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Indiana Master Naturalist Gathering 2016

4/24/2016

By Ellsworth Smith

I attended the Indiana Master Naturalist (IMN) Gathering at McCormick’s Creek State Park on April 8.9. and 10 th . The activities started with a tour of the Blue Caverns near Bedford. It was a great trip underground riding in boats. We then walked to and from a sink hole that was tied into the same underground cave system. Both studies were great teaching moments.

The evening program at the state park was about the Start of the Indiana State Park System Storyteller Bob Sander presented his new program on Col. Richard Lieber and his efforts in starting the Indiana State Park System. This is the Centennial Year of the Indiana State Parks.

[Thanks to a grant from the Indiana Humanities this program will be presented at Limberlost State Historic Site on July 9, 2:00 pm].

Saturday was started with a bird walk followed by classes related from frogs to salamanders. There were other classes covering many areas in nature. There were around 110 IMN members in attendance.

Several groups were formed. Twenty-three of us walked to Wolf Cave in the park. Most of us crawled through a small hole in the Wolf Cave and traveled about 70 feet to another opening. We then walked back to the next class which was on snakes.

The Saturday evening program on “There is More to Milkweed than Monarchs” by Jody Heaston, the DNR Volunteer Coordinator. She provided at least three types of milkweed seed samples for each attendee.

The Sunday program was a visit to Cataract Falls, both high and low. These falls are the largest in Indiana. There is the Cataract Covered Bridge located near the high falls. I spoke about details about details of the Cataract Covered Bridge to each of the four groups.

All four groups visited the Ponderosa Aqua Farm.

That ended the IMN Gathering and the post trip!

Notes:

Ellsworth Smith is an Advanced Indiana Master Naturalist. He is serving his second term on the Friends of the Limberlost board. He volunteers for state historic sites, the state parks, ACRES Land Trust and other places round the state.

Friends of the Limberlost Secretary Melissa Fey also attended the IMN Gathering.

Limberlost State Historic Site has been asked to host the 2017 Indiana Master Naturalist Gathering with Ouabache State Park. We are pleased to be asked and look forward to hosting this group.

Praise for “Freckles”

4/18/2016

By Terri Gorney

When Gene Stratton-Porter wrote “Freckles” in 1904, one wonders if she could imagine how
beloved the character of “Freckles” would become. Over one-hundred years later, generations
have read and re-read the book. “Freckles” has become woven into the rich history of
Limberlost.

The character of Freckles was based on a real man named Ray Boze, who worked for Gene and her husband, Charles Porter [see Blog 9/9/2014]. Freckles was an orphan who did not know his family history. He came to Limberlost to work for Mr. McLean and to guard his lumber tract. He soon grew to love the beauty of the nature in the Limberlost.

A few years after the book was published by Doubleday and Page, it was made into a comedy-
drama for the stage in Great Britain. Shortly afterwards, Neil Twomey’s “Freckles” came to
American stages. The play would tour the country and be performed numerous times in a number of cities over the next decade.

Critics gave wonderful reviews of the play and of Gene Stratton-Porter’s book. One who wrote
for the Leavenworth Post (Kansas), stated that, “He has transferred the spirit of the wild-wood, visualized the delightful characters of the story and woven incidents into a play of tremendous power, the bright particular star of which is the little, one-handed, freckle faced, red headed waif of fiction fame, who has enshrined himself in the hearts of millions of people who have followed him through the pages of Gene Stratton-Porter’s remarkable books.

Some other praises for “Freckles” the play from New York newspapers:

New York Press----The piece fairly abounds in what has been termed “the punch,” in the drama.

New York Sun ---Stirring scenes and strong, gripping, dramatic situations.

New York Evening Journal---“Freckles” scores success by its naturalness.

New York Telegraph----The unique nature of the settings and the story are both attractive,
interesting and well acted.

New York Herald---A novelty.

New York Times ----Tremendously successful.

New York American---Interesting at all times.

During this time period, Gene was inspired by the Limberlost and created some of her best loved characters. A number of these characters were based on people or were composites of people who lived in Geneva. Over one-hundred years later, she is still being “discovered” by new audiences who have become fans of her writings.

Several of Gene’s books were made into plays and movies. Not too many authors today can
claim that.

The Bird Woman of Geneva

4/10/2016

By Terri Gorney

Gene Stratton-Porter drew inspiration from the Limberlost Swamp that was around Geneva. It was her outdoor classroom for 25 years. She wrote both fiction and non-fiction books. Even in her fiction books, she put facts about herself and others she knew in her writings.

Gene made herself the Bird Woman in both “Freckles” and “A Girl of the Limberlost.” The Limberlost cabin that Gene and Charles built in 1894-5 was the Bird Woman’s home in those books. Gene was proud of the home that she created with the help of an architect.

When Freckles met the Bird Woman, “she was staggering under a load of cameras and paraphernalia” and she also carried a gun. Gene carried a gun to the swamp and she owned four cameras plus the equipment.

Freckles lived in the swamp and did not want to call at the Bird Woman’s front door, so he used the conservatory door. Once inside he “parted the heavy curtains that separated the conservatory from the company.” Freckles was surprised that while entertaining the Bird Woman wore “silks and laces” and her neck and arms “flashed from rare jewels.” Gene did have finery and jewelry given to her by her husband, Charles. The inspiration for the character of Freckles was her stable boy Ray Boze. Gene saw Ray frequently at that same door.

In “A Girl of the Limberlost,” Elnora sees a sign in the bank window in bold black letters that stated, “Wanted: Caterpillars, cocoons, chrysalides, pupae cases, butterflies, moths, Indian relics of all kinds, highest scale of prices paid in cash.” Gene’s husband, Charles, founded the Bank of Geneva and this sign was in the bank window. Charles and Gene did purchase items. Charles would sometimes run an ad for Indian relics in the “Geneva Herald.”

Elnora decides to call on the Bird Woman. The Limberlost cabin was a short walk from the bank. There is a good description of the entry hall and dining room of the cabin in “A Girl of the Limberlost.” “Elnora followed down the hall and entered a long room with high paneled wainscoting, old English fireplace with an over mantel and closets of peculiar china filling the corners. At a bare table of oak, yellow and gold, sat a woman Elnora often had watched and followed covertly around the Limberlost. The Bird Woman was holding out a hand of welcome.”

In Gene’s book, “The Harvester,” the Dream Girl’s porch is the porch off the east side of the cabin.Gene wrote about what she knew and loved. We hope you will visit the Bird Woman of Geneva’s Limberlost Cabin.

Sketches of Twelve Birds

4/3/2016

Researched and written by Terri Gorney

Gene wrote, “Character Sketches of Twelve Birds” as part of the Biennial Report of Game and
Fisheries of Indiana, 1908. These sketches were taken from the book “What I Have Done with
Birds” by Gene.

Gene Stratton-Porter wrote, “The greatest thing possible to do with a bird is to win its
confidence. In a few days’ work about most nests the birds can be taught to trust me, so that such studies can be made as are here presented of young and old, male and female.”

The Limberlost Swamp which surrounded the town of Geneva was her inspiration and “outdoor classroom” for 25 years. With her photographs and writings she made the Limberlost famous.

Gene was proud that in all her field work studies she never caused a bird harm, nor did she ever damage any eggs or nests. She wrote about carrying “a notebook, handful of wheat and soul of a poet” as being good characteristics for doing this type of work.

She photographed numerous birds perching, with their young and on their nests. According to
Gene, “my closet contains hundreds of negatives.” She believed in using “nature’s background
which has strong contrasts of light and shade......I use four cameras suited to every branch of
field work, and a small wagon-load of long hose, ladder, waders, and other field paraphernalia.”

“I was born in the country and grew up among the birds in a place where they were protected and fearless. A deep love for and comprehension of, wild things runs through the thread of my
disposition, peculiarly equipping me to do these things.”

The twelve birds she wrote about were: cardinal, vulture, king rail, great blue heron, dove, barn owl, quail, purple martin, robin, cuckoo, blue jay and shrike. Each sketch included a photograph of the bird by Gene. They were all photographed at Limberlost. Gene went into detail about the birds, their habits and their habitats. She was interested in learning all aspects about the birds.

Ten of the twelve species Gene named visited Limberlost in 2015; only the barn owl and quail
were missing. Today, the great blue heron are a common sight at the wetlands, lakes and river; there is a heron rookery at Rainbow Bottom. The cardinal, purple martin, dove, vulture, and blue jay are also commonly seen. Limberlost has a few yellow-billed cuckoo and there has been evidence of a shrike.

The king rail was rarity in Geneva during Gene’s time just as it is today. It is a bird that is mostly heard and not seen. Not only did she see a pair of king rail, she photographed the “queen” rail on her nest. Gene had extraordinary patience to be able to do this. We are pleased that there have been king rails in Geneva the past two summers.

Gene would have been amazed at how many rare birds have visited Limberlost in the past year: avocet, Hudsonian godwit, glossy ibis, glaucous gull and a lesser black-backed gull to name a few. The bald eagle was extirpated from Geneva when Gene lived here. Today it is unusual if you do not see at least one eagle at the wetlands.

Jane Brooks Hine, another Indiana Bird Woman who was a generation older than Gene, wrote
“Game and Land Birds of an Indiana Farm” for the Biennial Report of Game and Fisheries of
Indiana, 1911. Jane wrote about a lifetime of observations of birds. On the USGS Bird
Phenology website, Jane is given credit for over 400 bird sightings.

Cheers to these two bird women of northeastern Indiana!

Indiana Master Naturalist Gathering 2016

Praise for “Freckles”

The Bird Woman of Geneva

Sketches of Twelve Birds

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