Friends of the Hennepin Canal

Sheffield, IL 61361

Friends Choose New Board Member

We were sorry to learn that Chuck Larson is not able to complete his term as member of the Board. We want to thank Chuck for the insightful contributions he has made. Chuck served as one of the first organizing Board members, taking office in November, 1998 and then was reelected in Nov., 2000.

Replacing Chuck is Bruce Perry, from Port Byron. Bruce is the first bicyclist to be a part of the Board. (We currently have a snowmobiler, equestrian, fishermen, and a couple generalists on the Board) But like all of us, when working as a Friend, Bruce’s first concern is the Hennepin Canal as a State Park.

Welcome to the leadership role of the Friends, Bruce. Having worked with you on the Hikemabika, we look forward to your valuable contributions. See “member profile,’ in this issue for more about Bruce.

 From the Superintendent by Steve Moser

    Spring can't be too far away, we hope.  Remember the mainline hard-surface trail is now open from Lock 2 at Bureau to Lock 29 in Colona, but those areas that are gravel might be a little bit "soft" in the early spring due to freeze/thaw and moisture.  A good driving rain will go a long way in firming up these sections and we plan on rolling (compacting) these areas mechanically if need be.

    The walleye should start biting once the ice goes off with crappies following close behind.  The western pools that experienced a fish kill a few winters ago have recovered nicely and should provide some decent fishing this summer.

    The project to replace our old antiquated vault toilet buildings is still on the board and we are hoping to see construction later this year.

    Equestrians, remember the trail does not open for riding until April 15th.

    Hope you all find time to enjoy the facility in some way, shape or form this spring.  When you are out and about, should you see something that needs attention, i.e., a leak in the bank, a sign missing, etc., give us a call.  We appreciate the extra eyes and ears.

Member Profile — Bruce Perry

As part of a new series in the Wanderings that will profile our diverse membership, we’ve asked Bruce to introduce himself to us. Bruce was selected to serve on the Board of Directors at it’s February meeting.

“Let me say that it should be an exciting time to be on the Board of the Friends and I hope I will be an effective member. While I have some hiking, cross country skiing and canoeing interests, my experience with the canal revolves mainly around cycling. I have lived in the Quad Cities for 25 years.

I do admit that I thought the development of the trail into a continuous facility (at least for biking) would be wonderful, but too difficult to ever do!

I am a 54 year old physician living in Port Byron and working in Emergency Medicine. My wife and I have done self contained bicycle touring around North America. We have ridden a tandem thru Canada and up to the Arctic circle in Alaska. I am member of Quad Cities bicycle club, League of Illinois Bicyclist, Methodist Church, Rotary, River Action, Discover Trail, Illinois Trail Conservancy, Mississippi River Trail and Great River Trail.

I want to see at least a token physical and then increasing and ongoing "Friends" presence on the trail. I feel I have a fair knowledge of the historical canal but look forward to learning more of the recent history from those that had made the trail a reality. My wife and I will be riding on the GITAP excursion this summer. I have contact with the writer of the expanded GIT trail guide and will try to see this is a good reference for the Hennepin canal and communities along its route. I will look for and expect to have opportunities to promote the public use of our canal.”  

No Time for Heavy Vehicles

Heavy maintenance comes to a practical stand still during the weeks of Spring thaw. The banks of the Canal are fragile. We experience this when serious rains cause breakouts. So don’t expect to see major work being done during the next month. We have to wait for mother nature to dry us out before driving anything but light vehicles. Just in time for mowing.

 Grand Opening

The Illinois DNR plans to have a grand opening of the new trail that extends the length of the Hennepin. However, as of press time, the date has not been finalized. The pending appointment of a new DNR Director is a factor in selecting the date. We will be watching and hope to take part when it happens. Note that the April 27th date that was being considered has not been set, as of the date of this publication.

George S. Bellovics, Grand Illinois Trail Coordinator, told us that the opening day might be in the first part of June to coincide with National Trails Day. Mr. Bellovics adds, “In the mean time, the main line of the Hennepin Canal from Colona to Bureau Junction at Lock Two is open and will be enjoyed by many, I am sure.  The Feeder is slated to be completed sometime in mid summer, possibly by the end of June.” Check our website for the latest information.

Board Meeting Notes

The regular board meeting was held on Feb 20.  Due to conflicts the meeting was moved from the scheduled date Feb 18.

Gernant reported that she had been talking with a bike shop and trying to get sponsorship for the Hikemabika in October.

Moser gave a report on the canal.  He reported that the official opening of the recreational trail is getting close and that they are busy closing out project along the trail.  He informed the Board of a need for a scanner and Weber said he had one he would donate to the Visitors Center office.

Moser also updated the Board on a Trail Map brochure that would be put out jointly by the DNR and the Friends.  The map would be in color and identify the paths usages.  Weber would get bids on printing 5,000 and 10,000.

It noted that in June there will be a GITAP (Grand Illinois Trail and Park) bike tour starting in western Chicago area.   The tour will take in the main line of the Hennepin Canal, with the bikers spending one evening in Geneseo.  It is scheduled for June 15-21.  (Check out www.bikelib.org for more information.)

The Board voted to have Bruce Perry a member from Port Byron to fill the seat voided by Chuck Larson.

It was decided to register a domain name for the Friends of the Hennepin Canal web page.

The next board meeting will be on April 8 at 6:30pm at the Visitor’s Center.

Hiking the Hennepin Canal

Participating in the January hike at Colona were Mark Bauer, Brad Chandler, Wayne Leader, and Ed Herrmann.  The cold temperature and wind chill discouraged a lot of hikers that day.  Surprisingly the only bad  area was the parking lot at lock 29 where the wind  blew across the Rock River.

Our IDNR van driver  commented that we would not need the garbage bags that we were toting along, the area looked fairly clean.  For those of you that have not yet participated on a hike, we pick up cans and bottles and other litter as we hike along.  To our surprise we found more garbage than we had garbage bags to hold it.  Now that all the leaves are gone you can spot all the trash that was hidden all Summer and Fall.  Lucky for us there are a lot of garbage cans along the bike path and we were able to empty our bags as we went along.  This was a great opportunity to eagle watch.  We spotted more eagles up close than we had on any of our prior hikes.  The open water just off  the parking lot made a super spot for the eagles to fish and they were  taking advantage of it until we got a little too close.

The annual Milan Eagle Hike came again on super cold day but at least the snow from the prior week had already disappeared.  Taking part in the hike were Duward and Linda Inch, Gordon  and Betty Bodeen, Brad Chandler, all from Geneseo, Gary Bauer from Prophetstown, Bruce Perry from Port Byron, and Ed Herrmann from Spring Valley.  That Milan path was busy with dog walkers and the canal had a few groups of ice fishermen.  The eagles were there but all across the River, none as close as in the Colona hike.

March 16th and it almost felt like summer as thirteen adults and 1 infant participated in the 5mile hike in the Annawan area.   The hikers were: Bruce Perry - Port Byron, Pat Stier - Sheffield, Ken Boquist and Gary Wagle  - Rock Island, Sharon Weindorf - Aurora, Janice Weindorf - Chicago, Jeff and Andrea Hogue - Geneseo, Pam and Bill Scavarda - Milan, Wayne Leader - Moline, and Harriet Epley and Ed Herrmann - Spring Valley.  Geese and ducks were abundant in the open waters of the canal.  Not all the ice on the canal has melted but that did not stop the fishermen from wetting their lines.  Note to the anglers - pick us your bait containers when you leave.  We also found a huge amount of plastic milk bottles that were used for jug fishing that had been tossed in the weeds along the bike path.  Our group also picked up a lot of cans and bottles that have been thrown in the weeds over the years and are noticeable now before the spring growth begins.  Another no-no we spotted were 2 recent bonfires that were made on the oil and chip bike path.  Fires are only permitted in designated areas.

 F. Blockett, Where are You?

A beautiful spring day. What to do? So many choices—it’s perfect for anything as long as it’s outside. On Sunday, March 16th thirteen Friends (and friends) of the Canal (some are not yet members) chose to walk five miles of the banks of the Hennepin, from just west of Atkinson to Annawan.  Even 7 month old Hannah Rose Hogue brought both her parents as guests. By hike’s end, most of us were a bit weary, but it was ‘a good tired,’ as Mr Hushman used to say after working in the fields all day. Blue sky, sunshine, warm March breezes, giant geese—they’re pairing up and preparing nests—winter birds, a blue heron and a muskrat were all a part of the outing.

These walks have turned into a kind of mission for a number of regulars like Wayne Leader and Ed Herrmann.  Garbage bags are handed out and the clean-up starts with the first steps. We had planned to record the amount of debris gathered, but the large amounts made that a bit of a problem. But it’s a safe bet that ten full bags of miscellaneous junk were hauled in by this little band. For the most part the stuff was the usual cans, bottles, boxes, fishing tackle, etc. But just west of Bridge 25 we hit the mother lode of fishing junk. Down from the north bank were about twenty five plastic milk bottles, all tied together, with some still having fish hooks attached. We didn’t know how long they had been there, but most were brittle from age as we crushed them and put them into our bags.

While driving home, there was a good feeling from being outside with friends and a rewarding sense of accomplishment, knowing that five miles of our Canal was pretty much garbage free. But there was one nagging quesion: why did each of those tied-together plastic milk bottles have written on them: F. Blockett, 516 E. 8th, Kewanee?