Spreading love for birds

RIVESVILLE March 27, 2008 12:24 am

— About 28 years ago, John DeMary, a self-proclaimed nature lover, noticed that bluebirds were becoming very scarce in the area.
He attributed this decline in the bluebird population to disappearing habitat. So the Rivesville resident set out to do something about it — he began making houses for the animals in 1980.
DeMary said he makes an average of about 18 birdhouses a year. Recently, DeMary completed his 500th birdhouse. And the 88-year-old does not keep his creations all to himself. Instead, he spreads his love for birds around to others.
“I give all of the houses away,” he said.
DeMary typically gives the birdhouses to friends and family. However, he has also given several to employees at hospitals where he goes on occasion. He has given around 15 of the houses to employees at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Clarksburg.
His passion has even spread to outside the Mountain State’s borders as well. He has given some of his creations to residents in 20 different states, including Colorado and Vermont.
“I met most of the people from out of state at the store (DeMary’s Market),” he said.
DeMary, an avid golfer who tries to play five days a week, said he has given birdhouses to people he has met at various courses. He added that he always keeps a birdhouse in his car just for people whom he meets along his way.
He has also set up some of his birdhouses at golf courses around the area. He has donated 18 of the houses to the Tygart Lake Golf Course in Grafton and 18 to the Stonewall Resort in Lewis County.
“And I have a few set up at the Pete Dye course, too,” DeMary added.
Although he gives his birdhouses to many different people in different places, he already has a special someone in mind for his 500th one. He said he plans on giving it to his wife Sue.
“She puts up with me making a mess in the basement when I make the birdhouses,” DeMary said of his wife. “And I track sawdust through the house, too.”
He had a plaque made for his 500th birdhouse. The plaque reads that the piece is dedicated to his wife.
“It’s a pretty special birdhouse,” he said.
The birdhouses are pieced together from plans that DeMary obtained from the American Bluebird Society. He makes different styles of the homes, some with a round hole for the bird and some with a rectangular entrance into the house.
He pointed out that the rectangular entrance into the birdhouse is supposed to deter sparrows from using the structure meant for bluebirds.
E-mail Paul Fallon at pfallon@timeswv.com.

Photos

John DeMary stands next to a pile of birdhouses that he has made. DeMary began making the birdhouses in 1980. He is seen here holding his 500th creation, which he dedicated to his wife Sue. Times West Virginian