Happy Kitchel Egler

Happy Kitchel Egler (1912-1978) was a noted philanthropist, conservationist, and nature photographer of international renown. She met Frank Egler through their common interests in ecology and land preservation, and they married in 1968. Frank stated that their 10 year marriage were the happiest years of his life. She died from cancer in 1978.

A passion for wildlands protection ran deep in the Kitchel family. In 1961, Happy’s mother, Helen Binny Kitchel, gave the 600 acres Kitchel Wilderness, a state-designated Natural Area Preserve (NAP) forever protected from logging, to a special part of the Algonquin State Forest located in Colebrook, CT along the Sandy Brook, which flows into the Colebrook and Farmington Rivers. See Farmington River Watershed Association.

The Spaulding Pond Preserve was the glorious creation of Happy Kitchel. It is a 950 acre mostly “Forever Wild” Preserve whose waters flow into the Mad River in Winsted, CT. Her husband, Dr. Frank Egler maintained a keen eye on the preserve after Happy’s death in 1978, and he contributed property to it in the decades before he died in 1996. It is protected by a conservation easement held by 501c-3 Aton Forest, Inc.
For more about the Spaulding Pond Preserve.

Happy was an award-winning nature photographer of international renown, whose images have been exhibited around the globe — below are a few examples of her work.

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Get an overview of Frank Egler and other ecologists, and their work.

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Kitchel Wilderness
Almost 600-acre state-designated NAP
In Colebrook, Connecticut
Protected Forever Wild Preserve