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The Prairie Partners of Goose Lake Prairie State Natural Area want to thank everyone who came to the Prairie Day festival event last month. The presenters did a beautiful job and the members kept everything moving along.The following are the 2024 GLPP Raffle Winners:
1st Prize - Mary Jo Button, Wilmington, IL She won the Birders Package.
2nd Prize - Audrey Grutzius, Chicago Heights, IL won the first Fall Arrangement by Karen Dixon.
3rd Prize - Angela Rodriguez, Marseilles, IL won the 2nd Fall Arrangement by Karen Dixon.
Thanks to all who participated.
The Goose Lake Prairie Partners announced that Priscilla Copple, Morris, IL, was awarded Volunteer of the year 2024. Pris has participated in every event and activity that we have done, including the Rag Rug Committee Stripping Party. Not long into her membership (Sept 2021) Pris was invited to be our Secretary and has attended all the meetings, handing out printed copies at each meeting. Thus she was awarded the Volunteer of the Year 2024 title. Not taken lightly, this award is presented by the President of the Club, Charlene McDade, and the Superintendent of the Park, Linda Moore.
Two Honorary Membership were given for 2024. The first went to Philip Cragg Burgess, who has consulted with us on all our activities to do with the Cragg Cabin, and it was he and his family that donated the Red Oak flooring and support boards for the roof shingles in the New Cragg Cabin. We appreciate his involvement in all that we do.
The second Honorary Membership went to Lisa Burgess, a Sister to Philip Cragg Burgess. Lisa has shown great interest in our work at the park, doing family research on the Cragg Genealogy, presented the Partners and the Park a copy of their family album. This alone is important to our work educating our visitors and student visits to the opening of the prairie in Illinois to Farming. We appreciate her involvement in our activities.
Honorary Members are presented by the President and Board members with the recommendation from all members.
The Prairie Partners appreciates assistance from the park staff. Since the club’s main priority is bringing visitors to the park, making available opportunities to teach the value of the Prairie and also, how this part of the State came to be inhabited, the involvement of the park staff is appreciated.
Surely, everyone is interested in the future of the park since it seems nothing is happening... but in truth, a lot has happened. There were two festivals, and a fundraiser. Partners were very busy with demonstrations at the Morris Historical Museum in Morris, since the loom and several displays from the park are now housed at the museum. The Rugs committee (Nancy Mattson, Bev Mansfield and Susie Johnson) have made 26 rugs to date for 2024 and the loom is threaded with new warp, which already has one finished rug with probably another 8 or 9 to go. Demonstrations are usually on Saturdays. Rugs are sold in the Museum Gift Shop.
Prairie Partners volunteered at the August Junk-in-the-Trunk.
Bev Mansfield has decorated a tree in GLPP’s name for the Trees Festival at the Museum. You must look for it and see the very original name she put on GLPP’s donation.
No one has mentioned what is happening to the visitor center. It is no longer used. This last year the folks in Springfield have worked diligently on the plans for a new building. There is no date stated when the building will start or what it will look like, but there is the promise of a new building. Just keep in mind the episode of the break repair on Nettle Creek. Good things always take time. And that repair is beautiful.
The Prairie Partners are always welcoming new members. Interested people should contact President Charlene McDade: call 815-953-4567 or e-mail charmcdade48@gmail.com.
When you feel the need for a walk, trails are manned daily and the park looks beautiful. Come and take a look at the Prairie as fall sits itself down.