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“My Favorite Story and Why”

10/26/2015

 
By Alberta Wright, age 12

Gene Stratton-Porter, one of our most noted writers of nature stories, writes many interesting 
stories. One very nice one is “Friends in Feathers.”

In the book, she tells of many interesting incidents with birds. She says about the first thing to do is to win a bird’s confidence. By moving about, quietly among the birds and wearing forest 
colors such as greens, grays and browns, the birds will soon see that you aren’t going to harm them.

When she takes their pictures, she covers her camera with leaves and branches such as the birds are accustomed to. She gets pictures of the birds when mating, angered, love, fear, hilarity, wisdom when guarding the nest and brooding.

She tells of one incident where she found a baby robin which had been fed something poisonous. Its throat was filled with clear, white blisters until it was panting for breath. She punctured the blisters with a needle and gave it some oil, but it died.

In other places she proves things such as the quail cuts her eggs in halves so that all her baby 
birds may be released at the same time.

Another incident she tells of a baby oriole she found, that had hung itself when making its nest. Release was all it needed.

After reading this book, I think that everyone would love birds more than before and try to spare them as much as possible.

This was one of the winning essays written for “Children’s Book Week.” The contest was 
conducted by the Concordia (KS) Library. It was published in the Concordia Blade-Empire 
(Concordia, Kansas), 3 Dec 1921, p. 3. Alberta Wright, 12, Seventh Grade. 

This book was written from Gene Stratton-Porter’s bird studies in Geneva. We are happy that a young person chose to read one of Gene’s non-fiction books for the essay contest and that she enjoyed it.

The Ten Greatest Indianans

10/19/2015

 
By Terri Gorney

​Gene Stratton-Porter was named one of the “Ten Greatest Living Indianans” in 1922 by a survey done by the “Indianapolis News.” The newspaper received 802 lists submitted by its readers. Of the top ten, Gene was the only woman. Five of ten were authors. Indiana was second only to the state of New York in the number of best selling authors. The early 20th century was known as the “Golden age of Literature” in Indiana.  

The list contains some of the greatest Hoosiers of the 20th Century not just 1922. The other 
authors were Booth Tarkington, George Ade, Kin Hubbard and Meredith Nicholson.

Booth Tarkington made the number one spot. Booth was a native of Indianapolis and was a 
prolific writer. Gene made the comment to Nelson Doubleday that she knew how hard Booth 
worked on his books. He was a Pulitzer Prize for “The Magnificent Ambersons” and “Alice 
Adams.” 

The other distinguished writers included George Ade who wrote the column for the “Chicago 
Morning News” called “Stories of the Streets and of the Town.” He was known and loved as a 
humorist. Consistently wrote about the “little man” or the common average man. Meredith 
Nicholson wrote poetry and prose and was a loved Hoosier writer. In his long career, he served as a diplomat, governor and attorney. Kin Hubbard was the pen name of Frank McKinney Hubbard. He created the cartoon “Abe Martin of Brown County.” He was a playwright and screen writer.

Rounding out the list were: Thomas Marshall, governor of Indiana and vice president of the 
United States under President Woodrow Wilson: Elwood Haynes, a Kokomo inventor who 
created one of the earliest cars in the United States; Albert J Beveridge, historian and senator; 
Judge A.B. Anderson who was appointed the district judge in Southern Indiana and the Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago; and Dr. John Hurty who set up one of the first laboratories in Indiana and later worked for Col. Eli Lily.

In Nelson Price’s book “Indiana Legends,” six of the above are named: Gene Stratton-Porter, 
Booth Tarkington, Thomas Marshall, George Ade, Meredith Nicholson and Kin Hubbard. All ofthe five authors were considered “Legends” which gives a nod to the status of our literary 
figures.

By 1922, Gene’s primary home was in California. She had just published her first novel, “Her 
Father’s Daughter,” set in that state. She was a national voice for conservation and active in the newly formed Izaak Walton League. She had formed her own company to produce her own motion picture from her books. If her life had not been cut short in 1924, one wonders what else she would have accomplished.

Ken Brunswick, "The Keeper of the Limberlost”

10/5/2015

 
PictureKen Brunswick (holding plaque)
By Terri Gorney

​Ken wanted to be an ornithologist but his high school counselor talked him out of it. What kind of a career was that – looking at birds? Farming was a more practical and stable profession.

In the mid 1970s, Ken, an Ohio native, moved to what was once the edge of the old Limberlost 
swamp in Jay County and became a dairy farmer. In the spring of 1976, Ken watched his 
neighbors’ farms flood. As a boy, Ken enjoyed seeing fields with standing water because they 
seemed so “full of life.” Wetlands were fascinating to him. 

Ken studied old maps and discovered his land was surrounded by the old Limberlost Swamp that Gene Stratton-Porter made famous in her novels and non-fiction books. Ken credits Gene with keeping Limberlost alive in the hearts and minds of people. Ken was inspired by her writings of over one-hundred years earlier.

The Limberlost was once 13,000 acres and was created by the glaciers. At the turn of the 20th 
century it was drained and tiled for agricultural and oil wells. By 1982, Ken thought that 
someone should put some of the farm land that floods every year back into wetlands. Within a 
couple years, he decided that he was the one to do it.

Ken continued to be a dairy farmer but with the help of his wife and kids began sowing native 
grasses and planting trees on his land. He soon began sharing what he was doing with his 
neighbors.

Fast forward to 1993, Ken with the help of a number of other people founded Limberlost Swamp Remembered. He went back to college to earn his degree and volunteered his time to make the wetlands a reality. He spoke with all 40 land owners to come up with a plan. This is where the Loblolly Marsh is today. His first fund raising was “selling” one foot of “swamp” for $10. The first land was purchased in 1996 and the Limberlost Swamp Remembered became a committee of the Friends of the Limberlost State Historic Site.

Early on he sought the advice of Jane Dustin, who was one of the founders of ACRES Land 
Trust. Jane told Ken to aim high with trying to restore part of the old Limberlost. She encouraged him to dream big.

The IDNR created the east central regional ecologist position for Ken. Ken loved creating 
wetlands and teaching the next generation about the cycles of life there. When Ken retired in 
December 2013, there were almost 1800 acres of restored wetlands around Geneva. He has also encouraged and helped Ben Hess who took Ken’s place as east central regional ecologist. 
Naturalist Curt Burnette called him “The Keeper of the Limberlost” and penned a poem in his 
honor at his retirement. 

On October 3 2015, Ken was honored with the Earl Brooks Conservation Award by the Indiana Audubon Society. It was an award richly deserved. 

Where is Ken today? He still lives on the farm facing the now restored wetlands of the Loblolly 
marsh (Ken had the honor of naming the preserves around Geneva). He is currently on the 
Friends of the Limberlost board and chair of the Limberlost Swamp Remembered. Like the 
cycles of life, Ken has come full circle. 

Gene Stratton-Porter would be pleased to know that her Limberlost Lives Again!

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