Wherein A Limberlost legend writes a book and gives us insight into how both he and the Limberlost were born again

By Curt Burnette

It is easy to forget that one person can make a difference in the world. It needn't be something that affects the entire planet, very few people are able to do that. But many people can make a difference locally, and sometimes the impact of their efforts extends far beyond their area or community.

Local farmer-turned ecologist Ken Brunswick initiated and led the effort to begin the recreation of the Limberlost Swamp and other local wetlands. Geneva author Gene Stratton-Porter wrote about these areas in both her world famous novels and her nature books. It was after Ken witnessed farm fields flooding over and over that he connected their location to the Limberlost Swamp and Loblolly Marsh of the past. Once he understood that connection, he then remembered reading the books of Gene Stratton-Porter in his youth and realized this was the area she had written about. Those connections started a process of self-realization and environmental restoration. 

Ken writes about this process in his recently published book, The Limberlost "Born Again." After his retirement from the Department of Natural Resources Nature Preserves Division, he began organizing his notes and data, researching information he still needed, writing and rewriting, giving draft copies to friends to read for their comments and criticism, and adding and deleting everything from sentences to chapters. In the midst of all of his work, Ken had a stroke which affected him enough to slow him down, but it did not stop him. He continued working on his book while everyone encouraged him and pestered him and anxiously awaited its publication. 

His book was worth the wait. Ken describes in detail how each portion of the Limberlost nature preserves was acquired. He also writes about, in the first few chapters, his boyhood in Ohio, the many jobs that gave him expertise he would use in the future, his military experience, moving to Indiana nd dairy farming and his struggle with alcohol. It was his battle with alcohol that eventually led him to embrace his faith and be personally born again. Once Ken had been born again, he was ready to help the Limberlost be "born again."

The Limberlost "Born Again" is the type of book that an appeal to a wide audience. Those who want to learn about wetland restoration will read a step by step description of the process. Those who like to read about a person's life and what factors helped to determine the person thy become will enjoy the stories and anecdotes Ken relays. Local folks will enjoy reading about the history of the Limberlost area, from the Ice Age to our current time. And everyone should be interested in the true stories of the Limber Jims (yes, there were more than one!) who gave their name to the creek and swamp, a name Gene Stratton-Porter spread around the world. Ken Brunswick's book of a man and Limberlost being born again is a ready that is well worthwhile. 


Note: This blog was originally published in the Limberlost Notebook column in the Berne Witness in August 2017.

Ken Brunswick 

Sunset at the Loblolly Marsh Nature Preserve

Prairie Dock in late August at the Loblolly Marsh Nature Preserve

Rain clouds over the Loblolly Marsh Nature Preserve

Limberlost Swamp Nature Preserve in October

Clouds over Limberlost Swamp Wetland Preserve 

Veronica's Trail at the Loblolly Marsh

Canada goldenrod

Snake fence at Music of the Wild

Wherein we examine the history of beaver in the Limberlost--
from the Ice Age giants to the disappearance and return of our modern dam-builders

by Curt Burnette

Beaver are the largest rodents in Indiana, the largest rodents in the United States, and the second largest rodent in the world (South American capybara are the largest). But as large as they are now, they were even bigger in the past--or at least their relatives were. Around the end of the Ice Age, about 10,000 years ago, what is now Indiana and Illinois was home to the greatest concentration of giant beaver in North America. These cousins of the modern beaver were as big as black bears, up to 8 feet long and over 200 pounds! Unlike current beaver, their teeth were not chisel-shaped, so they would not have cut down trees and probably didn't make dams or lodges. They would have lived in the water, though, and eaten various types of aquatic vegetation much like muskrats do today.

The two species of modern beaver, our local North American beaver and the Eurasian beaver, are not descended from their giant cousin. Modern beaver were already around when the giants were alive, sometimes living in the same area, according to fossil evidence. But as the glaciers of the Ice Age retreated and the climate warmed up, the giant beaver went extinct and their smaller tree-chewing cousins flourished.

Beaver were common throughout Indiana and much of the United States and Canada when the two countries were being settled. Many historians believe beaver were more responsible for the exploration and development of our country than any other animal, because of the great value of an desire for beaver fur. The first white men to explore many portions of North America were trappers searching for beaver. The demand was so great that the population of beaver in many areas was greatly reduced, or even wiped out. Such was the case in Indiana. Beaver were completely trapped out of our state by the late 1880s or early 1890s. when all of a certain type of animal is gone from a defined area (like a state), it is said to have been extirpated. It is likely Gene Stratton-Porter never saw any beaver in the Limberlost during the time she lived in Geneva, from 1888-1913. 

Beaver were re-introduced into Indiana in 1935 and have been successfully re-established throughout much of the state. They have returned to the Limberlost area. Beaver don't always build dams and lodges. They also commonly dig burrows into the banks or rivers and streams. 

These "bank beavers" are not nearly as noticeable as the dam building ones. Often people don't realize they are around. If you hike along the Wabash River at the Rainbow Bend Park or Limberlost County Park you probably won't see a beaver, but if you look along the river's edge you might find beaver-gnawed branches. Or better yet, you might hear the slap of a beaver's tail as it dives underwater when it realizes you are nearby--a sound Mrs. Porter may never have experienced in her wanderings though the Limberlost. 


Originally published in the Berne Witness November 2013

Beaver dam in the Loblolly Creek. Photo by Curt Burnette.

Beaver stick cache. Photo by Curt Burnette.

Beaver chewed tree.