Greetings!

The first bit of news I have is that in the infinite wisdom of the IRS the KVHS have been blessed with our 501(c)(3) tax exemption. I want to thank Mary for all the hard work and late hours it took to fill it out. What this means is that any donations of any kind are tax exempt. This will open up for companies or individuals that make a donation wether it be monetary, material, equipment or services can write it off their taxes. This should help us in our fund raising efforts.

Speaking of fund raisers, we have put together a reward for anyone that makes a ten dollar or greater donation. The reward is a copy of Ira Fry’s short stories about his and his family’s lives on the Kankakee River. In fact that’s the books title, "The Kankakee River." Mary and I saw a copy put out by the Historical Society of Porter County and with their permission and Ira’s we have made our KVHS version available. There are a couple of new stories in our version and photos from Ira’s family album that go with the stories. Ira was holding out and I was able to get four or five additional new stories that we plan on adding at a later time. Ron Foltman of R&B Fine printing in St. John has donated his time and run off a hundred copies for us. The cover is in a parchment looking paper, but much sturdier. On the cover is a photo of Ira and his father after a day of fishing. Anyone that has read any of Ira’s stories finds them both charming and fascinating. Ira is one of the few that remembers the Kankakee before it was straightened.

Speaking of Ira’s book, we will be offering them at the Kouts Porkfest on August 24. The Kouts Chamber of Commerce has graciously offered us some space at the Chambers table during the Porkfest. Thank you Kouts Chamber of Commerce. We will be having a small display of photos and of course some membership applications. Try to make it out, I think you’ll enjoy yourself. We would appreciate some help at the table so we can take a break from it during the day.

The Kankakee Valley Historical Society now has it’s own website up and running. We’re still working on a few glitches, but they should be straightened out by the time I send this out. The addy is: www.kankakeevalleyhistoricalsociety.org The site was set up by a person that wishes to remain anonymous, but I would like extend my sincere gratitude to them for doing this for our society. Thank you, unknown person! We will be doing additions and improvements as soon as I get the time to work on it. Bare with me on this folks.

August 3 Beverly and Gary Overmyer and Mary and I went down for one day of Lowell’s sesquicentennial. We went over to the Civil War reenactor encampment and lo and behold one of those hombre’s sure looked a lot like our society historian, Dick Schmal. He even sounded like Dick, but surly it couldn’t be him because this fellow was a Union army sutler. We all know that those sutlers were an unscrupulous lot so we all kept our hands on our wallets and stayed a safe distance away for him. I took a pic of this character and will attach it so you all can keep your eyes peeled for him. Other than that sutler, that somehow got in, Lowell is doing a great job celebrating their hundred and fiftieth. We were also given a tour of the restored Halsted House. I can now see why the folks involved with the restoration are so proud of their accomplishment. We had a really good time and recommend to anyone to see the celebration that continues till Labor Day.

The KVHS board has agreed to support the preservation of the State Line Bridge (bridge #36). A letter was drafted and signed and sent to Mr. John Carr of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Department of Historic Preservation. I mention the bridge and its preservation efforts in a previous newsletter. Indiana’s historic bridges need to be saved, so please do what you can to help preserve these historic structures.

Mark Schurr, Department of Anthropology of the University of Notre Dame, e-mailed me earlier in the week. Mark is interested in researching the Mayesville Settlement a quarter mile north of the Collier Lodge and we will be meeting with him so we can listen to his plan and see what part we can play in it. I think this is very exciting! The thought of an archaeological investigation in our back yard is wonderful. It also works right into our discover and educate mission. I’ll keep you updated as this progresses.

I want to go over the details of our Second Annual KVHS picnic. If your getting this your invited and can bring a guest that is interested in the historical, archaeological, anthropological, natural resources or in the case of our Ghost Tracker friends, the people that still keep hanging around the Kankakee River Basin. We will be holding it the same place as last year. The address is 22 west 1050 south. !050 south is two and a half miles south of the 8 and 49 intersection in Kouts. 22 west is two miles west of 49. We’ll have a sign at the entrance like last year. We can begin gathering at around 11:00 and plan on eating around noon. This is a bring your own main dish and a side dish to pass. KVHS provides the location and fire. We are asking for donations to defer our costs and help us with our society projects. Jim Lambert will be returning this year with his Belgiums for the wagon ride around the property and to the lodge that was such a hit last year. We still hope that the Collier Lodge will be stabilized so we can have a walk through, but are starting to run short on time for the work to be completed. Mike McDowell, President of Indiana Ghost Trackers, will be giving a talk about his "Ghost Hunts" in Northwest Indiana, in particular the results of their hunt at the Collier Lodge. He will be bringing photos, electronic voice and electro magnetic results. I can’t hardly wait to hear his talk. Remember now folks! Nooo nightmares! I’ve been doing a little of my own ghostie research and have successfully had more than a few interrupted sleeps because of it.

I’m finally coming to the end of this lengthy newsletter. Even with all that I’m including I’m sure I’ve forgotten some of the interesting stuff we’ve been doing. As usual I will include a membership application. If your not a member, please join. If you are a member, please pass the application along to a friend. For those whose membership are expiring, please renew. We need to not only gain new memberships, but retain our old ones.