Indian Creek Newsletter

October, 2005

on the web at frontiernet.net/~indiancreek

Restoration Update By Sue Arnold Saturday, October 15th is the first official nature area restoration workday. Please contact Sue Arnold or Jim Russell if you are able to help out. There should be plenty of work no matter what your abilities. Start time is 9 am. A reminder will be sent later with details on what to bring, what to wear, etc. If you missed the informational walk on Sept. 11th, you might be wondering about the brightly colored ribbons at the nature area entrance. That area will be the focus of our first workday. The trees with the orange ribbons are the ones that we plan to keep, and those with the yellow ribbons will be removed. The ground layer (mostly multiflora, honeysuckle, pokeweed) will also be mowed down. Further in, there are also a few young oak and hickory saplings marked with orange ribbons. For those that are growing within one of our targeted oak/hickory restoration zones, they will be "spared the axe". For those outside the targeted zones, just a few surrounding species will be removed in order to allow them more room to thrive. In a recent editorial (Pantagraph, 9/13), Angelo Capparella, biology professor at ISU who visited our site back in July, wrote this about local volunteer groups working to rescue nature: "Other groups are also springing up locally. I am particularly impressed with the actions of the residents of Indian Creek who are protecting and restoring their local ecosystem." "It may be difficult for local citizens to save the rainforest, but our own special places - prairies, savannas, woodlands - are just waiting for volunteers." The Indian Creek Nature Area appreciates your help and support!
Bird Seed The JWP Audubon annual bird seed sale is underway. Offerings include sunflower, safflower, niger, millet, cracked corn, whole corn ears, suet cakes, and two seed mixtures. You can get an order form from the web site at www.jwpaudubon.org, or contact Sue Arnold for a paper copy. Orders are due by Oct. 3rd. Pickup dates are Oct. 28th and 29th.
Fish Fry The Towanda Legion Auxiliary is hosting a Fish Fry at the legion hall, Hely Street, on the south edge of town (just before the curve to the Towanda Barnes blacktop). The menu includes fish, French fries, a side dish, dessert and drink. Carry outs are available. Friday, October 14 5:30pm - 7:30pm
Towanda Area Historical Society Chili Supper to help with expenses for the TAHS History Book project
Friday, Oct. 21, 2005 Towanda Community Building 5:00-7:00 pm Menu: Chili, Hot Dog w/ Chips, or Chili Dog Carrots/Celery Tea, Coffee, HiC Homemade dessert		Tickets: Advance Tickets - $6.00 At the door - $7.00 Children with small appetites eat free All you can eat Donations appreciated
Special Features of the evening: PowerPoint show of some of the materials that have been gathered. Sign up to help with the project Make a donation to the Society Plan to participate Contributions of work time and supplies for the supper will be gratefully accepted. For information or to get tickets contract Lyle/Mary Merritt (728. 2810), Robin Gould (728.2125), Gail Ann Briggs (728.2187), the Village office, Library and others.
Halloween Party The Towanda Halloween Party will be on Sunday, October 30th at 2:00pm at the Towanda Community Building. Activities include a costume contest for ages 0 - 5th grade, treats, goodie bags, and a parade around the North Park (weather permitting).
Towanda Library News (on the web at towandalibrary.org) STORY TIME FOR 3-5 YEAR-OLDS. The 11:00-11:30am eight-week Wednesday morning sessions are as follows for the 05-06 school year: Session 1: Aug. 24 - Oct. 12, 2005 Session 2: Nov. 2- Dec. 21, 2005 Session 3: Jan. 18 - Mar. 8, 2006 Session 4: Apr. 5 - May 24, 2006t Please register children by calling 728-2176. Mon., Oct. 3: BREAST HEALTH PROGRAM. 7-8pm. McLean County Dept. of Public Health will offer a program on facts & figures, early detection methods, self-exams, risk factors and more. At the library. Thurs., Oct. 29: Chilling Stories and Creepy Crafts Watch the library web site at towandalibrary.org or call the library at 309-728-2176 for time and details.
School News UNIT 5 Friday, October 7 – No School – Teacher Institute Friday, October 14-15 – Homecoming Weekend at NCHS
Towanda Ladies Night Out Group The Group will enjoy dinner at Ming's Restaurant, 407 N Hershey Rd, Bloomington. Call Barb Jurgens 728.2194 for a reservation to the 6:00 p.m., Thursday, October 6 event. Dues are $20 a year (no fundraisers held). Open membership!
Towanda Area Seniors The Towanda area Seniors group meets monthly, the second Wednesday of each month, at 12:00 at the Towanda community center. The meeting consists of a pot luck luncheon, conversation and sometimes a special program. The next meeting is October 12. Bring a dish to share; meat and drinks will be provided. Donations are accepted, but not required. Questions? Call Beverly Meginnes, 728-2769.
A Brief History of Indian Creek Subdivision by Ron Parsons This is an excerpt from the full history and more photos and links at the Indian Creek web site: frontiernet.net/~indiancreek
Indian Creek in 1978	The area that we know as Indian Creek subdivision was covered by a glacier about 12-15,000 years ago during the last ice age that created the Bloomington Moraine.  As the ice receded it created a number of drainage rivers and Indian Creek was on the banks of one of these in what geologists call an "area of discontinuity".
More recent history of this land included occupation by Pottawatomie and Kickapoo Indians up until about 1830. The area around Money Creek was a campground. The original owner of most of Indian Creek was a family named Moates. They occupied the land after it was surveyed in the 1830s. Later the Underwood family owned the property for nearly 50 years. The Underwoods had a log cabin which was located just north and east of the current water tower. During the first half of the 20^th century, this area was known by local residents as "the campground". Even more recently most of the property was owned by a veterinarian named Wainscott along with the Rudisill, Slagel, Sachs and Funk families. Up until the 1960s there was a wiggle in Road 1900E near the water tower in order to go around the settlement of the First United Brethren Church in Illinois. The original church was torn down in 1911 where a marker currently exits next to the water tower. A partnership consisting of lawyer Leon Zanoni, realtor Paul Ball, and banker Jerry Gummere bought the property for development in the late 1970s with Peoples Bank as trustee. At that time, the area generally bounded by 1900E and Candle Ridge Road was tillable farm land. The part on the other side of Money Creek where Bent Tree Lane is located was pasture land up to 10 Bent Tree Lane. Beyond that point was virgin woodland. When the back part of Indian Creek was surveyed by Farnsworth and Wyle, there was no bridge across Money Creek .  Access was gained by a path beginning at the extreme southwest corner of the common ground and fording Money Creek at a shallow rock bottom point just north of where a long I-beam used as a footbridge existed. The bridge across Money Creek was built in 1979. The original plans for Indian Creek called for three tennis courts to be located on the common ground between 6 Eastwood and Money Creek. In the late 1970s interest rates were climbing and reached near 18% by 1980. The lots were not selling well and the tennis court plans were abandoned as the partnership broke up. The first home built and occupied was at 2 Timber Creek Court in 1979 by the W. Charles and Lana Trickett family. The first home occupied in the back part was at 7 Bent Tree Lane and was owned by Bob and Carolyn Bouck in 1980.
Sightings
School of carp under the bridge			Greg Beneze sighted this large school of carp under the bridge, noting “… there [were] over a hundred under the bridge. They were all 12-18 inches long.” I (Helen) wondered why such a large group of carp would be gathered in one spot until I took a walk through the nature area one day and saw that in many spots the creek was totally dry. Obviously the carp had all been forced to move to areas that still contained water.
This reminded me of the flood we experienced the first year we lived here, in the spring of 1998. Hundreds of carp were stranded in the common area behind our home after the high waters receded. At right is a photo of our beagle examining one of the carp.
A Water Tale This summer we experienced deterioration in the quality of water in our home. We started to experience staining in the shower and other plumbing fixtures, discolored tap water and discolored laundry. Since many other Indian Creek residents had been complaining of the water quality this summer and attributing it to excessive watering during a draught period, we gritted our teeth and put up with what we thought was inevitable - until one day I’d had enough and asked my husband to look into getting some kind of filter system added to our water supply. Imagine our chagrin when we discovered that our 19 year old water softener was no longer working. Evidently water softeners have a life span of 15 to 20 years and ours had reached the end of its. Well, we got a new water softener and that filter that I mentioned, and the difference is amazing: crystal clean water in toilets and tubs, and white laundry again. I guess that the moral of the story is that poor water quality does not have to be the price we pay for living in paradise.
Towanda Elementary PTO News The PTO bought new playground equipment this summer and wants to give a big thank you to all those who have supported the fundraisers. Fund raisers this coming year include collecting box tops, recycling computer printer cartridges, cell phones, used laptop computers, and PDAs, and selling SCRIP. SCRIP are gift cards for a variety of department stores, home improvement stores, automotive stores, grocery stores, retail stores and restaurants. If they are bought through the school, the school selling them earns a percentage of the price that was paid. So say you wanted to buy a $25 gift card, you would buy it from the school for $25 (what you normally would pay) but the school gets 5-50% of that $25 depending on what store it is. For example, a $5 Krispy Kreme cards earns the school 50% or $2.50. Another store is Kohl's, buy cards to pay your monthly bill and the school earns 5% of that money! If your Kohl's bill was $100, the school would get $5 just for you taking the time to buy SCRIP. The reason why it's effective is that revenue is generated through purchases that families NORMALLY make. Do you give gift cards as gifts? This is a great way to get them all in one place. A full list of what's available is at www.glscrip.com or you can see an order form and purchase cards from Amy Kinsella, who is PTO SCRIP program coordinator. Her number is 728-2000. Volunteers are still needed to start with chess and computer clubs. If you have any questions or an interest, please contact Mrs. Erickson at 728-2278.
New at the Indian Creek Web Page frontiernet.net/~indiancreek New: A brief history of Indian Creek, by long time resident Ron Parsons. Expanded: Copies of all Indian Creek newsletters since October, 2004. Additional: Photos on the Pets and Wild Animals web pages. The web site also has information and photos about subdivision covenants, phone numbers, the nature area, native trees, wild flowers, birds, and animals, links to area web sites of interest, and much more! If you have trouble remembering the web site name, you can always find it by searching for ‘Indian Creek Mogill’ in Google. It should be the first thing that pops up in the list. If you have information or photos for either the web site or for the newsletter, email me, Helen Mogill, at hmogill@frontiernet.net or call me at 728-2048. If you would like to be notified of upcoming newsletters or other subdivision events, send me your email address.