The Three Hoboes and the Wildcat

Last Halloween on a dreary and overcast afternoon, I was out at the Hazen Bridge.  Falling leaves blew in the wind, landed on the dark surface of the Sangamon and like mini schooners, floated gracefully downriver. I gazed up at the superstructure of the bridge, and I thought how this time of year rusty old things have a particular appeal: […]

Scenes from a River Clean-up

Twenty-two people mill about on the mostly dry Crooked Creek delta awaiting the start of our Sangamon River cleanup. Mottled sunlight from the deep blue, first-day-of-Autumn sky filters through the bright green leaves far overhead and down to the river’s surface. It’s a beautiful day down on the Sangamon River to celebrate our very own “It’s Our River Day”. Positive […]

Sangamon Rx

October is fast approaching, and we all know what that means. Required “Obamacare” sign up of course! And with all the hubbub and debate surrounding required health insurance, I have my own healthcare prescription. Yes, we’ve all heard some of the scary statistics regarding our health: Fewer than 20% of adults achieve the recommended minimum of 150 minutes per week […]

A Particular Piece of Land

There is a particular piece of land. It is just north of here along the Sangamon River and east of the Hazen Bridge. And on a rise along County Road 2600N just east of the Hazen Bridge, there is a sign posted by the U of I Foundation that a man named “Jack Commodore Richmond” donated this particular piece of […]

Sangamon River: By the numbers

246 miles – Total length of the Sangamon River from Arrowsmith, Illinois to its confluence with the Illinois River at Beardstown, Illinois. 7 feet – Distance across the Sangamon River at its confluence with Crooked Creek at our place during the drought of 2012. 12.67 feet – Height of the Sangamon River at the Fisher Gage where US 136 crosses […]