Isabel Priestly
When it began in 1942, no one imagined the Blue Jay would end up on the shelves of the British Museum library in London, England. But it is there, and in reference libraries across North America. Much of the journal's success can be traced to the work of one remarkable woman.
Isabel Priestly was born in 1893 in Berkshire, England. She married a Canadian soldier in 1918 and came to Canada with him after the war. After several moves, the couple settled in Yorkton in 1935. Before her marriage Priestly had studied botany and in Canada she pursued her interest in natural history.
For three summers she collected plants for Ducks Unlimited in the marshes around Yorkton. A small group of boys joined her, recording their bird sightings. (One of the boys who Mrs. Priestly had considerable influence on was Stuart Houston) Their list had records for 193 species identified, plus six considered hypothetical.
Soon others began to pass on their observations and Priestly developed the idea of a bird-watcher's newsletter. The first issue appeared in October 1942. It was a modest production, with seven mimeographed pages and a cover page with the title stenciled in large letters, hand-coloured with blue crayon.
From the beginning, the Blue Jay had a clear purpose - to foster an active interest in all branches of nature study, and to promote the conservation of all wildlife; also to act as a connecting link between nature lovers in Saskatchewan.
As Editor, Priestly urged protection of the red lily and publicized the need to protect the Whooping Crane. She began a province-wide Christmas Bird Census and published the results.
Priestly also served as President of the Yorkton Natural History Society. That group brought in speakers and films, organized field trips and began collecting materials for a future museum.
Priestly died unexpectedly from a cerebral hemorrhage on 23 April 1946. Her April-May-June issue of the Blue Jay went out to readers just as she had prepared it. Inserted in front of her editorial was an obituary notice, which committed the Society to carrying on the publication of the bulletin "in tribute to the memory of Mrs. Priestly." That tribute continues on the inside cover of Blue Jay today.
In this Saskatchewan's Centennial year, the Blue Jay celebrates its 63rd anniversary. And it still reflects Priestly's vision as a journal of natural history and conservation for Saskatchewan and adjacent regions.
In one of her last editorials she defined her style: "We have always tried to present material in the Blue Jay in an informal manner just as if two or three nature lovers had got together and were exchanging experiences. At the same time we have always tried to present facts which are scientifically correct."
Thanks to Gary W. Seib, Member Services Director, Nature Saskatchewan for this submission, which is based on The Isabel Priestly Legacy: The Saskatchewan Natural History Society, 1949-1990. Margaret Belcher. 1996.
"A picture of Isabel Priestly was featured on the cover of a book by Stuart Houston, who as a boy in the 1940s studied birds with Priestly in the Yorkton area."