Collaborative Poems
From "Inside Gene Stratton-Porter's Cabin": A Poetry Workshop, July 22 2017
Given by Shari Wagner, Indiana Poet Laureate
This workshop was part of the Arts in the Parks and Historic Sites program.
​It was sponsored by the Indiana Arts Commission and Limberlost State Historic Site. 

Limberlost Cabin
          After Ted Kooser's "Abandoned Farmhouse"
          In Memory of Gene Stratton-Porter

She loved every flying thing,
says the casement of moths.
The moon-white wings, now still,
stare out at us. A woman of light,
says the square window looking toward town,
the guest window into the Limberlost,
and the west-facing conservatory--
mosaic of small panes to catch
the afternoon sun. She used her strength
to look outside, says the kitchen window,
oak and heavy and open, a size
she could walk through and return.
She crossed tracks of raccoon and skunk,
toes numbed by snowy drifts,
to rescue a bird in mittened hand,
says the iron heat register
that warmed her feet. She gathered
'round my warmth with stories to share,
says the fireplace holding photographs.
Gene was a loved woman,
says the onyx and pearl pendant
given her on her first anniversary.
She stood patiently in the dark
for nature photos to process,
says the rusty old rose lamp. 
We knew her purposeful steps,
say the doorways and portals.
She welcomed every creature,
says the stone fence built
with apertures for squirrels and honeybees.
Nature became the mother
she searched for, says the flash,
of a cardinal in the trees.


Buckeye Butterfly

Headless, it smells of dust
with eyes like peacock feathers
or the eye of the Magic Eight Ball.
It's imprinted with the Mystic Eye. 
It's a wooden pin hand-carved
by a master carpenter.
To me, it's the gossamer cape 
of autumn and tattered 
like wind-shredded leaves.
Though dead, there's a passive
fluttering, an earthbound spirit,
when once we remember 
the glory of spring. 


We thank all the talented poets for these two beautiful poems from their day at Limberlost and to Shari Wagner for your guiding hand and the photographs.

Gene Stratton-Porter's "Flying Flowers" Celebrated in July by Adrienne Provenzano

July 4th has come and gone, but there are still opportunities to celebrate this summer! Nine days this month - July 22 -30, 2017 - have been designated as National Moth Week. The event was started in 2011 by Friends of East Brunswick Environmental Commission in New Brunswick, New Jersey, as a way to encourage people to learn about moths and engage in citizen science observations.

According to the National Moth Week website, nationalmothweek.org, there are 150,000 to 500,000 moth species, worldwide. The website includes many interesting blog posts about moths worldwide, information on how to attract moths, and suggestions for being a citizen scientists.

In her 1910 publication, Moths of the Limberlost, Gene Stratton-Porter wrote detailed descriptions of thirteen types of moths she collected in the Limberlost. She also took photos of each type through their full life cycle and hand colored a photograph of each to include in her book. The Eacles Imperialis (Yellow Emperor) that features prominently in Stratton-Porter's 1909 novel The Girl of the Limberlost is one of the moths lighlighted. Moths of the Limberlost provides insights into Stratton-Porter's life at Limberlost Cabin and her nature study methods. Passionate about moths, she slept with cocoons near her pillow so as not to miss a moth emerging. She preferred to photograph moths and paint their colors as close to coming out of the cocoon as possible, as that was when the coloring on the wings was most vibrant. Some other moths included are Moths of the Moon (Actias Luna), The Pride of the Lilacs (Attacus Promethea), and King of the Hollyhocks (Protoparce Celeus).

Gene Stratton-Porter was curious about moths even as a little girl, convincing her family though her careful observations and curiosity that Deilephila Lineata, a moth commonly thought of as a bird and called the Lady Bird, was actually a moth. In her youth, she first saw a Cecropia, called the Robin Moth for it's distinctive reddish markings. It was years later when she saw that species again - on her own front porch of Limberlost Cabin in Geneva, Indiana.

In a bedroom in Limberlost Cabin, a collection case was set up on the mantle of a gas fireplace. That case is still there today and includes a variety of species, in addition to those featured in Moths of the Limberlost. The eighty-four specimens include monarchs, Eastern black swallowtails, luna moths, yellow emperor moths, and even a great spangled fritillary! There are also several dragonflies, another insect Stratton-Porter liked and photographed.

During a visit to the Limberlost State Historic site earlier this year, I took time to carefully observe the collection case. A chart provided to me by site staffers, and created years ago by an entomologist, identifies the contents of this unique "cabinet of curiosities." Some small paper identification tags remain attached by several specimens. The ink is faded, but it was possible to make out the date: 1906. For that instant, it was as though I'd traveled back in time. As Gene Stratton-Porter states in the beginning of Moths of the Limberlost: "To me the Limberlost is a word with which to conjure; a spot wherein to revel."

Happy National Moth Week!

Gene Stratton-Porter had a group of people around Geneva that she called the "faithful." These were the people who brought her cocoons, moths, caterpillars, wounded birds, or passed her information about birds. Who were these people? Research has shown them to be everyone from school age children to farmers to people who worked for the Porters. Most of these people became friends and lived within three miles of the Limberlost Cabin. Some she mentioned in her nature study books.

In the summer of 1911, Gene was looking for the Citheronia realis (King Moth). She was "delighted to know that the rarest moth of America was native to the Limberlost." Gene's daughter found one along the road (now US 27) to Portland. A few days later, Arthur Fensler brought her a Hickory Horned Devil (King Moth caterpillar) as did Willis Glendenning. 

Andrew Idlewine stopped at the Bank of Geneva to give a caterpillar to Charles for Gene. He said it was the "most forbidding insect" he had ever seen. It too was a Hickory Horned Devil and was 6" long. Andrew told Charles he did not want any money for it, only a copy of a picture if Gene photographed it.

Andrew was one of the "faithful." He was a native of Indiana and a Civil War veteran. He served with the 5th Indiana Cavalry. After the war, he married Catherine Shingledecker, and settled on a farm outside of Geneva, just west of the Westlawn Cemetery. 

Gene watched Andrew's caterpillar eat hickory leaves for three days until it transformed to the pupa stage. She had three chances of them becoming the King Moth. She watched over them all winter and was rewarded with one female and two male moths! She had "reared specimens of the rarest moth in America." Andrew's was the best and the one photographed in her book. 

Andrew passed away at age 87 in 1929. His obituary noted that he was "industrious and of a kind and friendly disposition."

If you want to read more of the King Moth story, it is in the Miracle Moth chapter in "Tales You Won't Believe." Gene's nature study books are perfect for summer reading.

In his June 30 "Limberlost Notebook" (Berne Witness) column​, Curt Burnette wrote about the Anniversaries that Limberlost is celebrating this year. One of these is the 70th anniversary of the Bird Sanctuary.

The Bird Sanctuary was the first land purchased of the "new" Limberlost Territories. A group of farsighted people who made up the Limberlost Conservation Association (LCA) purchased 12.4 acres on the jay County side of County Line Road. The year was 1947. The LCA also purchased the Limberlost Cabin from Chloe Price on December 31 1946 and donated it to the state.

The Friends of the Limberlost became involved with the preserve in 1997, twenty years ago.

Ken Brunswick wrote about the Bird Sanctuary in chapter 11 of his new book "Limberlost Born Again: A Lifetime to Restore Gene Stratton-Porter's Limberlost." In 1999, Ken began managing the preserve. A parking lot and a trail was created. Ken retired in December 2013 and Ben Hess now has ken's position of East Central Regional Ecologist.

Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts from Decatur, Berne, and Portland have worked on projects here. A number of individuals and companies have donated time and money to the preserve.

In 2014, Melissa Fey, purchased native plants from Riverview Nursery and redid the flower beds in the parking lot. She faithfully watered and weeded the beds. Melissa has since joined the Friends of the Limberlost board as secretary.

Over the years, Many hands have helped build Limberlost State Historic Site and created the Limberlost Territories that is around Geneva today. Do you have a Limberlost story? We know there are people in the area that gave  so much of their time and talent and we would like to hear your story.  Eagle Scouts --we would like to hear about your projects.

You may only have heard of the name John Brenner if you have taken the Limberlost State Historic Site's tour. John Brenner became the caretaker of the Limberlost Cabin and Carriage House around 1900. It was a position he would hold the rest of his life. John's room in the carriage house is meant to look as if he just stepped out.

John had moved to Geneva in 1887 and had become well-respected member of the community. The Ohio native was a Civil War veteran. He served with the OVI 115 Co D for almost three years. He was a member of the Dr. John Porter GAR Post 83 in Geneva. This post was named in honor of Charles Porter's father. John was an active member and even served as the post's commandant. John would apply for a pension over twenty years after his service and he would receive it.

Charles and Gene Stratton-Porter though of John as a friend and one who they entrusted to care for their home, carriage house and their horses. Gene mentions John in "Moths of the Limberlost." After Raymond Miller brought her a female Modesta moth, she sent husband, Charles, and Brenner "drive with him to the Hirschy farm, and help secure a limb from one of the very few Lombardy poplars of this region."

After Charles and Gene sold the cabin to Dr. Corwin and Chloe Price in 1920, John stayed and worked for the Prices. He would pass away at the cabin on November 7 1921. He was attended by Dr. Corwin and Chloe, who was a nurse. John's obituary would be on page one of the "Geneva Herald" on November 10.

​We are pleased that members of the Brenner family have visited the site and are happy with the interpretation of John.