In 1973, Floyd and Margaret Wonser donated 55 acres at the corner of 3 ½ mile road and Minges Road South to the Lakeview Urbandale Kiwanis Club and the Lakeview School District as a conservation education reserve registered with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
Margaret was the direct descendent of Dr John Beach who was the original owner of the property. Along with her husband Floyd Wonser, a longstanding member of the club, she felt that “the farm” – as all our family refers to it – should continue to be a place for fun out-of-doors, for learning about nature, a place where one could escape pressure of our lives and revive one’s spirit in the peace and quiet of the land. In their dedication of the property, they stated a desire to forever preserve the natural beauty and stave off civilizations’ encroachments. Lakeview School District, in accepting the gift, agreed to use the area as an outdoor laboratory for field trips and other activities for all grades.
History of Wonser Farm and Family Dr. John & Harriet Beach, bought a section of land where the Lakeview Urbandale Outdoor Education Center is now located, in 1836. He had decided to give up his medical practice and try farming instead. He came to Michigan by covered wagon with 20 cows, several oxen, 5 or 6 horses. His wife Harriett and several young children arrived shortly thereafter. When he arrived however, he found such a need for medical care in the area that he was unable to give us his profession and ended up with a full-time job just treating patients – traveling between Bellevue, Comstock, and Marshall. The going price for land purchased from the United States Government at the time, was $1.25 per acre plus the commitment to build a permanent residence. He did build a log cabin on the property, thereby fulfilling the requirements of the purchase, but the price must have been too steep for Dr. John however, because he gave up and went back to New York only 4 years later. The records do not indicate if he took his cows, oxen, and horses back to New York with him when he left, but he did not take his wife Harriet or his young son Morgan, who stayed behind to settle the land. In 1884, A. D. P. Van Buren, an early area historian, said “that among the memories of the pioneer women of Battle Creek Township, that of Mrs. John Beach would ever be bright”. He continued with “It is about time the historian began to tell the whole story, and give to women full credit for the part she performs in this life. Man fills most of the space in history, when often more than half of that space belongs to women. Mrs. John Beach, with hundreds of her brave sisters, has done her full part in making Calhoun County what it is today”. Harriet and Morgan must have been very hardy souls because in 1840, the wilds of Michigan were wilder than even our wildest imagination allows. – no roads, no stores, no schools, no neighbors, and nothing but swamp and untreatable illnesses. No wonder Dr. John left, because if you think the mosquitoes are bad today – just imagine what they were like in 1840. Harriet and Morgan built the first brick house on the property in 1849.In fact it was the first brick house in the entire Battle Creek Township. It still stands today and is located at the corner of Beckley Rd. and Minges Hills Drive, which at the time this was at the North end of their original property. Morgan married Saloma Case and received 160 acres from his mother Harriet when she passed away in 1878. That property passed down to their daughter Adella Beach, who married a local dentist by the name of Dr. Albanus. M. Phillips. The couple lived in Marshall and rented the property to tenant farmers who raised cattle and horses and grew various crops. Adella Beach Phillips was born on the property in 1852 and was a world famous archer. She won the world championship in her class in 1887, retiring undefeated 3 years later. Her picture can be seen at the information desk and on this cover. Mildred Phillips, born in 1883 to Adella and Dr. Albanus Phillips was the next direct descendent to own the property. As a young lady she must have been quite a socialite because it seems that there wasn’t a party anywhere near Marshall around the turn of the century where she wasn’t the main attraction. The Enquirer News of the day couldn’t seem to get enough of her beautiful dresses, her pretty hats, her friendships, and her activities. She was definitely a fun girl but the fun seems to have ended when she married a lawyer by the name of Ira Addison Beck in 1906 because little of her social life appears in later editions where most of her references are more community service based. Margret was born to Mildred and Ira in 1908. She was the fifth generation of the family and the fourth woman to own the property. Margaret lived a pretty interesting life. As a 2 year old, she won the “Most Healthy Baby Contest” organized by Dr. John Harvey Kellogg. She led her class at High School, graduated from Battle Creek Central in 1925, graduated with Honors from the University of Michigan, and upon graduation taught languages at Tecumseh High School. In 1937, Margret returned to the family home on 3 ½ Mile Road near the current entrance to the Outdoor Center. At that point the property had deteriorated to the point where it was no longer habitable. She restored the house to its original condition and moved in. Next she started to restore the property to its former natural condition. Her passion was nature conservation and education, and in 1937 she replanted the pine forest along Evergreen Ridge. She later also planted the Firs and Sugar Maple trees that are dispersed throughout the property, thereby regenerating the forest her great, great, grandmother Harriet and her great grandmother Saloma cleared a hundred years earlier. Margaret continued to be active in the local community. She became a paid member of the County Agricultural Adjustment Administration and was the County Field Woman for Calhoun County. She contributed to the War effort by working as a telephone operator at Fort Custer. Margaret married Floyd Wonser in 1947 which was also the year of the great flood in Battle Creek. The flood tore out the original bridge over Minges Creek that had been built as part of the Minges Brook Drain Project in 1896. It was some time before the bridge could be repaired, but this was not a huge inconvenience because Floyd owned and operated a wholesale implement and farm equipment company next door and did not farm the land. Instead, Floyd and Margaret used the property as a family retreat and continued the conservation efforts that Margaret started 10 years earlier. Floyd was also a longtime member of the Lakeview Urbandale Kiwanis Club and their gift of this property to the Club in 1972 has kept their passions and their legacy alive. Margaret passed away in 1995 and Floyd in 2001.
Lakeview Urbandale Kiwanis Outdoor Center History The first Director of the Lakeview Urbandale Kiwanis Outdoor Center was Tad Vandervoort. He was an active member of the club and a full time Lakeview High School Biology and Earth Science teacher. He developed the school’s outdoor laboratory on the property while at the same time coordinating the various programs at the site, promoting the use and development of the site, and organizing the work teams for its’ maintenance. Tad developed and cut most of the nature trails we now have and maintained them for use by the schools. Tad ran a six-week day Federally funded camp program for 5-12 year old’s during the summer as well as science field trips for elementary students during the school year from 1974 through 2004. 1973-74 – Lakeview Kiwanis with help from KCC students built a 24’x28’ A frame building along with a number of picnic tables and a barbecue pit. 1974-76 – Kiwanis built the entry shelter for students. We also built the men’s and women’s outhouses. We built 2 U-shaped seating areas for teachers and students to use as well as an overlook on Minges creek for students to use for collecting water samples. This overlook platform no longer exists. May 20th 1983 – Lakeview Kiwanis purchased 5 acres adjoining the Northeast side of the property bringing our total property size to about 60 acres. The loss of the bridge over Minges Creek in 2004 was a major blow to the Outdoor Center. Since this left the west side of the property inaccessible, the Lakeview school field trips and other outdoor programs at the site were discontinued. Since the Lakeview schools were no longer able to use the site, they discontinued their maintenance support and the site deteriorated. Trails became overgrown, regular mowing of the prairie was discontinued, and invasive species such as Buckthorn, Oriental Bittersweet, and Autumn Olive, exploded across the site. The club explored numerous ways to replace the missing bridge but all investigations in 2004, 2005, and 2006 ended in failure. We were just not able to raise the necessary funds to get the bridge replaced. Finally in 2006-2007, we received a $10,000 grant from the Battle Creek Community Foundation to replace the bridge. As we planned the project however, the Drain Commission agreed to perform the work required at no cost to us. They removed the old culvert, installed the new one, and repaired the road. Our only expense was the cost of the culvert itself. The new bridge was opened with great celebration and fanfare with a ribbon cutting ceremony in April 2006 attended by supporters, local leaders, and several members of the Wonser family. Due to the Drain Commission’s assistance, we had money left over from the Battle Creek Community Foundation grant for additional improvements. These additional improvements included: – Clearing and reopening the trails that had become blocked during the 3 year outage and building new trails – Clearing the area around the building – Repairing the A Frame building built in 1974 – Hiring Rice Well Drilling Co. to dig a new water well and install a hand pump – Purchasing a used tractor and various implements to better maintain the property – Building picnic tables -Installing trail signs – Creating a camping area for overnight Boy Scout camping
With the completion of the bridge and the discontinuance of Lakeview School support, the club assumed all responsibility for site maintenance and improvement. This stretched our ability as a club to the breaking point and for the next 10 years, in spite of the club’s best efforts, the maintenance needs of the property exceeded the Club’s ability. We did the best we could however, keeping the trails open and beating back some of the invasive Autumn Olive, Oriental Bittersweet, and Multi Flora Rose, and cutting the prairie once or twice a year.
We were able to plant a few bird and bat houses and install some duck nesting boxes etc, and several Boy Scout Eagle Scout Candidate projects were completed, but in all reality the property continued to decline. This decline was exacerbated by a logging operation in 2014 in which we removed 140 large Pine trees to provide income and to open up the forest canopy to encourage better tree growth. Although this project was successful, netting us $2500 that we could use for additional maintenance, it left a lot of fallen wood and dead branches throughout the site. This, coupled with damage done during several heavy wind storms in 2015 and 2016, created tangles of dead brush that made large parts of the site inaccessible.
We were fortunate to have Jim Hoffman, owner of Hoffman Bros. Inc, as a club member. He brought in heavy equipment and volunteered many hours of his time to clear the prairie and fight back the Autumn Olive from 2007 through 2017. His efforts opened up the prairie for recreational activities and provided camping areas for a Boy Scout Klondike Derby in 2009 and a Camp Kiwanis for 5 to 12 year old’s hosted by the Soil Conservation service, also in 2009. It also provided opportunity to host a Boy Scout Jamboree in 2011, attended by some 275 Boy Scouts, scout leaders, and family members, for overnight camping, games, competitions, and leadership training.
We were also fortunate to have Jim Faber as a club member and Director of the Outdoor Center during these years. Jim’s background in agriculture and land management guided the management and development of the property during this period. He worked tirelessly to control the invasive plants and reforested several sections of property. He built relationships with the Department of Natural Resources and obtained grants from them to remove the Autumn Olive. Unfortunately, Autumn Olive is a very stubborn and hardy plant species, and removing it has been a major challenge that continues to this day.
Jim also developed relationships with the Fish and Wildlife Service to restore the prairie to it’s original status by replanting 14 species of wildflowers and 4 species of prairie grasses (Big Bluestem, Little Bluestem, Indian grass, Side Oats Gamma Grass) at no cost to us. Unfortunately, the Autumn Olive that had invaded this area earlier was not completely eradicated prior to the seeding, and therefore the prairie has not fully returned to its’ original natural state. 2011 saw the destruction of the A Frame building built by Kiwanians and KCC students in 1973. Vandalism had been an ongoing problem at the Outdoor Center for a long time, with graffiti sprayed on the building and trees, picnic tables destroyed, trail signs damaged, building skylights broken, and the flag pole knocked over repeatedly, etc, but the arson of the building was a new low. Fortunately, the culprit was captured and punished and the building was insured. The insurance payout covered the cost of construction of the new concrete block pavilion building we occupy today. This building is 24 feet wide by 30 feet long with a 30 foot covered extension, and was built by Newman Construction for $45,000 in 2012. The grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony was attended by 80+ people. In 2014 we started our building electrification project. A local electrician – Gerry Geesin – volunteered to wire the building with an electrical panel and lights and use a gas generator to provide power. This generator solution proved impractical however, and obtaining the funds necessary to connect to the local utility (Consumers Energy) electrical grid was unsuccessful. That all changed when in 2017, the Lakeview Urbandale Kiwanis Club became a “Community Project Fund” of the Battle Creek Community Foundation. This new relationship gave us 501c3 status, officially making us a charitable and tax-free organization. This enabled all donations to us to be tax deductible, making the Lakeview Urbandale Kiwanis Club a much more attractive organization for donors to support. With this designation we were able to petition funds from granting organizations much more aggressively and several sizable grants received over the next several years allowed us to make major upgrades to the Outdoor Center. Our first grant requests were focused on the purchase of a new tractor. The original used tractor purchased from the downtown Kiwanis Club in 2007 was no longer adequate in performing the maintenance the site demanded. Since we no longer had access to Lakeview Schools equipment or assistance, our own tools required upgrade. We received grants from the Consumers Energy Foundation and from the Hoffman family that helped purchase a used John Deere compact tractor adequate to our needs in 2018. With this additional capability we initiated a concerted effort to clear the fallen trees, branches, and brush that covered the property. This has been a long-term project that continues to this day, making way for new forest growth, reduced fire risk, and better walking access. In 2017 we started a project to supply Consumers Energy power to the new building. It took until 2019 to raise the necessary funds through the sale of trees and through a grant from the Battle Creek Community Foundation, but by the time we did the original route was no longer available. An alternate route from South Minges Road was selected and approved, and Consumers Energy power was finally connected in 2020. The availability of electrical power allowed us to install an electric pump in the existing well and supply running water to the pavilion building. It also provided interior, perimeter, and security lighting, power to support various youth activities, and power for maintenance purposes. The purpose of all this effort was – and continues to be – a desire to make the Lakeview Urbandale Kiwanis Outdoor Center a more attractive, appealing, and “go to” site for youth group activities and “fun out-of-doors, for learning about nature, a place where one could escape pressure of our lives and revive one’s spirit in the peace and quiet of the land” as originally stated by Margaret and Floyd Wonser. In keeping with the Wonser vision, we continue to strive to maintain a balance between nature conservation, wildlife management, and recreation with the following priorities: – Children & Young adult education & Exploration – Youth development & youth group support – Wildlife refuge – Adult education – Recreation But in spite of our best efforts, the Lakeview Urbandale Kiwanis Outdoor Center still seems to be a hidden gem that not many people know about. We have been trying very hard to correct that deficiency and this Open House is our latest attempt to do that. One other way we have tried to make the site more attractive and visible is with the new entry gate installed in 2018. One of our greatest successes has been our work with various Boy Scout troops who continue to use the site, and the Eagle Scout candidates that help make lasting improvements to the site through their Eagle Scout projects. Over the last few years these projects have included: – The Spring Pond Outlook – The Information Kiosk at the entry gate – The Fire Pit / Fire Ring and Grill at the pavilion – Bird Houses in the prairie – Fence Around the Well Pump (now removed) – Replacing the Roof on Each Outhouse – Fabricating and Installing New Trail Signs – Tree Sapling Identification – Fire Pit Seating – Picnic Tables – Parking Lot Fencing We continue to strive to attract more youth groups to the site and to create new lines of communication and interest with the local schools, church youth groups, and other youth focused organizations. We want the Lakeview Urbandale Kiwanis Outdoor Center to become a rich and valuable resource for outdoor education and relaxation as Margaret and Floyd Wonser visualized. This site is their, and our, gift to you. We hope you will use it, enjoy it, learn from it, and respect it.
History
In 1973, Floyd and Margaret Wonser donated 55 acres at the corner of 3 ½ mile road and Minges Road South to the Lakeview Urbandale Kiwanis Club and the Lakeview School District as a conservation education reserve registered with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
Margaret was the direct descendent of Dr John Beach who was the original owner of the property. Along with her husband Floyd Wonser, a longstanding member of the club, she felt that “the farm” – as all our family refers to it – should continue to be a place for fun out-of-doors, for learning about nature, a place where one could escape pressure of our lives and revive one’s spirit in the peace and quiet of the land. In their dedication of the property, they stated a desire to forever preserve the natural beauty and stave off civilizations’ encroachments. Lakeview School District, in accepting the gift, agreed to use the area as an outdoor laboratory for field trips and other activities for all grades.
History of Wonser Farm and Family
Dr. John & Harriet Beach, bought a section of land where the Lakeview Urbandale Outdoor Education Center is now located, in 1836. He had decided to give up his medical practice and try farming instead. He came to Michigan by covered wagon with 20 cows, several oxen, 5 or 6 horses. His wife Harriett and several young children arrived shortly thereafter. When he arrived however, he found such a need for medical care in the area that he was unable to give us his profession and ended up with a full-time job just treating patients – traveling between Bellevue, Comstock, and Marshall.
The going price for land purchased from the United States Government at the time, was $1.25 per acre plus the commitment to build a permanent residence. He did build a log cabin on the property, thereby fulfilling the requirements of the purchase, but the price must have been too steep for Dr. John however, because he gave up and went back to New York only 4 years later. The records do not indicate if he took his cows, oxen, and horses back to New York with him when he left, but he did not take his wife Harriet or his young son Morgan, who stayed behind to settle the land.
In 1884, A. D. P. Van Buren, an early area historian, said “that among the memories of the pioneer women of Battle Creek Township, that of Mrs. John Beach would ever be bright”. He continued with “It is about time the historian began to tell the whole story, and give to women full credit for the part she performs in this life. Man fills most of the space in history, when often more than half of that space belongs to women. Mrs. John Beach, with hundreds of her brave sisters, has done her full part in making Calhoun County what it is today”.
Harriet and Morgan must have been very hardy souls because in 1840, the wilds of Michigan were wilder than even our wildest imagination allows. – no roads, no stores, no schools, no neighbors, and nothing but swamp and untreatable illnesses. No wonder Dr. John left, because if you think the mosquitoes are bad today – just imagine what they were like in 1840.
Harriet and Morgan built the first brick house on the property in 1849.In fact it was the first brick house in the entire Battle Creek Township. It still stands today and is located at the corner of Beckley Rd. and Minges Hills Drive, which at the time this was at the North end of their original property.
Morgan married Saloma Case and received 160 acres from his mother Harriet when she passed away in 1878.
That property passed down to their daughter Adella Beach, who married a local dentist by the name of Dr. Albanus. M. Phillips. The couple lived in Marshall and rented the property to tenant farmers who raised cattle and horses and grew various crops. Adella Beach Phillips was born on the property in 1852 and was a world famous archer. She won the world championship in her class in 1887, retiring undefeated 3 years later. Her picture can be seen at the information desk and on this cover.
Mildred Phillips, born in 1883 to Adella and Dr. Albanus Phillips was the next direct descendent to own the property. As a young lady she must have been quite a socialite because it seems that there wasn’t a party anywhere near Marshall around the turn of the century where she wasn’t the main attraction. The Enquirer News of the day couldn’t seem to get enough of her beautiful dresses, her pretty hats, her friendships, and her activities. She was definitely a fun girl but the fun seems to have ended when she married a lawyer by the name of Ira Addison Beck in 1906 because little of her social life appears in later editions where most of her references are more community service based.
Margret was born to Mildred and Ira in 1908. She was the fifth generation of the family and the fourth woman to own the property.
Margaret lived a pretty interesting life. As a 2 year old, she won the “Most Healthy Baby Contest” organized by Dr. John Harvey Kellogg. She led her class at High School, graduated from Battle Creek Central in 1925, graduated with Honors from the University of Michigan, and upon graduation taught languages at Tecumseh High School. In 1937, Margret returned to the family home on 3 ½ Mile Road near the current entrance to the Outdoor Center. At that point the property had deteriorated to the point where it was no longer habitable. She restored the house to its original condition and moved in. Next she started to restore the property to its former natural condition. Her passion was nature conservation and education, and in 1937 she replanted the pine forest along Evergreen Ridge. She later also planted the Firs and Sugar Maple trees that are dispersed throughout the property, thereby regenerating the forest her great, great, grandmother Harriet and her great grandmother Saloma cleared a hundred years earlier.
Margaret continued to be active in the local community. She became a paid member of the County Agricultural Adjustment Administration and was the County Field Woman for Calhoun County. She contributed to the War effort by working as a telephone operator at Fort Custer.
Margaret married Floyd Wonser in 1947 which was also the year of the great flood in Battle Creek. The flood tore out the original bridge over Minges Creek that had been built as part of the Minges Brook Drain Project in 1896. It was some time before the bridge could be repaired, but this was not a huge inconvenience because Floyd owned and operated a wholesale implement and farm equipment company next door and did not farm the land. Instead, Floyd and Margaret used the property as a family retreat and continued the conservation efforts that Margaret started 10 years earlier. Floyd was also a longtime member of the Lakeview Urbandale Kiwanis Club and their gift of this property to the Club in 1972 has kept their passions and their legacy alive. Margaret passed away in 1995 and Floyd in 2001.
Lakeview Urbandale Kiwanis Outdoor Center History
The first Director of the Lakeview Urbandale Kiwanis Outdoor Center was Tad Vandervoort. He was an active member of the club and a full time Lakeview High School Biology and Earth Science teacher. He developed the school’s outdoor laboratory on the property while at the same time coordinating the various programs at the site, promoting the use and development of the site, and organizing the work teams for its’ maintenance.
Tad developed and cut most of the nature trails we now have and maintained them for use by the schools.
Tad ran a six-week day Federally funded camp program for 5-12 year old’s during the summer as well as science field trips for elementary students during the school year from 1974 through 2004.
1973-74 – Lakeview Kiwanis with help from KCC students built a 24’x28’ A frame building along with a number of picnic tables and a barbecue pit.
1974-76 – Kiwanis built the entry shelter for students. We also built the men’s and women’s outhouses. We built 2 U-shaped seating areas for teachers and students to use as well as an overlook on Minges creek for students to use for collecting water samples. This overlook platform no longer exists.
May 20th 1983 – Lakeview Kiwanis purchased 5 acres adjoining the Northeast side of the property bringing our total property size to about 60 acres.
The loss of the bridge over Minges Creek in 2004 was a major blow to the Outdoor Center. Since this left the west side of the property inaccessible, the Lakeview school field trips and other outdoor programs at the site were discontinued. Since the Lakeview schools were no longer able to use the site, they discontinued their maintenance support and the site deteriorated. Trails became overgrown, regular mowing of the prairie was discontinued, and invasive species such as Buckthorn, Oriental Bittersweet, and Autumn Olive, exploded across the site. The club explored numerous ways to replace the missing bridge but all investigations in 2004, 2005, and 2006 ended in failure. We were just not able to raise the necessary funds to get the bridge replaced.
Finally in 2006-2007, we received a $10,000 grant from the Battle Creek Community Foundation to replace the bridge. As we planned the project however, the Drain Commission agreed to perform the work required at no cost to us. They removed the old culvert, installed the new one, and repaired the road. Our only expense was the cost of the culvert itself. The new bridge was opened with great celebration and fanfare with a ribbon cutting ceremony in April 2006 attended by supporters, local leaders, and several members of the Wonser family.
Due to the Drain Commission’s assistance, we had money left over from the Battle Creek Community Foundation grant for additional improvements. These additional improvements included:
– Clearing and reopening the trails that had become blocked during the 3 year outage and building new trails
– Clearing the area around the building
– Repairing the A Frame building built in 1974
– Hiring Rice Well Drilling Co. to dig a new water well and install a hand pump
– Purchasing a used tractor and various implements to better maintain the property
– Building picnic tables
-Installing trail signs
– Creating a camping area for overnight Boy Scout camping
With the completion of the bridge and the discontinuance of Lakeview School support, the club assumed all responsibility for site maintenance and improvement. This stretched our ability as a club to the breaking point and for the next 10 years, in spite of the club’s best efforts, the maintenance needs of the property exceeded the Club’s ability. We did the best we could however, keeping the trails open and beating back some of the invasive Autumn Olive, Oriental Bittersweet, and Multi Flora Rose, and cutting the prairie once or twice a year.
We were able to plant a few bird and bat houses and install some duck nesting boxes etc, and several Boy Scout Eagle Scout Candidate projects were completed, but in all reality the property continued to decline. This decline was exacerbated by a logging operation in 2014 in which we removed 140 large Pine trees to provide income and to open up the forest canopy to encourage better tree growth. Although this project was successful, netting us $2500 that we could use for additional maintenance, it left a lot of fallen wood and dead branches throughout the site. This, coupled with damage done during several heavy wind storms in 2015 and 2016, created tangles of dead brush that made large parts of the site inaccessible.
We were fortunate to have Jim Hoffman, owner of Hoffman Bros. Inc, as a club member. He brought in heavy equipment and volunteered many hours of his time to clear the prairie and fight back the Autumn Olive from 2007 through 2017. His efforts opened up the prairie for recreational activities and provided camping areas for a Boy Scout Klondike Derby in 2009 and a Camp Kiwanis for 5 to 12 year old’s hosted by the Soil Conservation service, also in 2009. It also provided opportunity to host a Boy Scout Jamboree in 2011, attended by some 275 Boy Scouts, scout leaders, and family members, for overnight camping, games, competitions, and leadership training.
We were also fortunate to have Jim Faber as a club member and Director of the Outdoor Center during these years. Jim’s background in agriculture and land management guided the management and development of the property during this period. He worked tirelessly to control the invasive plants and reforested several sections of property. He built relationships with the Department of Natural Resources and obtained grants from them to remove the Autumn Olive. Unfortunately, Autumn Olive is a very stubborn and hardy plant species, and removing it has been a major challenge that continues to this day.
Jim also developed relationships with the Fish and Wildlife Service to restore the prairie to it’s original status by replanting 14 species of wildflowers and 4 species of prairie grasses (Big Bluestem, Little Bluestem, Indian grass, Side Oats Gamma Grass) at no cost to us. Unfortunately, the Autumn Olive that had invaded this area earlier was not completely eradicated prior to the seeding, and therefore the prairie has not fully returned to its’ original natural state.
2011 saw the destruction of the A Frame building built by Kiwanians and KCC students in 1973. Vandalism had been an ongoing problem at the Outdoor Center for a long time, with graffiti sprayed on the building and trees, picnic tables destroyed, trail signs damaged, building skylights broken, and the flag pole knocked over repeatedly, etc, but the arson of the building was a new low. Fortunately, the culprit was captured and punished and the building was insured. The insurance payout covered the cost of construction of the new concrete block pavilion building we occupy today. This building is 24 feet wide by 30 feet long with a 30 foot covered extension, and was built by Newman Construction for $45,000 in 2012. The grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony was attended by 80+ people.
In 2014 we started our building electrification project. A local electrician – Gerry Geesin – volunteered to wire the building with an electrical panel and lights and use a gas generator to provide power. This generator solution proved impractical however, and obtaining the funds necessary to connect to the local utility (Consumers Energy) electrical grid was unsuccessful.
That all changed when in 2017, the Lakeview Urbandale Kiwanis Club became a “Community Project Fund” of the Battle Creek Community Foundation. This new relationship gave us 501c3 status, officially making us a charitable and tax-free organization. This enabled all donations to us to be tax deductible, making the Lakeview Urbandale Kiwanis Club a much more attractive organization for donors to support. With this designation we were able to petition funds from granting organizations much more aggressively and several sizable grants received over the next several years allowed us to make major upgrades to the Outdoor Center.
Our first grant requests were focused on the purchase of a new tractor. The original used tractor purchased from the downtown Kiwanis Club in 2007 was no longer adequate in performing the maintenance the site demanded. Since we no longer had access to Lakeview Schools equipment or assistance, our own tools required upgrade. We received grants from the Consumers Energy Foundation and from the Hoffman family that helped purchase a used John Deere compact tractor adequate to our needs in 2018. With this additional capability we initiated a concerted effort to clear the fallen trees, branches, and brush that covered the property. This has been a long-term project that continues to this day, making way for new forest growth, reduced fire risk, and better walking access.
In 2017 we started a project to supply Consumers Energy power to the new building. It took until 2019 to raise the necessary funds through the sale of trees and through a grant from the Battle Creek Community Foundation, but by the time we did the original route was no longer available. An alternate route from South Minges Road was selected and approved, and Consumers Energy power was finally connected in 2020. The availability of electrical power allowed us to install an electric pump in the existing well and supply running water to the pavilion building. It also provided interior, perimeter, and security lighting, power to support various youth activities, and power for maintenance purposes.
The purpose of all this effort was – and continues to be – a desire to make the Lakeview Urbandale Kiwanis Outdoor Center a more attractive, appealing, and “go to” site for youth group activities and “fun out-of-doors, for learning about nature, a place where one could escape pressure of our lives and revive one’s spirit in the peace and quiet of the land” as originally stated by Margaret and Floyd Wonser.
In keeping with the Wonser vision, we continue to strive to maintain a balance between nature conservation, wildlife management, and recreation with the following priorities:
– Children & Young adult education & Exploration
– Youth development & youth group support
– Wildlife refuge
– Adult education
– Recreation
But in spite of our best efforts, the Lakeview Urbandale Kiwanis Outdoor Center still seems to be a hidden gem that not many people know about. We have been trying very hard to correct that deficiency and this Open House is our latest attempt to do that.
One other way we have tried to make the site more attractive and visible is with the new entry gate installed in 2018.
One of our greatest successes has been our work with various Boy Scout troops who continue to use the site, and the Eagle Scout candidates that help make lasting improvements to the site through their Eagle Scout projects. Over the last few years these projects have included:
– The Spring Pond Outlook
– The Information Kiosk at the entry gate
– The Fire Pit / Fire Ring and Grill at the pavilion
– Bird Houses in the prairie
– Fence Around the Well Pump (now removed)
– Replacing the Roof on Each Outhouse
– Fabricating and Installing New Trail Signs
– Tree Sapling Identification
– Fire Pit Seating
– Picnic Tables
– Parking Lot Fencing
We continue to strive to attract more youth groups to the site and to create new lines of communication and interest with the local schools, church youth groups, and other youth focused organizations. We want the Lakeview Urbandale Kiwanis Outdoor Center to become a rich and valuable resource for outdoor education and relaxation as Margaret and Floyd Wonser visualized. This site is their, and our, gift to you. We hope you will use it, enjoy it, learn from it, and respect it.