And somehow, a decade later, his legacy still lives on.
Gone, but never forgotten.
Rest easy to a true patriot. 🕊️🇺🇸
May 27, 1999 — May 28, 2016
Forever in our hearts.
Mo Salah leaves the Anfield pitch in tears as an iconic, trophy-laden Liverpool career comes to an end 👋
He won it all, and above all, restored a culture of glory to Liverpool. Long live the king 👑
We are saddened and heartbroken to share the news of the passing of Kyle Busch, a two-time Cup champion and one of our sport's greatest and fiercest drivers. He was 41 years old.
We extend our deepest condolences to the Busch family, Richard Childress Racing and the entire motorsports community.
The Ewok movies used to be considered the low point for Star Wars (aside from the Holiday Special) but five seconds of Ewoks with guns is more entertaining than everything Disney has done with the series in 14 years
Obviously a huge trade for the Pittsburgh Zoo with the gorilla swap. But the W's continue.... We got a baby lion making its debut late summer.
We're witnessing a historic off-season with these signings