A Shared History at Conrad Station Savanna
Life is about relationships—with people, with the land, with plants and animals, and with ourselves. Those relationships are important, powerful, and can lift us up and bring us great joy.
Some of my strongest relationships have been forged at Conrad Station Savanna, which sits at the north end of Kankakee Sands. Visiting Conrad in November, as the leaves are beginning to fall from the trees, you can see the rolling sand hills and the majestic white and black oaks growing upon them. Those dunes and trees are the same ones that graced the edges of historic Beaver Lake, once the largest lake in Indiana.
Over the course of this past year, community outreach events such as birdwatching, nature walks, history tours, and evening mothing events have been hosted at Conrad Station Savanna. During such events, memories of Conrad are shared as we walk the trails together, meeting one another for the first time, and yet realizing that we have a shared love of this land.
Memories of Conrad
My own memories of Conrad are of the wintertime workday, more than twenty years ago, when I met the man that would one day become my husband! (How could I not fall for a man who spent countless, backbreaking hours removing invasive shrubs and trees from the snow-blanketed, overgrown savanna to make way for spring wildflowers?!)
Walking with my children when they were young, amongst the springtime wild lupines and violets, admiring the old brick moss-covered foundations of the town and sharing the story of Jennie Conrad and her thriving town. (This rich history is detailed in an interpretive sign along the trail beside the remains of the old hotel.)
And more recently, working alongside colleagues to plant more of the beautiful, state-endangered Hill’s thistle plants adjacent to the few that still remain, and excitedly together dream of a day when the thistles cover acres of ground and their pink blossoms are buzzing with pollinators.
On November 27, there will be a Day after Thanksgiving Hike hosted by Friends of the Sands to walk together along the 1.6-mile mowed loop trail through the historic ghost town of Conrad.
This November, consider visiting Conrad Station Savanna to deepen your own personal relationship with the land and make memories of your own. You could explore the mowed walking trail, or sit and enjoy the afternoon at the trailhead. Quiet moments are often the ones that afford you glimpses of small flocks of wild turkey or solitary red-headed woodpeckers or a doe and her fawn. These moments also provide you the opportunity to listen to the sounds of the savanna and prairie, feel the autumn sun on your face and watch the red and gold oak leaves gently sway and fall in the fall breeze. The preserve is open every day from dawn to dusk for exactly those things!
If you’d like to experience the joy of Conrad in community with others, there are two opportunities this fall on the day after Thanksgiving—Friday, November 27.
Starting at 9 am and ending at noon, a Weed Wrangle© will be held at Conrad Station Savanna to improve the savanna habitat by removing small understory non-native trees and shrubs. Author’s note: This is very similar to the workday on which I met my husband!
Later that same day, from noon to 2 pm, there will be a Day after Thanksgiving Hike hosted by Friends of the Sands to walk together along the 1.6-mile mowed loop trail through the historic ghost town of Conrad and learn about Jennie Conrad and the entire town she built based on Polish-spotted hogs.
More information about these events can be found at the Friends of the Sands website.
We look forward to making memories with you at Conrad this November and in the years to come!
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