Homer F.

Price, Farmer and Naturalist

By Terri Gorney
Probably very few reading this has ever heard of the name of Homer Price. His work has
largely been forgotten. Yet he was one of those rare individuals, an unsung citizen
scientist that does not come along often. No, it is not because of his war record, even
though he served two years in the army in Europe during World War I and every
Memorial Day his grave is marked with an American flag by Paulding County (Ohio)
veterans. It was because during his long lifetime, Homer spent it looking deeply at the
world around him in northwestern Ohio and recording it.
After his time in the service was complete, he must have seen enough of the world
because he was content to spend the rest of his years in Payne (just across the Ohio state
line) and to explore northwest Ohio where he was born in 1895 into a farming family that
lived south of Payne in Benton Township. Homer considered himself a plain farmer. In
1920, Homer married Gladys Landrum and they had two daughters.
In his writings, The Nesting Birds of Northwestern Ohio 1915-1962, he observed the
birds and their nests. He was naturally curious about the world around him. He credits
Drs. Milton and Mary Trautman who wrote Birds of Western Lake Erie Documented
Observations and Notes 1850-1990, for urging him to write it and for proof-reading his
manuscript.
Homer wrote The Dragonflies (Odonata) of Northwestern Ohio. His research was
published in the Ohio Journal of Science in 1950 and 1958. Paulding County had an
incredible 81 species of dragonflies; one of the highest number of species of any county
in Ohio. Many of the places he searched are well known Paulding county landmarks such
as the Auglaize River, Flatrock Creek, Marie de Larme Creek (which originates in
DeKalb County, IN), Little Auglaize River, and Forders Bridge on the Maumee River
(which originates in Fort Wayne). Homer also had some of his finding on the birds
published in the AUK (present day Audubon magazine).
Homers last book The Butterflies of Northwestern Ohio 1940-1965 was published in
1970. This book is part of the Northwest Ohio Collection at Defiance College. To publish
one area of research is an accomplishment but to publish in three is a rare feat and he did
it while being a full-time farmer.
Homer passed away 30 June 1987. He is buried under a simple marker at Lehman
Cemetery next to his wife, Gladys. Homers obituary said that he was a local naturalist.
Part of his collection of dragonflies, butterflies, and bird eggs were sold to Ohio State
Universitys Museum of Natural History. Some of his collection is owned by the John
Paulding Historical Society His name made not be well-known like John Muir or Edwin
Way Teale but he should be remembered for his contributions to the natural sciences of
our area.