Harriet Kofalk papers, 1860-1989

Harriet Kofalk, writer, poet, and historical researcher, received a B.A. in English from the University of New Mexico in 1959. She worked in various administrative positions at the Santa Fe Opera and the American Optometric Association before becoming Department Administrator of Publications (1979-1983) at the RAND Corporation in Santa Monica , California. From 1983-1990 she continued working as a consultant and part-time research administrator for the RAND Corporation and engaged in freelance writing and historical research of her own.

In addition to publishing several cookbooks, Kofalk wrote many peace and nature poems, some of which won awards. In 1989 she published No Woman Tenderfoot: Florence Merriam Bailey, Pioneer Naturalist, and she also wrote several articles and papers about Florence Bailey. Kofalk had recently completed a book manuscript about Vernon Bailey, Florence Bailey’s husband, when she was killed in a car accident in India in 1996.

Florence Merriam Bailey (1863-1948) was a distinguished ornithologist and nature writer. She grew up in Locust Grove, New York, and attended college classes at Stanford University. She wrote several essays on ornithology and published the book Birds of Village and Field in 1898. In 1899 she married Vernon Bailey, a naturalist who became chief field biologist for the Biological Survey. She accompanied him on numerous expeditions throughout the west and participated in scientific work. In 1902 she published Handbook of Birds of the Western United States, considered to be the standard work in the field for many years. After compiling The Birds of New Mexico in 1928, Bailey was awarded an honorary degree by the University of New Mexico. She died in 1948.