Saved Illinois from Canada, and Other Frontier Tales",
is guaranteed to either enlighten you, or refresh your
memory of the formation of our great country. Hint, you
may want to review the facts surrounding the Northwest
Territory. Speaker Roney is a multi-faceted individual
with a background steeped in history, farming, authoring
a column, “Remembering Who We Are,” for her local paper,
the Sullivan News Progress. An
accomplished artist as well, she traveled the Midwest art fair
circuit for over thirty years. Her realistic and detailed
watercolors, oils, and prints of the central Illinois prairie
landscape are in many public and private collections. Her
continuing interest is locating early trails of central Illinois
and sharing the stories she finds along the way. Janet is a 1959
graduate of Sullivan High School and a 1963 graduate of the
University of Illinois, with a degree in the teaching of history
and social studies. |
Perhaps Punxsutawney Phil was correct
in his prediction for more winter, but soon that will give way
to a gentler weather pattern. The beauty of spring wildflowers
accompanies the bird songs of migrating flocks heading for their
traditional nesting grounds and starts our spring lineup.
The Elkhart Historical
Society is looking forward to offering our annual guided
wildflower walks on Elkhart Hill every Saturday in April
starting April 5th with two walks a day at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.,
at a cost of $15 per adult and $10 per child. If you have a
group of 10-20 you can arrange to have a private wildflower tour
during the week or on Sunday afternoons in April. If scheduled
on Tuesday-Friday, lunch can be included. Lunch can be reserved
on the same form, at an additional cost for adults for $12 and
children (aged 10 and younger) for $6. All tours leave from the
Country Bumpkin at 103 Gov. Oglesby St., Elkhart, IL 62634.
On the morning of Saturday April 26,
the Historical Society is fortunate to have Biology Professor
Tony Rothering from LLCC demonstrate the banding of both
migratory and local songbirds during special tours at 7:30 a.m.,
9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. The 2 p.m. tour will feature both flowers
and birds with the help of our amazing birders, Dr. Lara
Borgerson, Joe Funk, and Rhetta Jack. Rothering is a
federally permitted bander, who last year successfully recorded
and released over 120 birds during his annual Elkhart Hill
banding session.
The event is done during the spring migration on Elkhart Hill,
an incredibly biodiverse “island” (oasis) to the birds. Elkhart
Hill measures
approximately 600 acres of mature hardwoods, but is surrounded
primarily by monocultures of corn and soybeans fields, where
very few hedge rows or groves of trees remain. For the many
species of migrating warblers, Elkhart Hill offers a much-needed
rest and refueling stop, on their journey north to breeding
grounds in the upper Midwest and Canada. We are hopeful that
some of these winged travelers will be among those banded on
Saturday, April 26. You won’t want to miss it. Rothering’s work
helps to catalog the changes in migration patterns caused, in
part, by weather and loss of habitat.
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