The Washington Post recently published a fascinating obituary on one of the United States’ oldest NWS cooperative weather observers. Mr. Hendrickson was a farmer who made daily weather observations on his Long Island farm for more than 80 years, one of the longest spans in NWS history. His dedication and joy in watching the weather is a tribute to him and to everyone who loves to watch the skies. You can read it by clicking here.
The NWS office in New York, NY added these comments on Facebook:
“We at the National Weather Service are deeply saddened of the news of Richard G. Hendrickson’s passing. He was 103 years old and was the longest, active National Weather Service Cooperative Weather Observer in the history of the program, which dates back to 1890. Richard was 18 when he began taking weather observations at his farm in Bridgehampton, NY in 1930. He never missed an observation for 85 years! He received many awards including one under his own name for his 80+ years of weather observations. Richard said “I enjoy observing the weather: It is what I do for my country” at his award ceremony in 2014. Richard always stayed true to the legacy methods of weather observations at the exact same location and with largely the same equipment for 85 years! He would call us on his rotary phone every morning with his weather observation, tell us a story about a past weather event, or give a story about his farm. One of his memorable quotes was, “You got to live and work and play with Mother Nature. She’s the boss.” His dedication and passion for life and weather was second to none. Thank you Richard, You will be missed by all of us. You were a true hero and inspiration!”
