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Volunteers Wanted Here's a great volunteer opportunity for fans of the Gaylord Building. We're looking for people to help staff the front desk. Its a great opportunity to share your love of this historic site with visitors. Hours are flexible. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Pat Chinderle, 815.588.1100, or pchinderle@canalcor.org.
Send eNews to a Friend Help us build our mailing list and increase the number of people who receive Canal Passages eNews. If you have a friend who would enjoy receiving Canal Passages eNews, please send them this issue.
If you received this message from a friend and like what you see, subscribe today!
Are You a Member? Are you a member of Canal Corridor Association? If not, consider joining today. Memberships begin at just $35 per year, with discounts for multi-year memberships. Your gift will both provide fun CCA member benefits AND help build an exciting future for a region that brings to life a rich and vibrant past. Membership forms are available online.
If you are a member, thank you. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to improve the membership experience.
Canal Fact The year 1848 was a pivotal one in northern Illinois' history. In addition to the opening of the canal, the first railroad and telegraph connections entered Chicago.
Send Us Your News! If you have an event, activity or brief news item you would like to see in eNews, please email us at enews@canalcor.org.
If you wish to unsubscribe from eNews, please use the unsubscribe link at the bottom of this message or send an email to enews@canalcor.org.
Canal Corridor Association is a membership organization that preserves history, protects nature and open space, and creates destinations where people can learn and have fun in the I&M Canal National Heritage Corridor, from Lake Michigan in Chicago to the Illinois River in LaSalle/Peru. It enhances, raises awareness of and expands the parks, trails, landscape and historic sites that make the I&M Canal region a special place. CCA manages the Gaylord Building, a National Trust Historic Site, in Lockport, Illinois. One of the oldest industrial buildings in the I&M Canal National Heritage Corridor, the Gaylord Building is a model of adaptive reuse, featuring the Public Landing restaurant, canal exhibits and more. |
CCA President's Note
Dear Friends, I am sad to tell you that CCA lost a colleague and friend over the weekend. Keith Andersen, of John Pruehs & Associates, passed away last Friday from complications from a bone marrow transplant.
Keith worked on I&M Canal-related fundraising projects since 1997, when John Pruehs & Associates was selected to assist CCA and the federal commission in raising funds for the 1998 sesquicentennial of the canal. Most recently Keith assisted CCA in working to overcome this financially challenging year without federal funding. Many of you may have seen him at our Canal Boat Captain’s luncheon just two weeks ago.
With Keith’s passing, I am reminded how many people are part of our canal family, working to make the canal corridor a better place to live, work, and visit. Keith was a solid piece of that effort, and we sincerely miss him.
If you knew Keith and would like to contact his wife and daughter, you can reach them at Judy and Kirsten Andersen, c/o John C. Pruehs & Associates, 1754 North Washington Street, Naperville, IL 60563.
Sincerely , Ana B. Koval President & CEO
Special Places Advocates Blaze a Trail to the Confluence Site Thanks to the leadership of the Cook County Special Places Advocates, the I&M Canal (Willow Springs) Bike Trail is ready to become 1/3 mile longer. The advocates helped break a 20 year impass on extending the trail to the confluence of the I&M, Calumet-Sag and Chicago Sanitary & Ship canals. On April 27 they were part of a 39-member team of volunteers who cleared brush and debris to make way for the trail. In addition to the advocates, volunteers came from Argo Community High School, Santa Fe Prairie and the villages of Lemont and Willow Springs. Special assistance was also provided by Dan Bell from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
If you want to learn more about Special Places Advocates contact CCA program director Laurie Scott, 312.863.6286 or lscott@canalcor.org. You can also find more information on our website.
Farmers’ Markets Celebrate the Bounty of the Heritage Corridor
Nothing says summer
like fresh produce straight from the farm. Since the I&M Canal Corridor
has a rich agricultural history, it’s no
Chicago: has too many markets to list here. However, the city’s Office of Special Events offers a comprehensive list.
Joliet: Chicago Street from Jefferson to Van Buren; Fridays, 8 am to 2 pm; June 17 to September 25; For further information call 815.744.6066
Lemont: Budnik Plaza; Tuesdays, 8 am to 1 pm; June 28 to October 25; For further information call 630.243.2700
Marseilles: Riverfront Plaza; Wednesdays, 3:30 pm to dusk; May 18 to October 12; For further information call Karen, 815.795.2784 or visit http://www.marsparks.com
Morris: Train Depot parking lot; Saturdays, 8 am to noon; June-September; For further information call Kathy Perdue, 815.942.0113
Ottawa: Jackson Street between Columbus and LaSalle; Saturdays, 8 am to 12:30 pm May 28 to October 29; For further information call Jayne, 815.496.9341
Palos Hills: 8455 W. 103rd; Mondays, 7am to noon; June-October; For further information call Mary Orlowicz, 708.430.4500
Palos Park: 12312 South 88th Avenue; Fridays, 8am to noon; June-October; For further information call Pat Jones, 708.448.2700
Worth: 11139 S. Harlem Ave; Wednesdays, 7 am to 1 pm; June-October; For further information call Bonnie Price, 708.448.1181
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How the I&M Canal Changed the Face of Agriculture in Illinois --by CCA Historian Ron Vasile
The first wave of Europeans to settle in Illinois, beginning around 1800, were frustrated in their attempts to grow crops. The plows that they brought with them from the east could not break through the deep roots of the prairie plants. Around 1837 a Will County farmer named John Lane invented a new steel plow from old saw blades, and within a decade his plow became the new symbol of a prairie transformed. (On his death the magazine Scientific American stated that “John Lane Sr. should ever be remembered as one of the greatest inventors of the country.”) Illinois’ rich prairie soil now could be turned into some of the world’s most productive farmland.
However, farmers still needed a reliable means of transporting crops to market. The only way to move goods was by horse or mule. Chicago had emerged as a major settlement in the late 1830s, but it was many miles distant from the richest farmland. Thus, farmers grew only enough to meet local needs.
Agriculture in northeastern Illinois was profoundly changed by the opening of the Illinois and Michigan Canal in 1848. The local prairie soil grew corn more abundantly than any other crop. Before the canal was built, corn’s bulk had made it unprofitable to ship, giving wheat a competitive advantage. By reducing the cost of shipping, the I&M Canal made corn the most profitable crop on the prairie. The canal propelled corn to its pre-eminent status as the major cash crop of northeastern Illinois, a position it has held ever since.
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Upcoming Events Here is a sampling of events happening in the corridor. For a more complete listing of winter and spring events, visit the eNews Calendar. Don't see your event listed here? Please send it to enews@canalcor.org.
Saturday, May 14--Joliet Iron Works Tour, Joliet Joliet, aka the City of Stone and Steel, got its nickname from the major products of the area. You can walk in the workers footsteps at this archeological site with interpretive installations from Canal Corridor Association. The tour, 9 to 11 am, will reveal the workers' challenging lives as well as the mills' technology between 1870 and 1940, the prime time for Joliet's iron making industry. For further information call 815.727.8700.
Sunday, May 15--Little Red School House 50th Anniversary, Willow Springs Celebrate 50 years of nature interpretation with games, activities and refreshments. 10 am to 3 pm. For further information call 708.839.6897.
Saturday, May 21--7th Annual Kid's Fishing Expo, Peru Come to Baker Lake in Peru for the best family fishing expo in the state. Instructors will teach basic knot tying, identifying, cleaning and cooking as well as basic safety rules. This event, 10 am to 3 pm, is for kids 5 and up that are interested in learning more about fishing. Families can continue to fish the remainder of the day. For further information call Tom Wahl, 815.223.3671 or Karen Anderson, 815.625.2968 or visit www.better-fishing-assoc.org.
Saturday, May 21--Chicago Portage Walk & Work Day, Willow Springs Head to the Little Red School House Nature Center between 9 am and noon to enjoy a walk that reveals the historic secrets of this site. Then, help restore biodiversity by removing invasive plants. Groups welcome! This is a great way to fulfill community service requirements. For further information call 708.839.6897.
Sunday, May 22--Cool Cuisine for the Hiker, Channahon What can safely be gathered and eaten from the woods? Join a Forest Preserve District of Will County staff interpreter between 2 and 3:30 pm to find out which plants can not only be eaten but how nourishing they actually are. Samples of edible plants will be tried along the way. Dress for the weather. For further information call 815.727.8700.
Tuesday, May 24--Battlefield Balladeers, Lemont Area Historical Museum This free performance, beginning at 7 pm features an engaging vocal/instrumental duo performing the music of America's Civil War. The group brings to life the pathos, passion, comedy and patriotism of those turbulent times. For further information contact Susan Donahue, 630.257.2972. |
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surprise that a number of canal towns host bustling farmers’ markets
this time of year. Happily, many of these markets also feature fresh
baked goods, meat, crafts and antiques. To help you celebrate this
bounty, here is a list of markets in the corridor.