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On the cover: A major attraction of the Dunn Museum is a life-sized, fleshed-out Dryptosaurus, created just for us by award-winning Chicago paleoartist, Tyler Keillor. Through his work, he seeks to inspire viewers and honor the mysterious, extinct life forms he reconstructs. nearly
31,000 acres are
protected
by the lake county forest preserves .
A MESSAGE from ANN B. MAINE PRESIDENT LAKE COUNTY FOREST PRESERVES AMAINE@LAKECOUNTYIL.GOV
LAKE COUNTY FOREST PRESERVES BOARD of COMMISSIONERS PRESIDENT
Ann B. Maine, Lincolnshire VICE PRESIDENT
Linda Pedersen, Antioch TREASURER
S. Michael Rummel, Lake Forest ASSISTANT TREASURER
This issue of Horizons celebrates the new Bess Bower Dunn Museum of Lake County, which opened its doors to the public on March 24. In just the first week of operation we were thrilled to welcome 5,281 visitors, including several children who brought their own small plastic dinosaurs to meet the 20-foot-long model Dryptosaurus aquilunguis, thought to have roamed what is now Lake County 67 million years ago. The opening of a new museum is a big event in any community. As an educator, I was especially happy to be at the Dunn Museum on opening day and join the record crowd of 3,065 visitors enjoying themselves so much. Museums are impactful because they make learning an experience. Ideas and information are absorbed more readily and more memorably when the teaching happens in an immersive environment. One of the most exciting aspects of the Dunn Museum is the connections made between the objects and stories on display and the many places in Lake County where those stories took place. Visitors can use touch screens to find the location of each story. In this way, visitors are encouraged not only to know about Lake County history at the Museum itself, but also to go out into our communities— including our forest preserves, nearly 31,000 acres in 64 sites around the county — to actually see where history happened. A perfect example is the tool chest once owned by William Bonner (1815–1881) in the 1850s —fully 10 years before the Civil War. Bonner and his wife, Margaret Gordon Bonner (1810–1895), came to Lake County from Scotland. In 1842, they purchased property in Lindenhurst for “its good supply of trees.” The tool chest and tools on exhibition beautifully evoke the story of Bonner’s trade, carpentry. But the story doesn’t end there. In 1995, descendants of William and Margaret donated 8.5 acres of that original homestead to us, and it is now the Bonner Heritage Farm, open daily to the public. As the weather warms, visit the Dunn Museum, check out our county’s amazing stories, then get out into the forest preserves and see where they all happened. That’s my personal invitation to you — to explore and discover.
Jeff Werfel, Grayslake Chuck Bartels, Mundelein Carol Calabresa, Libertyville Steve Carlson, Gurnee Mary Ross Cunningham, Waukegan Michael Danforth, Lake Barrington Bill Durkin, Waukegan Paul Frank, Highland Park Sandy Hart, Lake Bluff Diane Hewitt, Waukegan Aaron Lawlor, Vernon Hills Judy Martini, Fox Lake Sidney Mathias, Buffalo Grove Brent Paxton, Zion Craig Taylor, Lake Zurich Tom Weber, Lake Villa Terry Wilke, Round Lake Beach Vance Wyatt, North Chicago EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Ty Kovach
HORIZONS
VOLUME 27, ISSUE 3 Summer 2018 EDITOR
Susan Hawkins, Horizons@LCFPD.org CONTRIBUTORS
Jeanna Martinucci, Jackie DeMasi, Laura Weber PHOTOGRAPHY
Kimberly Kingen, Jeff Goldberg, Cara Litberg, Phil Hauck, Peter Schulz, Joyce Dever, Bob Lee, John Konstantaras, Mike Borkowski, Joe Lewis, Lori Compas SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, UPDATE ADDRESS: 847–968–3335 | Horizons@LCFPD.org
Horizons is the quarterly publication of the Lake County Forest Preserves. Subscriptions are free. Subscribers may also receive mailings from the Preservation Foundation of the Lake County Forest Preserves. Photo and videos are periodically taken of people participating in Forest Preserve District programs and activities. All persons registering for Forest Preserve District programs/activities or using Forest Preserve property thereby agree that any photo or video taken by the Forest Preserve District may be used by the District for promotional purposes including its website, promotional videos, brochures, fliers and other publications without additional, prior notice or permission and without compensation to the participant.