Lyndon Prairie sign dedicated to late conservationist Tim Keller

LYNDON — As cars and trucks drove by and the birds of spring sang their songs, members of the Whiteside County Natural Area Guardians gathered next to Interstate 88 on April 6 to dedicate a new prairie sign to one of the group’s founders.

The new sign is visible from eastbound I-88 and a couple miles past the IL-78 exit. The sign says: “Tim Keller Memorial, Lyndon Prairie, Whiteside Co. SWCD and Natural Area Guardians.”

It’s a tribute to a man who dedicated his life to conservation and preservation and was known locally as the “Godfather of the Prairie.”

Keller died at age 80 on Sept. 30, 2022, at Rock River Hospice and Home in Sterling. He worked as a soil scientist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture before a return to his farming roots: planting black walnut and apple trees, crafting custom cider at Ye Olde Cider Mill, and raising dairy and beef cattle in Sterling.

For 8,000 years the prairie was here. Then 130 years ago the railroad came, using the land to connect Sterling to Lyndon. Then 100 years later the railroad closed the line. Then Tim Keller came along.”

—  Randy Nyboer, chairperson of Whiteside County Natural Area Guardians

Keller was a board member of Whiteside County Soil & Water Conservation District and co-founder of Whiteside County Natural Area Guardians and the Prairie Preservation Society of Ogle County.

The Lyndon-Agnew Prairie consists of 39.9 acres alongside the interstate and is one of a few original prairie remnants in Whiteside County. Tall grasses mark it as both a wet mesic prairie and dry mesic prairie of the Mississippi River section of the Upper Mississippi River and Illinois River Bottomlands Natural Division. It was originally dedicated in May 1995 and is owned by the Natural Land Institute.

Randy Nyboer, chairperson of the Whiteside guardians, offered some background on the acreage of black soil prairie land. “For 8,000 years the prairie was here. Then 130 years ago the railroad came, using the land to connect Sterling to Lyndon. Then 100 years later the railroad closed the line. Then Tim Keller came along,” he said, smiling. “He knew all the right people, knew the remnants, and wanted them to remain preserved. He was very persistent.”

The original railroad was constructed between Lyndon and Agnew in 1869 by the Burlington-Northern Railroad. In the early 1970s, Keller began his venture of preserving the prairie from encroachment by farming. On June 16, 1979, an official lease was granted to him by the railroad company at an original rental rate of $180 per year. His preservation efforts continued with growing support, and the remnant was eventually added to the list of Illinois Nature Preserves.

Also at the dedication were Keller’s surviving wife Carolyn Keller, their daughters Kirsten Jorgensen of Geneseo and Laura Karazija of Johnston, Iowa, and two granddaughters Addie Jorgensen and Madelyn Whitehead. “He always said, ‘it can take one person to get it started but it takes a group to keep it going.’ Tim would be humbled by this but also say, get your tools out and get to work,” Carolyn Keller said.

Special recognition went to Jonathan and Megan Mix for engraving the new board with Tim’s name, Jim Duis for repainting and sealing the sign, Dean Huisingh and Laverne Borgman for installing the sign, and neighbors Rick and Mindy Cadogan for shuttling attendees to and from the site on their golf cart and ATV and hosting the monthly guardians meeting afterwards.

Follow Whiteside County Natural Area Guardians on Facebook to learn more about their local conservation efforts and events.