Ike and Barbara Schlosser handed over their 10-acre forest property to Parklands this past weekend. Below is a copy of Ike’s dedication speech, covering bits of the properties long history and their reasoning behind handing it over to ParkLands Foundation.
Also included are images of the original owner of the Schlosser’s land, Mathias Elston Denman, and his wife, Elizabeth B. Denman (Figures 1 & 2).
Figure 1. Mrs. Elizabeth B. Denman Figure 2. Mr. Mathias Elston Denman
Dedication Speech Below
Good afternoon! I’m Ike Schlosser, here with my wife Barb,and niece Kori Kobel.
Mathias Elston Denman was born in Licking County Ohio in 1820. He married Elizabeth Smith in 1842, and in 1852 they moved to McLean County, Illinois, with three children and little or nothing else.
The family first settled near Hudson and established a 180 acre farm. Mathias was obviously industrious, hard working and smart farming, raising livestock, and blacksmithing. The family, now including 7 children, moved to White Oak Township in 1867.
During his lifetime Mathias accumulated 800 acres of land in Illinois and 300 acres in lowa. Of the 800 acres in Illinois, 40 were in Woodford County, including the 10 acres of forest where we stand today.
A 330 acre farm just east of Carlock still remains in the family. G
Mathias and Elizabeth Denman both died in 1901.
The forest acreage was passed down the next 4 generations from Mathias to Daniel E. Denman, Lutie Denman Irvin, Betty Belle Irvin Porter, and Barbara Porter Schlosser. So this forest has been in the family for 5 generations! Needless to say, Barb and I are only a small part of the family history associated with this 10 acres.
Our goal in this endeavor today?
To honor the long history of the Denman family in this area by protecting and preserving this beautiful piece of woods. Oral family history suggests Mathias may have kept this 10 acres in Woodford County to harvest firewood. But for the last 100 – 125 years the land has been largely undisturbed.
Why ParkLands Foundation?
Barb and I have lived in North Dakota for the last 42 years and were not sure what to do with the land, but we knew we wanted to protect it in
some way. I contacted the Nature Conservancy in Peoria and was immediately put in touch with the ParkLands Foundation. The more we read about ParkLands, the more impressed we were.
In particular, we were impressed with two things:
First, the broad perspective with which you viewed the environment, including the need to protect the entire Mackinaw River landscape, including the prairie and woodlands, and their connection to the river.
Second, the willingness of the Foundation to create a “restrictive covenant” so that the woodland ecosystem we are currently standing in, from the fungi in the soil to the birds at the top of the trees will be permanently protected.
As donors of the land, Barb, Keri and I say “THANK YOU!!”
Figure 3. Ike Schlosser and his wife Barb, with our President Frank Sanders and Dr. Angelo Capparella