March 6, 1976: Park Establishment Preserves Natural Laboratory Dunes National lakeshore Stems From Work of Decade

Originally published in The Vidette-Messenger of Porter County on March 6, 1976.

Park Establishment Preserves Natural Laboratory

Dunes National lakeshore Stems From Work of Decade

By J.R. WHITEHOUSE

National Lakeshore Supt.

IN 1916, Steven Tyng Mather, the first director of the newly created National Park Service, recommended the establishment of a national park on the south shore of Lake Michigan in the area known as Indiana Dunes. The region is an unusual complex of exceptional sand dunes, marshes, bogs and sand beaches.

In geologic times, melting glacial ice created a huge lake, whose waters lapped against the shore, creating a prominent ridge, known as the Calumet Beach ridge. This natural feature is evident just north of U.S. 12 from Michigan City to Gary, in the form of the oldest dunes in the region. As the water of prehistoric Lake Michigan receded, waves and winds created new dunes. Between these dunes and the ridge, an alluvial plain developed into marshes and bogs. Finally, as Lake Michigan came into being in its present form, wind action created foredunes that rise to heights of 200 feet.

Dr. H.C. Cowles and other biologists of 50 to 70 years ago developed theories of succession and plant distribution based on observations in this area. Their theories, propounded before the term “ecology” became a household word, are today’s natural laws for the science of ecology. These circumstances, alone, have made the Indiana Dunes internationally famous. The themes and evidences of plant succession will provide an outstanding interpretive opportunity for National Lakeshore naturalists and visitors of the future.

JOSEPH BAILLY, a French Canadian, was the first settler in northwestern Indiana. He built a trading post along the Little Calumet River in 1822. Although somewhat altered, some of the structures still remain. The homestead is located within the Lakeshore region and offers outstanding potential for historic interpretation to visitors.

It was not until 1923 that Indiana Dunes State Park, encompassing 2,200 acres of dunes and marshland and three miles of beach, was established.

The National Park Service, during its Great Lakes Shoreline Recreation Area Survey in 1957-58, identified the Indiana dunes as possessing exceptional value. The Advisory Board on National Park Historic Sites, Buildings and Monuments supported this proposal in 1958 and in subsequent meetings in 1959, 1960, 1963 and 1965.

Located adjacent to Gary and Michigan City and only 35 miles from Chicago, the lakeshore presents a rare opportunity to improve the environment of millions of crowded city dwellers and to insure the enjoyment of this unusual area for future generations.

ABOUT SEVEN MILLION people today live within a 50-mile radius of the Indiana Dunes. It is predicted that the population living within a 100-mile radius will reach 12 million within 15 years.

With the 1905 beginning of the Gary industrial developments, the area was plunged deep in a struggle between recreational, residential and industrial interests. Location, terrain and resources were favorable for all, but space was insufficient to supply the maximum needs of many. Before any federal action could be taken, World War I intervened and two communities, Ogden Dunes and Dune Acres, became solidly established in the heart of the region.

Sen. Paul H. Douglas of Illinois, on May 3, 1961, introduced to the 87th Congress a bill “to provide for the preservation of the Indiana Dunes and related areas.” On Oct. 21, 1963, Sen. Henry M. Jackson introduced a similar bill on behalf of himself and Sens. Douglas, Clinton P. Anderson, Vance Harke, Birch E. Bayh and others.

At the beginning of the 89th Congress, bills were introduced by Congressman Roush of Indiana and on Jan. 9 Sen. Jackson introduced Senate Bill 360 which was passed by the Senate on June 21, 1965. The resulting Public law 89-761 of Nov. 5, 1966, provided for the establishment of Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. This act authorized the appropriation of $27,900,000 for the acquisition of land and property. It provided that homeowners could, under certain conditions, retain use of their property for up to 25 years. The National lakeshore consists of approximately 6,000 acres, which, combined with the State park, provides a recreational facility of 8,200 acres.

THE PURPOSE of the act was “to preserve for the educational, inspirational, and recreational use of the public certain portions of the Indiana Dunes and other areas of scenic scientific and historic interest and recreational value.”

A Citizens Advisory Commission was established to offer advice or recommendations for the Secretary of Interior on matters relating to the Lakeshore. The Secretary of Interior was authorized to formally establish the National Lakeshore whenever, in his opinion, sufficient acreage was acquired to be efficiently administrable.

On Sept. 17, 1972, Secretary of Interior Rogers C. B. Morton officially established Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore in a ceremony at the lakefront attended by Mrs. Julie Nixon Eisenhower, the Indiana Congressional delegation, and members of many citizen groups, including Save the Dunes Council, which had worked diligently over many years for that objective.

The National Park Service, in carrying out its mandate for the management of this area, has purchased and removed more than 300 structures from the Lakeshore area. Many more residences have been purchased and are being occupied by the former owners under the “reservation in use” provision of the act.

A SMALL BUT DEDICATED staff is engaged in providing environmental education and interpretive programs for visitors from an improvised Visitor Center in a former church building located at Kemil Road and U.S. 12. Temporary parking facilities have been constructed in three locations to provide visitor access to the beach. Horseback and hiking trails have been constructed. Park Rangers provide protection for the visitors and the fragile natural resources.

Intensive long-range planning is underway to assure that future developments are consistent with the intent of the legislation and appropriate for the needs of visitors now and in future generations.

Extensive research is being conducted both by NPS and scientists from local universities to assure that sufficient information is available for adequate management and protection for the area’s fragile natural resources.

Visitation has increased from 8,000 in 1969 to more than 86,000 in 1975. Total annual visitation is expected to exceed 1,000,000 before 1980.

LEGISLATION was passed in 1974 to add $7.6 million to complete the land acquisition program. Additional legislation, to add approximately 4,000 acres to the Lakeshore, is still before Congress.

Construction is underway on a beach house, access roads, trails and picnic areas at West Beach. The exterior of historic Bailly homestead is being restored and new facilities are being planned for the Mt. Baldy dune area.

The Visitor Center at Kemil Road and U.S. 12 has been remodeled, providing more audio-visual facilities; and the former Nike missile base on Mineral Springs Road has been rehabilitated to provide housing this summer for 40 members of the Youth Conservation Corps. Plans also call for an administration building and an environmental education building in that area.

March 16, 1946: Coat-of-Arms Plaque Creates Historical Flurry

Originally published in The Vidette-Messenger of Porter County on March 16, 1946.

Coat-of-Arms Plaque Creates Historical Flurry

The mystery of an ornate family Coat-of-Arms plaque uncovered in a local second-hand furniture store recently was no longer a mystery today.

The unusual appearing plaque, a likeness of which is reproduced here, was at first believed to have considerable county historical significance, but the “bubble” apparently burst this week under a thorough investigation of its origin.

To start at the beginning, Henry Sauter, Jr., came upon the plaque at Skinkle’s Second-Hand Furniture store. Believing it to have been a family crest of the Joseph Bailey (or Bailly) pioneer family, who settled in Porter county as early as 1820, Sauter turned it over to Miss Mabel Benney, well-known locally as an authority and writer of Porter county history, Miss Benney brought the plaque and the facts to The Vidette-Messenger for further investigation.

Following extensive probing in the case, it was learned that the plaque was the property of the late P.J. Bailey, former Valparaiso lawyer. The plaque was found hanging in the late attorney’s office by Paul Randle, when the Randle Supply company occupied that building. It finally ended up at the second hand store where Sauter found it.

As far as The Vidette-Messenger could learn the two Bailey families were not related and the late Atty. Bailey had had the plaque made about nine years ago from his family’s historical files.

The crest of the highly ornate plaque is etched on an ivory background, embossed in gold, black, blue and crimson. Above the banner, a hand extends, holding a key surmounted by a six-pointed star. Below are the words “Deo Duce.” on the reverse side is an inscribed explanation of the Bailey Armorial Bearings.

Meanwhile, The Vidette-Messenger was holding the case open with the view that some new light may be thrown on the Bailey Coat of Arms mystery.

Dec. 21, 1985: Traditions then meant more work, but also more joy

Originally published in The Vidette-Messenger of Porter County on December 21, 1985.

Traditions then meant more work, but also more joy

By Elizabeth Cloyd

Staff writer

PORTER ー Resting before a blazing fire in a cabin nestled in the snow-covered Indiana Dunes seems like a cozy way to celebrate Christmas.

Melissa Brooks portrays the eldest girl in the house during a Swedish celebration of St. Lucia’s Day. As the eldest girl, she serves coffee and rolls to Paul and Connie White. St. Lucia’s Day, Dec. 13, opened the Christmas season for the early Swedish settlers.

Maybe it wouldn’t seem so comfy if you had to chop the wood for the blazing fire, slaughter a duck or goose for Christmas dinner and settle down to finally relax in a home you built yourself.

For the early Swedish and French settlers in the Dunes area, Christmas was a long season that required much preparation, but resulted in much joy.

Swedish settlers, like Anders Chellberg, celebrated the holidays from Dec. 13 to Jan. 13. Joseph Bailly, and other French settlers in the area, celebrated from Christmas Eve through Jan. 6.

Both groups of settlers enjoyed a holiday season brimming with food, merriment and song, according to Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore ranger Jude Rakowski.

Rakowski is coordinating a look at Christmas in the mid-1800s that will begin at 1 p.m. today at the Bailly Homestead and Chellberg Farm.

Visitors will be able to tour the homestead and farm and take a peek at what Christmas was like in the 18th century, the times when the pioneers of Porter County settled here. Call 926-7561 to make sure space is available.

The program is just one event scheduled during the winter months to encourage people to visit and use the park, Rakowski said.

“Yesteryear’s Traditions'' programs began at the farm and homestead in 1981. Rakowski said park rangers and volunteers sought information about the Christmas traditions and events families like the Chellbergs and Baillys may have enjoyed during the holidays.

Authentic Swedish wreaths and a tree will decorate the Chellberg farm and straw sheaves and sorghum branches will decorate the trees outside. At Bailly, trees and carolers will inspire Christmas spirit.

Recreating a pioneer Christmas isn’t easy.

Rangers and volunteers had the information about what everyday life was like for the early settlers, but had to dig around to find out what a typical holiday might be like, Rakowski said.

Much of the information came from northwest Indiana residents who were from Sweden or France, or were descendents of persons from those countries.

“It’s a rich area as far as customs go,” Rakowski said. “There are not as many French people in the area but a lot of people who live here are right from Sweden.”

Many Swedish residents are recruited to serve as guides for the program, to share their knowledge as well as their accents. Rakowski said she tries to find former Sweden residents because their accents add charm and realism to the presentations, but it isn’t always possible to find transplanted Swedes.

One year Rakowski served as “Jude Johannsen” for the day, complete with a practiced Swedish accident.

Rakowski said to learn about Swedish customs, she and other rangers conducted interviews with area residents and leafed through books. Visits to area museums also provided insight into the holidays. Finding out more about how the Baillys welcomed the holidays was another matter. Students enrolled in French classes at Chesterton High School researched customs and will serve as guides during the program. “Yesteryear’s Traditions'' visitors will be greeted by guides in authentic Swedish and French costumes. The guides will divide visitors into two groups, one that will visit Bailly first, the other viewing Christmas at Chellberg first.

The Christmas season at the Chellberg Farm, and other Swedish homesteads, began on St. Lucia’s Day, Dec. 13. On that morning, the eldest girl in the home donned a crown with five candles and beckoned her family to come down for a breakfast she prepared, Rakowski said.

Anders and Johanna Chellberg and their family probably enjoyed a light breakfast of rolls and coffee, and hung wreaths of lingonberries or whortleberries on their doors and walls, according to the ranger.

On Christmas Eve the Chellbergs probably bathed and washed their hair in large wooden or metal tubs. Christmas crowns of straw were hung on the walls of the Chellberg Farm, adn straw was strewn on the clean floor to represent the straw in the manager.

Straw will also represent the manager and wreaths will be hung today, just as they were when the Chellbwehs celebrated Christmas in their home in the 1880s.

A half-moon of evergreens was spread outside the house door, so visitors could wipe their feet before entering. The Christmas tree was hidden from the children as parents decorated it with white candles, flags, woven hearts, fruits and nuts. When the tree was decorated, the Jul-bock, or goat, rang a bell, beckoning the children into the room.

Even the animals celebrated the holiday. Rakowski said wheat and sorghum sheaves were tied with a red ribbon to feed the birds, and the farm animals were given a special Christmas Eve meal.

A bowl of porridge was set in the barn for the Jultomten, friendly gnome that supposedly lived under the barn floor.

Julotta, a church service, opened Christmas Day for the Swedes. Families traveled to church in sleighs and carried candles during the service.

Dec. 28 was St. Stephen's Day, a day of feasting and visiting. Families strolled from home, singing carols at each open door.

The Christmas season ended between Jan. 6 and 13, when the Christmas tree candles were lit for the last time.

When Joseph Bailly and his family established their homestead in Westchester Township in 1822, they probably began their first Christmas there on Dec. 24 with a yule log-burning party. Each family saved part of each year’s yule log for the following year’s Christmas.

A bundle of wheat and sorghum tied to a tree provides a Christmas treat for the birds at Chellberg farm. Trying the bundles to trees during the holidays is a Swedish custom observed by early settlers in the area.

Christmas was a solemn, religious day when the settlers celebrated Christ’s birth with a high mass.

The settlers’ celebrated New Year’s Eve with caroling and a feast. During the festivities, families brought out food, clothing and money for the poor, which masqueraded carolers collected on carts.

New Year’s Day was also filled with caroling and skits, and families exchanged gifts. The French settlers visited their neighbors on the first day of the year, and the gentlemen of each family lined up in order of age to kiss the hostess on the cheek.

The Feasts of Kings, a formal ball, ended the Christmas festivities Jan. 6.

The King of the ball was chosen by pure coincidence.

The oldest woman in the village baked a cake with four beans hidden in it. The first unmarried man to find a bean in his slice of cake was chosen king, and reigned over the festivities for the evening.

Several of these traditions will be re-enacting during the Bailly-Chellberg Christmas. Children will be invited to decorate the tree at the Chellberg Farm, Rakowski said, and carolers will fill the area with music at both locations.

A woman will sing French Christmas carols at Bailly, and Swedish music will be provided at Chellberg. A wood-burning water heater to keep animals warm will also be stoked up and operating at Chellberg.

Volunteers and park rangers will explain the Swedish and French holiday customs and will answer questions about those early Porter County Christmas celebrations and about the first residents.

Nov. 28, 1975: Bailly Home Pact Awarded

Originally published in The Vidette-Messenger of Porter County on November 28, 1975.

Bailly Home Pact Awarded

Contract for more than $162,000 was awarded today to an Indiana firm for the restoration of the historic Bailly Homestead on Howe Road in the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.

Rainbow Construction Co., Inc., Geneva was successful bidder on the project with a proposal of $162,217, according to a spokesman for Indiana Sen. Vance Hartke, who was notified on the decision of the National Park Service.

A pre-construction meeting with Lakeshore personnel, park service representatives and the construction firm will be held Dec. 16 at the national park near Chesterton to finalize plans for the renovation.

Included in the contract will be restoration to various historical stages of the Bailly residence and four other buildings on the homestead property along the Little Calumet River between U.S. 20 and U.S. 12. 

Lakeshore Supt. J.R. Whitehouse said today the project also will include provisions for a trail of wood chips connecting the historical structures and several information exhibits concerning the area. The restoration will show the evolution of the site where the first white settlers of northern Indiana made their home.

At least one of the buildings will be restored to near its appearance in 1822. Others will be restored to appear as they would at various intervals to 1917 when the last of the Baillys, Frances Howe, sold the property.

The construction project will involve detailed work under the supervision of a historical engineer from the National Park Service, Whitehouse said. Foundations will be strengthened and bricks and logs will be replaced.

Work is expected to continue into next August. The site includes the family residence, built in about 1833 around the walls of a log house that was built there first.

Other structures include a brick house built around the turn of the century to accommodate a visiting bishop, a small log cabin used as a chapel, servants’ quarters and a storehouse on the west side of the road.

The area was first settled by Joseph Bailly, who set up a trading post. Before his death, in 1835, Bailly had acquired about 2,200 acres of land in Lake and Porter counties. He once mapped out streets and lots on nearby tract in an unsuccessful bid to develop a town that was to have been called Bailly.