On Tuesday April 13, 2010 KVHS will be holding its April general meeting (open to the public) at 6:30 at the Kouts Library ( 101 E. Daumer Rd ). The program will be given by Park Ranger Kip Walton. Kip sent me the following summery of his program:

  “I'm coming to talk to the Kankakee Valley Historical Society on April 13th from 6:30p.m to 8:30p.m. at the Kouts public library. The topic will be animal and plant adaptation for surviving the harsh dune environment. I came up with this program about 4 years ago while watching the Survivor TV series. The dunes can be a very harsh and unforgiving place but the plants and animals that live in it survive because they have adapted to do so.”

Ranger devoted to Lakeshore, kids
(http://www.post-trib.com/news/manes/2113018,manes-321.article)

March 21, 2010

BY JEFF MANES jeffmanes@sbcglobal.net

"When I was young, I wanted to save the world; in my middle years, I would have been content to save my country. Now, I just want to save the dunes."

-- Paul Howard Douglas

When Kipton Walton was young, he wanted to be an Olympic athlete or a park ranger. He chose the latter.

Walton, 41, was born and raised in Springfield , Ill. , and earned a degree in environmental education at Western Illinois University in Macomb .

He and his wife, Jennifer Lute, live in Michigan City ; they have a daughter named Jada.

Walton is the outreach program coordinator at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore's Paul H. Douglas Center for Environmental Education in Gary .

. .

You were quite an athlete while growing up.

"In high school, I did quite well in track."

Sprinter, maybe middle distance?

"You got it; we went to state in the 400- and 1,600-meter relays. I also played soccer at the college level; at one time, we were ranked 15th in the nation. After moving to this area, I coached Chesterton High School 's girls soccer team for nine years. We went to state three years in a row. In 2000, we lost to Carmel in the state championship."

By the photos thumbtacked to your bulletin board, it looks like you have other interests as well -- walleye, muskie, bluegill ... .

"Yeah, I love fishing."

Who's posing with that largemouth? Looks like that bass probably went about 5 pounds.

"That's my wife; she caught that one. It actually weighed about 31/2 pounds, but she'd probably tell you it weighed 5 pounds. And that's one of the reasons we're so happily married. Jennifer doesn't mind if I go fishing, and she'll usually fish right alongside me."

Tell me a little more about your early years in central Illinois .

"My grandfather always took me fishing. He let me shoot my first gun. I grew up with kids who did much the same. Instead of hanging out on the street corner, we went hunting. I guess my love for the outdoors just naturally evolved into my profession.

"When I was 10 or 12 years old, I wanted to be either an Olympic athlete or a park ranger. Bruce Jenner (1976 Olympic gold medalist in the decathlon) was doing his thing, and I thought, 'Boy, I'd like to do that; that's really cool.'

"As far as becoming a ranger, I imagined being out in the wilderness by myself, you know, rescuing people out in the wilderness. That's furthest from what I do now."

Where did you get your start?

"The National Park at (Abraham) Lincoln 's Home in Springfield . I worked there for three years as a summer job. The Lincoln home is a historical interpretation, not really my bag, but I did get my foot in the door by doing that -- I got paid and everything."

What happened next?

"I got an opportunity to do a three-month internship with Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore during the summer just before my senior year of college. Then, before I even graduated, I got a phone call from Bruce Rowe, who would eventually become my supervisor. He said, 'Hey, we appreciated what you did while you were here and we'd really like you back.' "

And?

"I came back to Indiana Dunes and have been working here ever since; it's been 18 years. They started me out at $17,000; back then, that was looking pretty good.

"You don't see a lot of African-Americans doing the park service thing, especially around here. But I grew up fishing and hunting, whereas a kid from Gary probably doesn't."

What are your duties at the National Lakeshore?

"My job is to get people into the park, let them know where we're at and to tell them about the programs we have here. We have plans to extend our trail all the way out to the lake. We're also going to make a bike trail going all the way from West Beach to Miller Woods. This entire area is going to be much more accessible in the next few years.

"I want people to become interested in the park. Basically, I want them to have a love for the park."

Working with children.

"I really enjoy bringing kids to the park. It's a passion of mine to not just tell them about the park, but to actually take hikes with them. Jeff, it's really something to see those kids' faces light up when they see something cool."

Examples?

"There have been a few times when we've walked up on a snake; I'll catch it and, at first, they'll be scared of it. Then, pretty soon, they'll be like, 'Can I touch it?' 'Sure, you can touch the snake.' And then we let it go.

"Just walking out in the dunes and having a covey of quail jump up -- exploding in the air. Growing up, I jumped coveys of quail all the time, but kids in the inner city, they don't know what's going on. A quail jumps up at their feet and they're about ready to pee their pants.

"The other day, I had a bunch of little kids. I showed them coyote tracks in the snow; they were enamored by them. 'Oh, that's so cool.' Then, I showed them the coyote scat and they were like, 'Oh, that's so gross.' But then we talked about the coyote's lifestyle and so forth, and it's just a great learning experience for them. I love it."

Tell me about your colleagues.

"The rangers who work here have the same kind of passion I do, not only in teaching kids, but also their love of the outdoors. In fact, these two guys in this photo, Ted and J.P., are like my brothers.

"It's amazing how J.P. and I think so much alike as far as the park itself, working with kids, being outside, fishing and love for our families. People will call here at the park and think they're talking to me and it's J.P. -- and vice versa. He's white; I'm black, but everybody mixes us up for some reason."

You're birds of a feather.

"Jeff, when I was in high school, we raised enough money to drive to Alaska ; I was president of our science club. On the way, I remember seeing the (Grand) Teton Mountains for the first time. Tears welled up in eyes. It was so beautiful to me, I cried.

"And I see that here in this park every day. The Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is one of the jewels of the Midwest ; it's a 15,000-acre diamond in the rough.

"When a lot of people think of Northwest Indiana , they think of steel mills and things like that. Those same people need to come out here after a fresh snow or when the sun is setting down upon these interdunal ponds; it's one of the most beautiful places in the world -- right here in Gary. It's so beautiful, what God has created."

Kip Walton is quite a piece of work, too.