Friends of Lincoln State Park

It has been an eventful season for the Friends of Lincoln State Park in 2007 and time has flown by very quickly. It's hard to believe that the annual Haunted Trail and Fall Frolic are almost upon us! Once again we will be partnering with the Heritage Hills to present the haunted trail. Last year, we were able to donate $200 to the FFA in appreciation of their work and assistance. Events will be held on Saturday, October 20th and 27th.

New this year, we will also present a Halloween movie at the amphitheatre for those afraid to make the journey through the haunted trail as well as those waiting to depart on the trail. On October 20th we will present the 1984 film, Ghostbusters, beginning at 7:30 PM. This PG-rated film from Columbia Pictures and directed by Ivan Reitman stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Sigourney Weaver, Rick Moranis, and Annie Potts. In this 80's classic, unemployed parapsychologists set themselves up as "Ghostbusters" to rid New York of evil monstrous apparitions that are taking over the city. Sigourney Weaver costars as Dana Barrett, the cellist whose strange happenings in her apartment lead the ghostbusting team into the clutches of a punitory poltergeist.

On October 27th the Friends will present Tim Burton's Corpse Bride, a stop motion animated feature from Warner Brothers with voices by Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, and Emily Watson. From 2005, the film is directed by Tim Burton and Mike Johnson and is rated PG. Set in a 19th century European village, this animated feature follows the story of Victor who is traveling home with his friend to get married. When they stop to rest, Victor puts his wedding ring on what he thinks is a stick and rehearses his wedding vows. The stick turns out to be a rotted finger belonging to a corpse who returns as a zombie and insists that she is now his lawfully wedded wife.

Admission to the movies is free. Entrance to the haunted trail is $3 per person or $2 for members. The park entrance fee will be in effect for all vehicles for all events. Hayrides, pumpkin painting, and games will take place at the Troy Road Picnic area from 12-3 PM. The haunted trail will operate from 7:30 PM - 10:30 PM with movies starting at 7:30 PM.

As new technologies develop, so do our hobbies and pastimes. In the 21st century, technology has taken the traditional scavenger hunt and added electronic gadgets to create a new hobby that has spread across the nation. They call it GeoCaching and it works like this. Someone hides a container in an interesting geographical location that contains a trinket, patch, or other items connected to the area where it is placed. GeoCachers are given the coordinates of where the container is located who then use a GPS device to locate where the "treasure" has been placed. Once they locate the container they may sign a log with their name and where they are from or leave something of their won in the box and take an item previously left.

On Saturday, October 13th from 11 AM-2 PM, Lincoln State Park will host a GeoCaching for Abe event. GeoCachers will be given coordinates which may lead them to a spot in the state park, the national memorial, or Buffalo Run where they might even run into Abe himself. The idea of the event is to attract GeoCachers to the park who may not have been before and hopefully get them to learn a little bit about Abraham Lincoln in Indiana.

The brown creeper.

By Wayne Rink

The brown creeper is a small, 5.5 inch brown bird that hitches up tree trunks. They are brown-streaked above and whitish below. They have a relatively long down-curved bill and long, pointed tail feathers.

These little fellows have a distinctive habit of feeding by creeping up a tree trunk then dropping down to the base of the next tree and starting up once again. They probe the bark for insects and larvae. Reportedly, brown creepers will occasionally visit bird feeders to get chopped nuts and suet.

Brown Creepers are normally identified by their high-pitched call. They are well camouflaged against tree trunks. When they are alarmed, brown creepers will flatten themselves against the trunk of a tree and remain motionless becoming even more inconspicuous. Brown creepers live in the woods and are in this area all year long.

The brown creeper provides yet another good reason to come to your Lincoln State Park and Col. William Jones Home for a walk in the woods to view the wildlife and fascinating birds there.

The 2007 season for the Friends of Lincoln State Park will soon be winding down which means time is running out to renew your membership for 2007. All but just a few of our 2006 members have renewed their support this year in addition to the many new members we have welcomed.

We don’t want to delete anyone’s name from our list of supporters and we want to keep sending you all the latest news and information about Lincoln State Park and the Col. William Jones Home.

If you haven’t renewed yet, you should have recently received a notice to remind you to send in your dues. You aren’t required to maintain the same level of support as in 2006 and can increase or decrease your level support to whatever amount you feel comfortable with. Your dues are important and help us to present activities such as the haunted trail and to support projects such as the Abraham Lincoln wood carving we have undertaken this year.

As always, we appreciate your support for Lincoln State Park and the Col. William Jones Home.