I was just going to tell this story to Ray but thought might as well share it. My Great Uncle Bob taught me how to tie flies in 1982. He died in 1984 from Lou Gerhig Disease. So he never knew (or maybe he does) how far I have gone with fly fishing and tying. Anyway his wife is moving into a nursing home and I have been helping clean out their house that they lived in for some 50 years.
I found a 1971 edition of "Minnows of North Amnerica and Their Streamer Imitations" by George Herter. In it is a recipe for the Gray Ghost and its story. The paragraph states that Carrie Stevens did not Invent the streamer but made it popular. It also mentioned that the original pattern sometimes used Polar bear hair instead of golden pheasant crest for a throat. Thinking that not many of Ray's contributors would have used polar bear and since I had some from Chris Marshall, I did. I copied the pages from the book and sent them to Ray with my fly. Ginger M. Allen Senior Biological Scientist Florida Master Naturalist Program Coordinator www.MasterNaturalist.org University of Florida/IFAS Southwest Florida Research & Education Center 2686 State Road 29 North Immokalee, FL 34142 FAX 239-658-3469 PH 239-658-3400; SunCom 974-3400
