Blue Ridge Country July/August 2024 - 75
I
n a new neighborhood, with few
friends to play with, young Connie
Deegan entertained herself
by luring toads in her backyard
with discarded fruit pits, peels
and cores that attracted the insects they
thrived on. One day while looking for
them, Deegan flipped over a rock and discovered
two snakes.
" I never thought I'd be lucky enough
to find a snake, ever, and there they were, "
she recalls. " I tried to catch them. I missed
one. I caught one. Ever since that day,
that's just been the animal for me. "
Even now, says Deegan, 66, " I'm always
looking for snakes and, if I see a
snake, I catch it if I can. And then I just
let it go. I've always done that, and I bet
you 50 bucks I always will. "
Unmistakably in her element at
the
Johnson City Parks and Recreation Department,
it's hard to believe this enthusiastic,
high-energy naturalist once lacked
the confidence to pursue a career in her
field. She now designs programs focused
on native critters (including snakes, of
course), leads summer camps and maintains
four of the city's parks.
Born in Jamestown, New York,
Deegan frequently moved due to her
dad's corporate transfers. An outdoorsy
kid, she often entertained herself with
" insect zoos " of roly-polies, spiders and
earthworms in empty, ventilated Skippy
peanut butter jars.
" I always paid attention to the little
things, " she says. " When many people
walk through the woods, for example,
they look straight ahead. I always
looked down. "
Most of all, she kept an eye out for
snakes. " I just find them beautiful and important
and fascinating. I ended up championing
an animal that a lot of people
know little about and misunderstand. "
After majoring in natural resources
and education in college, Deegan spent
two years traveling with a short list of
goals that included making an offshore
sailboat delivery and living in Ireland. After
that, she assisted in her sister's stainedglass
business in Colorado before moving
back to Connecticut to start a similar
venture, crafting large panels for homeowners,
churches and restorations. It was
there that she landed her first job as a
naturalist, curating a small nature center
where she taught classes, cared for the
resident animals and led summer camps.
When her husband passed away, leaving
her to provide for a young child in one
of the most expensive parts of Connecticut,
she started researching other options.
On a road trip with her daughter, the two
fell in love with Johnson City, Tennessee.
It was beautiful, with many outdoor opportunities,
a solid school system and a
university in case Deegan wanted to earn
another degree.
Soon after they moved to Northeast
Tennessee in 2007, the recession hit and
there were no jobs to be found, not in her
naturalist field nor any other.
" I would sit at red lights and I'd read
the writing on the truck next to me, and
it would say 'tree service,' and I'd be like,
'I could do that.' " Desperate for work,
Deegan answered phones for a local bank
and conducted fieldwork for TVA before
the agency laid off its contractors and she
was forced to reinvent herself once again.
A turning point came at the Johnson
City Senior Center. " I brought in programs
that nobody else had ever brought
into the senior center before, cool stuff, instead
of how not to fall down, snake stuff.
We would go on really cool field trips. "
The lone naturalist at Johnson City
Parks and Rec had no plans to leave-
Deegan had already asked-but when a
CONNIE DEEGAN'S 3
NE TENNESSEE FAVES
A
nywhere on the Appalachian Trail.
" I'm a member of a couple of hiking
groups, so anyplace on the AT, and
certainly anyplace on the AT I have yet
to go to. "
Watauga Lake. " It's just beautiful. It's
part of the TVA system, but it's one of
the two northernmost lakes. "
The view from home. " I have a beautiful,
beautiful view from my house. I
live in a pretty rural area and I sit on my
porch every single night. I don't care if
it's winter or summer or pouring. I've
got a slight downhill and then, off in the
distance, bam! There's Holston Mountain. "
-NH
medical condition sidelined him in 2010,
the department needed a replacement in
a hurry. The summer nature camps were
already filled and ready to go, with no one
to run them. " It was an open slate, and I
just took it and ran with it, " Deegan says.
" I just got busy. "
Fourteen years later, she enjoys the
job more than ever. " I love teaching because
I love the topic. I love the variability,
and I love being outside.
It's
FACING PAGE: Connie Deegan on her love of snakes: " I just find them beautiful and important
and fascinating. "
LEFT: Deegan says the key to stopping our tendency to harm creatures like spiders and snakes
is to learn about them and thus build appreciation.
JULY/AUGUST 2024 75
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2024
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country July/August 2024
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2024 - Cover1
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2024 - Cover2
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2024 - 3
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2024 - 4
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2024 - 5
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2024 - 6
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2024 - 7
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Blue Ridge Country July/August 2024 - 16
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2024 - 17
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Blue Ridge Country July/August 2024 - Cover3
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2024 - Cover4
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