Lake Koshkonong Wetland Association:
Program Notes from 3/20/07 Meeting
March 20, 2007 at 6:00 pm
Milton Township Hall
"Recollections of Living and Playing on Lake Koshkonong" was the topic of last Tuesday evening's meeting of the Lake Koshkonong Wetland Association at Milton Township Hall in Milton. Old timers from around the lake recalled abundant flowers, fish, ducks and sandy beaches that today's residents rarely encounter. The discussion was facilitated by Susan Yates and participation was encouraged from all in attendance.
Prior to the arrival of European settlers, Lake Koshkonong was simply a wide spot in the Rock River as it flowed south to Illinois and the Mississippi. The first dam was built in the 1850's at Indianford, just south of Newville where I-90 crosses the Rock. Subsequent dam modifications and changes in dam operations have raised the water level a total of about seven feet, broadly impacting water quality, wetlands, aquatic and other wildlife. These changes have, in turn, affected the culture of the area's residents by changing the availability of various economic and recreational opportunities.
Many of the event's participants shared memories of the prolific walleye, bass and crappie fishing that attracted fishermen from far and wide. Others spoke of vegetation so thick it was tough to get a boat through in some places. These marshes were lush with wild rice, wild celery, cattails and sedges. Many a farmer would harvest marsh hay for various purposes. The canvasback ducks and other water fowl that stopped by the area to rest, feed, take shelter, or even raise young proved quite lucrative early on.
Olive (Sherman) Thompson grew up on property that is now home to Anchor Inn and as a child was especially enamored of spring wildflowers. She fondly recalled May Basket Day, on the first day of May, when she and the other school children were allowed out of school early to collect spring flowers that they would give to their neighbors. Dutchman's breeches carpeted the ground where Mallwood Estates now stands. Pasque flowers abounded in Richardson's woods. Before pasturing started in the spring shooting stars lit up the hillside near where I-90 now crosses the river. One year, Cooper's road was a sea of blue with bird's foot violets. White water lilies grew in the river.
Thompson spoke of prolific clams in the lake that would keep her busy looking for pearls (she never found any). Her father once brought a mud puppy home to show the children before setting it free again.
Carp were introduced near the turn of the century and by the 1930's the DNR was hard a work, trying to slow their taxing of the waterways. Thompson cited 1925 as the year Highway 59 was paved from Chicago, opening up the possibility of a weekend at Lake Koshkonong for many a city dweller. She found the ensuing development heartbreaking and has been conservation-minded ever since.
Tom Shearer lives to this day on the south side of the lake between Thiebeau and Bingham's Points. He recalled ponds dug at “fish camp” in which carp were stored, and learning quite a bit about anatomy from the frogs that gave their lives for his dissection experiments.
Buck Sweeney recalled using marsh skis to more widely distribute their weight when heading out across a marsh to a duck blind. The first concrete blind on the lake was at Thiebeau point and folks said it was put there so that a phone pole and line could be installed and men could conduct business in the peace of the marsh. Some stayed out there for weeks at a time, coming into town now and then for groceries and cohabitation. Sweeney wasn't certain which of the hunt clubs belonged to the still that was out there during prohibition, but he felt sure it was used by both.
John Skullen talked of Blackhawk Hunt Club which started in 1872 and was incorporated in 1888. It was a large one with 50 members; a membership was $1,500, plus $500 annually. At various times membership included a gentleman by the name of James Busch from St. Louis, Missouri, a Mr. Case who built tractors, and W.D. Hoard himself. Unfortunately, the hunt club burned down about 25 years ago.
Skullen told of filling sugar barrels full of walleye for shipment on the railroad and a Californian who caught bass and could throw a lure through a barrel at 100 feet.
Lynn Duesterbeck has compiled a wealth of knowledge about his property and the Binghams, for whom the point was named. Ethan and Laura Bingham were the original owners, but it was Ezra ("Ed") and Ira who were known for impressive water fowl harvests. Civil War General Phil Sheridan is known to have hunted at Bingham's point, as well as several governors and Vice President Marshall.
Vogel Road, on the southeast side of the lake, was named for Charlie Vogel's family who was said to have been the oldest family on the road when it came time to assign names. His father was named after Ira Bingham, demonstrating the close relationships between the families in the area.
Dick Persson demonstrated the low-tech instruments that were used to make bird calls at one time. All that was needed was a Mason jar lid and a couple of bolts. Cupping the lid in his hand over one knee, he passed a bolt's threads over the edge. An eerie duck call echoed through the hall. When he switched to a bolt with finer thread the pitch rose a bit.
Persson told of how once a good many ducks were shot and dressed for market, they would be put on ice in a canvas bag for shipment. Canvas was hard to come by those days so in order to ensure that the bags came back to Wisconsin on the train, every bag was marked "canvas back". And so a duck was named— or so the story went.
Bill Bendig's mother moved to the North Shore in 1928. He fondly recalled two man-made islands just north of where the river widens at the head of the lake. Built with rocks brought out on the ice in winter, willows had taken root there, making for great playgrounds—especially for games of hide and seek.
Numerous attendees agreed that raising the water level, as the Rock Koshkonong Lake District is currently attempting, would be anything but beneficial for the degraded lake. The shallow banks would simply erode as their predecessors have, adding to the silty sludge on the lake's bottom.