INTRUDERS: “The city may think it owns Reservoir 5, but this bird is pretty sure the humans who visit there are intruders.”

This “Lord of the Manor” mentioned on the front page of the Thursday, May 2, 1968, edition is a ruffed grouse known to the Bradford Area Water Authority as “Sam.”

The grouse “bitterly resents any intrusion” on the property, according to the article by Era staff reporter Bill Price.

“Personnel of the municipal agency have had their doubts for the past week as a ruffed grouse, which has been nicknamed ‘Sam,’ (but might be Samantha), has been ‘directing’ maintenance operations at the Hazelton Mills location in the West Corydon St. Ext. area,” Bill wrote.

He went on to describe Sam’s protests.

“It seems that each time Joseph K. Hane, reservoir supervisor and official weather observer for the department, makes his twice-daily trip to the reservoir to make chlorination and other checks, ‘Sam’ has been on his tail.

Apparently resenting the intrusion by Water Department staff members, the grouse, normally a ‘flighty bird,’ picks up the trail of the vehicle as it approaches the chlorinator house located about 1,000 feet from the highway.

“‘Sam’ just pops out of his woodland home and follows the utility truck to the chlorinator facility — enters the structure, a 12 by 15 foot brick building, and remains there while the employee does his work.

“However, ‘Sam; shows his objections to the intrusion by ‘pecking’ at the legs of the invader, and also declines to leave without the use of force on each occasion.

“It all ends well, incidentally, for after the chlorinator house is locked up again (‘Sam’ has been evicted), the grouse pursues the utility truck down the road for several hundred and then disappears in the woods.”

The article was next to a great photo of “Sam” standing on the floor with Joseph crouched down next to, having “a little discussion” with the bird.