Fox Lake Preservation Foundation created
FOX LAKE — The Fox Lake Preservation Foundation has been formed to protect the unique presence of the Angola area lake.
The focus of the new nonprofit is to conserve both the natural and built environments of Fox Lake and its African American cultural heritage. The focus will be on educational programming, fund raising and community outreach.
“It has come together nicely,” said Carol Karst-Wasson, a Fox Lake resident who has a background in historic preservation, active for 10 years in the Noblesville Preservation Alliance.
“I’ve redone three old houses and now a lake cottage,” said Karst-Wasson, an Angola High School graduate who grew up on Fox Lake Road. She has claimed her Fox Lake home as her permanent residence and made it her mission to help solidify long-term efforts to maintain Fox Lake’s atmosphere.
“We know how special Fox Lake is,” she said. She has been assisted by Teresa Van Stratt and Kathryn Hawkins, whose family has had ties to the lake for three generations.
“My grandparents honeymooned up here in the ‘40s,” Hawkins said.
Karst-Wasson restored a concrete mid-century modern home on Lane 130A. Van Stratt and her husband, both retired Michigan teachers, live in a property his parents purchased in 1970.
All three women say they love the quaint atmosphere of the lake. The houses are modest sized and historic, surrounded by trees and abundant nature.
“We like it here so much,” said Van Stratt. “It’s a wonderful mix of people.”
A traditional black resort, families — some who can trace their lineage at the lake several generations into the past — hark from surrounding metropolitan areas like Chicago, Detroit, Cincinnati and Indianapolis.
“Unlike other lakes this size, this is such a natural setting,” said Van Stratt, commenting on the fresh breezes, birds, turtles, trumpeter swans, mink, frogs, deer and, of course, fox.
“The fishing’s great,” she added.
Hawkins is an attorney like her father, Grant, who with her uncle, Stuart Hawkins, began working years ago to establish the Fox Lake Preservation Foundation.
“Carol, Teresa and I picked up the torch,” said Kathryn. She completed the 250-page nonprofit application in January and received approval in March.
There have been many efforts over past years to preserve Fox Lake’s identity.
“I am the founding member and contact person for the Fox Lake Historical Society,” said Dr. Robin Newburn, a Columbus, Ohio resident whose grandparents purchased a Fox Lake property 50 years ago. “It is a special interest group dedicated to preserving the stories and artifacts of Fox Lake and Fox Lake families.”
Van Stratt said Newburn’s passion to preserve the history of the people of the lake complements the mission of the foundation to “advocate for the preservation and conservation of the natural and built environments and the African American cultural heritage.”
The foundation has expressed interest in being involved in the erection of a statue of Soujourner Truth, a black woman who spoke for equal rights in an era when the Underground Railroad ran through northeastern Indiana. The statue project is spearheaded by the Downtown Angola Coalition.
A sign at the entrance to the main southern lane around the lake has been updated by the foundation and other historic signage is planned. A brochure will soon be published.
Comments