CURRENTS Winter 2003 NEWSLETTER
Published quarterly by Carroll Co. Wabash & Erie Canal Inc. for its members and friends.
Join Us As We Celebrate the Canal Center’s First Christmas!
Dozens of trees with sparkling lights will decorate the Wabash & Erie Canal Conference
and Interpretive Center in December as the Canal Center celebrates its first Christmas open house. As in past Christmas events, other buildings in Canal Park also will be open as well, all decked out in holiday finery of the canal era.
The annual Christmas Open House is December 14, and everyone is invited to enjoy the holiday spirit at Canal Park from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Have refreshments at the Reed Case House. Stop in at the Kuns log cabin for the holiday cookie sale. Find unique handmade Christmas gifts
at the Cabin Crafts Gift Shop in the Bowen log house.
In the Gift Shop there will be potpourri for simmering, along with note cards, books, woodcrafts, birdhouses, hand-painted gourds, cashmere items, handmade paper items, candles, woven rugs and placemats, pottery, hand spun and knitted items, needle-felted folk Santas and tree ornaments, American Folk toys, Whetstone Woodenware, and CDs by The Vagaband and Bittersweet and Briers which feature traditional American and Celtic folk music. Proceeds from all sales will benefit the Canal Association.
The Cabin Crafts Gift Shop will also be open on Saturday, December 6 from 10:00 a.m.to 2:00 p.m., and you can tour the Reed Case House that same day until 4:00 p.m. Following Delphi’s Christmas parade on December 6, the old-fashioned trolley will run about every half hour from Canal Park to make caroling calls.
As usual, open hours for the Interpretive Center year around will be 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Saturdays and 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Sundays.
14 Respond to Call-out for Volunteers
With the Canal Interpretive Center now open each weekend, there is a great need for more volunteers to greet guests and help them enjoy their visits to this unique museum of canal history. Usually two persons share the duty of opening the museum, greeting visitors and answering their questions. Often husband and wife teams are hosts during the open hours.
Volunteer coordinators Susan Yoder and Karen Bradshaw set up a meeting on October 21 at the Canal Center to train those who were interested in serving as guides and greeters. Expecting eight or ten to come, Susan and Karen were very pleased to have a class of 14 new volunteer docents. They were instructed on their duties and given an extensive, updated Volunteer Notebook containing information about responsibilities and rewards as well as historic information on the canal and all of the buildings in Canal Park. The new volunteers will be paired with experienced ones until they become experienced docents themselves.
Additional training sessions will be conducted as needed. Wouldn’t you like to help? Contact Karen Bradshaw 574-686-2346 or pick up a volunteer application at the Canal Center for hosting or other volunteer work. You will be doing rewarding work that benefits the community, and it’s fun, too!
We Welcome Many New Members in 2003
Since the opening of the new Canal Conference and Interpretive Center in July, we have had many visitors from far and wide, and have experienced a marked increase in the number of new members joining Wabash & Erie Canal, Inc. We welcome the following new 2003 members, as of November 10: (Please let us know of any omissions.)
From Delphi: Salin Bank, Tom and Laurel McCarthy, Frances Ashley, Kevin and Rae Brower, Barbara A. Buchanan, Mildred Daniels, Virgil and Beulah Gray, Linda Schulz, Ronald D. Scowden, Pat Duff, Union Planters Bank, Mon. Peter Vanderkolk, and Nola Merson.
From Lafayette: Caren Bunch, Stu and Pat Dye, Dennis V. Kochert, Lafayette Historic Auto Club, Malcolm M. Miller, James E. Peterson, Kenny and Marce Parish, Doris J. Rhoades, James Schrader, Jay and Kathy Seeger, Mark and Katherine Carter and family, Katie Hahn, Richard Sunkel, Scotty Trout, and Eric Werth. From West Lafayette: David Beck, Thomas Kesler and Laurel Jizba.
From Camden: John Reppert, Joseph A. O’Donnell, Donald Hall, and Tom and Billie Hedde.
From Monticello: Dale and Pat Herrington, Marilyn D. Carlson, White County Historical Society.
From around the state: William B. Patrick, Noblesville; Harry and Barbara Williams, Russiaville;
Ouida Alford, Greenwood; Colleen Duncan, Veedersburg; Sue Burger, Muncie; Charles and Evelyn Bryan, and Jean McGroarty, Battle Ground; Mr. and Mrs. H. R. Feeser, Mulberry; Melverine Hufty, Cutler; Dan and Kay Combs, Vincennes; Vernon G. Henry, Fishers; Darrell and Tonia Sherrod, Kokomo; Edith B. Miller, Bob and Helen Small, and Mary B. Lavagnino, Indianapolis; and Merrillyn Reynolds, Columbus.
New out-of-state members in 2003 are: Thomas and Norma Storey, Longwood, Florida; Shirley Williams, and Gil Meisgeier, Portage, Wisconsin; Amanda Stroop, Fenton, Missouri; Daryl and Michelle Brower, Sahuraita, Arizona; Wendell and Marcia Dilling, Midland, Michigan; Lyn Kirschner and Michele Jasik, Madison, Wisconsin; John Merson, San Antonio, Texas, Thomas Sheneman, Indianhead Park, Illinois; Paul and Judy Simon, Los Altos Hills, California; Ted and Carol Madden and Ken Falkenberg, Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Eleanor Hoch, Champaign, Illinois
We are especially pleased to welcome 16 new “student” members. After hearing a program about the Wabash & Erie Canal, these students at St. James Lutheran School in Lafayette decided to join with student memberships of $5 so that they could receive the Currents newsletter. They are Jacob Berning, Hayden Byrd, Matthew Campbell, Chanel Cornell, Brian Ghiselli, Mark Glebe, Katie Hahn, Nisha Melady, Nibel Moffatt, Ryan Morris, Abbey and Amanda Peters, Adrienne Potts, David Raley, Zachary Roberts and Christian Vukas.
If you have not paid your 2003 membership, we urge you to do so soon!
Canal Association Offers Boy Scouts a Temporary Home
The raging flood waters that did such extensive damage in Delphi last summer left the local Boy Scouts homeless. The cabin in Riley Park that they had used as their headquarters and meeting place was very heavily damaged when Deer Creek flooded the park.
Boy Scout leaders appealed to the Canal Association in search of a temporary meeting place and found the help they needed. They were granted permission to meet in the Reed Case House until other arrangements can be made. The scouts have worked in partnership with the Canal Association in the past, and future work of the scouts on Canal Park projects and trails will continue to enhance that relationship.
Memorial Gifts
Recent memorial gifts received include one from Coralee Garrison in memory of her grandparents John and Irene Garrison. Also Ruth E. Cox has purchased a bench in memory of Hazel D. Sines.
Canal Association Sponsoring Special Events
Several special events such as desserts, dinners, and speakers have been offered by the Canal Association at the Canal Center since its opening. These events are part fund raising and part community outreach (friend-raising). They offer a chance for the public to see the new building, to interact with others in the community, and to lend support to the Canal Association.
Although the fund-raising aspects have been small, the enthusiasm with which they have been received is rewarding. The first event was a Sunday afternoon tea for ladies of the community. Tea was served on fine china, and everyone was encouraged to wear a hat! Events Chairman Jeannie Logan hopes to stage similar events throughout the year.
Drawing the largest crowds were talks by Linn Loomis on September 24 and Dr. Charles Gish on October 25. Mr. Loomis, a canal historian, gave an illustrated talk on Ohio canals following dessert featuring Parrett’s chocolate fountain. After a pork loin and barbeque dinner by Baileys Catering, Dr. Gish fascinated everyone with his display of Indian artifacts and comments on Indian history.
The beautiful Canal Center is well suited for programs like these, providing audio visual equipment and comfortable seating for large crowds. Businesses, civic groups and others are urged to consider the Canal Center for sponsoring similar community events. The Center is also available for private meetings, receptions, board meetings, reunions and parties.
Bookings are already filling the calendar, especially until the end of this year. If there is a meeting, reception, party or other event in your plans, better check out the date soon! Call Judy Stirm at 765-564-6378 to make reservations.
Canal Interpretive Center Nearing Completion
The good news is that the 60 exhibits and dozen galleries inside
the Interpretive Center are almost finished. Final documents and bills
were turned in to DNR’s Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology
for the Wabash Heritage Corridor Fund grant last month. The “value” of
these exhibits is estimated at $600,000 (installed inside the $2 million dollar
building) and the grant totals $212,500. This means that the efforts of many
talented volunteers using lots of donated items and materials have saved
the Canal Association considerable cash. Thanks to everyone who helped!
After so many large bills, now comes the need to replenish the Canal’s bank account with donations large and small. Those who can sponsor individual exhibits, graphics, galleries, rooms, facades, etc., are eligible to get their names placed appropriately on the item. Already many items are “named,” and those donors are recognized. Prices vary by the significance of the item, and the name will remain for the life of the exhibit. Think of the many times you see
corporate or individual names receiving recognition in significant places. YOUR name could be displayed at the Canal Center in recognition of your support. Call 765-564-6297 for details.
Boy Scout Eagle Projects Leave Their Mark
Three Boy Scouts recently have completed or nearly finished Eagle projects that involved the Canal Park or Historic Trails. Nathan Stanley and Josh Fife from Troop #155 have earned their full honors this year for working on trail related projects. Tom Walton, who has recently finished the three-sided information kiosk in Canal Park, is awaiting his court of honor. Two other Eagle candidates, Daniel Carbaugh, from the Logansport Troop, and Justin Skaggs, from Delphi, have nearly completed their respective trail restoration and retaining wall projects.
The $100,000 Discount!
Repairing the extensive July flood damage to the trail system along Deer Creek near State Road 25 south of Delphi had a price tag of $100,000, according to estimates of expert engineers. Heaps of driftwood, huge uprooted trees and tons of debris from upstream littered the trails. Portions of some trails were washed away. It was a $100,000 disaster.
Unfortunately, no trail restoration dollars were available through grants. To the rescue came nearly 150 people who volunteered to rebuild the trails. They gave hundreds of hours of their time and energy, offered heavy equipment, disposed of debris and rebuilt trails. Not a dime was spent – turning a $100,000 disaster into a $100,000 “discount”!
When weather was dry enough this fall to do the work, the army of volunteers started coming. Delphi Community High School Principal Keith Brakel offered 100 students through the SHOCK (Students Helping Our Community and Kids) program. They worked so well at gathering, sorting and loading debris that by the end of the second session essentially all the debris along the creek west of Indiana 25 to the Wabash River had been removed.
During our September “Third Saturday” workday, 49 community volunteers worked on restoring trails. Denny Burge, Daniel Boone and Ray Romein donated machinery, and Tim Frank brought his truck to haul dozens of loads of crushed limestone for trail surfacing, courtesy of Delphi Limestone Company. City Street Department crews removed non-burnable debris. Burnable debris was piled and burned on Robbins and Brandenburg fields. Scout Daniel Carbaugh rejuvenated Happy Jack’s Loop as his Eagle project. Psi Iota Xi ladies served lunch.
What a shining example of many elements of a community coming together, fulfilling a need with their many talents. Thanks to all who participated!
For more information about
the Wabash and Erie Canal Park, please use the information below.
