THE TM 911 Franklin Street Weekly Newspaper Michigan City, IN 46360 Volume 29, Number 17 Thursday, May 2, 2013 The Trees of Studebaker by Rick A. Richards In 1938, James Cleary It wasn’t just a mar- was on a fl ight from keting gimmick, either. Washington, D.C., to At the time, Indiana had Chicago, and as it passed a law that exempted land over the Studebaker being developed as a for- Proving Grounds just est from taxation. Now, west of South Bend, a 75 years later, the fores- passenger asked the air tation efforts that creat- hostess what it was. She ed Bendix Woods County didn’t know, but Cleary Park, also are responsi- did. ble for the world’s largest He was a Studebaker living advertising sign, executive who helped put at least according to the the proving grounds on “Guinness Book of World the map – at least from Records.” the air. It was Cleary who Evelyn Kirkwood, di- called Studebaker execu- rector of the St. Joseph tives after that fl ight and County Parks, points out suggested that trees be that the S-T-U-D-E-B-A- planted near the proving K-E-R trees are marking grounds to spell out S-T- their 75th anniversary U-D-E-B-A-K-E-R. this year. It’s a remark- able achievement, espe- cially since the red and Provided by St. Joseph County white pine trees used in Parks Department. the living sign normally only live about 75 to 80 years. “The sign could disappear,” said Kirkwood. “Fortunately, the trees we have now are still fairly healthy. We have them periodically checked by a forester.” Studebaker Continued on Page 2 A photo from the late 1920s of the area that would become the Studebaker Proving Ground. The trees have not yet been planted. (Photo provided by the St. Joseph County Parks Department) THE Page 2 May 2, 2013 THE 911 Franklin Street • Michigan City, IN 46360 219/879-0088 • FAX 219/879-8070 In Case Of Emergency, Dial e-mail: News/Articles - [email protected] email: Classifieds - [email protected] http://www.thebeacher.com/ PRINTED WITH Published and Printed by TM Trademark of American Soybean Association THE BEACHER BUSINESS PRINTERS Delivered weekly, free of charge to Birch Tree Farms, Duneland Beach, Grand Beach, Hidden 911 Shores, Long Beach, Michiana Shores, Michiana MI and Shoreland Hills. The Beacher is also delivered to public places in Michigan City, New Buffalo, LaPorte and Sheridan Beach. Studebaker Continued from Page 1 “Over 75 years we’ve lost 7,200 trees,” said Kirk- wood. “We don’t know how closely together they were planted, but that was a lot of trees and many of them probably died in the fi rst few years because they were so close together. Provided by St. Joseph County Parks Department. The S-T-U-D-E-B-A-K-E-R trees, which can been seen in satellite photos, stretch for half a mile along a hillside next to the proving ground where the com- pany tested its automobiles. Each letter is 280-feet from top to bottom and today reach 90 feet into the sky. In all, the letters cover 13 acres. And since Studebaker had just moved into the Evelyn Kirkwood, director of the St. Joseph County Parks Department, aviation business, a sign that could only be seen at the sign designating the letter D in “Studebaker.” (Photo by Rick A. Richards) from the air made sense from a marketing stand- point. “In recent years we’ve lost a lot of trees due to Studebaker reacted immediately to Cleary’s sug- wind and storms,” said Kirkwood. “We had a torna- gestion and in 1938 planted 8,259 red pine trees. do in 1981 that took out the bottom part of the ‘R.’” Kirkwood points out that even though more than But as trees fall, the remaining trees branch out 8,000 trees were planted 75 years ago, far fewer more, fi lling in the gaps. Kirkwood explained that’s than that remain today, although the Studebaker why the letters aren’t as crisp when viewed from name is still visible. Today, only about 1,800 trees the air as they were decades ago. remain. “We’re very proud of this,” she said. “It’s a nice connection to our industrial history. It’s part of a story that needs to be told.” Part of that story is the effort taking place by St. Joseph County Parks to preserve the trees. Already a study has been conducted by The Davey Resource Group to inventory the trees. While healthy, they are slowly being choked out by native hardwood trees. Kirkwood said a $25,000 fund-raising effort is un- derway to implement the recommendations of the Davey Resource Group to clear out invasive species, remove dead trees and clear underbrush as a way to revitalize the remaining trees. “The key is to remove the trees that are dead. They lean on and stress the live trees. We want to remove the encroaching hardwood trees and we’re Sometime after 1938 - young trees. also going to look at places where to plant new trees (Provided by St. Joseph County Parks Department.) to replace missing ones. THE May 2, 2013 Page 3 “For us, the trees are very signifi cant,” said Kirk- wood. “They listed on the National Register and we /ŶĚŝĂŶĂ>ĂŬĞƐŚŽƌĞZĞƐŝĚĞŶƚŝĂů^ĂůĞƐ feel an obligation to take care of them. If we can fund-raise to make it happen, that’s what we’ll do. >ŽŽŬŝŶŐ'ŽŽĚ It is the mission of the parks to care for our natural areas and tell our story. We’re doing both with this.” ^ŽƵƚŚ ĞƌƌŝĞŶ ŽƵŶƚLJ͘ DŝĐŚŝŐĂŶ ƐƚĂƚŝƐƚŝĐƐ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ ĨŝƌƐƚ ƚŚƌĞĞ ŵŽŶƚŚƐ ŽĨ ϮϬϭϯ ĂƌĞ ĚŽǁŶ ĂĨƚĞƌ Ă ŐƌĞĂƚ ϮϬϭϮ͘^Ž/ĂŵŚĂƉƉLJƚŽƌĞƉŽƌƚƚŚĂƚƚŚĞĨŝƌƐƚƋƵĂƌƚĞƌ ƌĞƐŝĚĞŶƚŝĂůƐĂůĞƐƐƚĂƚƐĨŽƌ/ŶĚŝĂŶĂďĞƚǁĞĞŶZƚĞϭϮ ĂŶĚ>ĂŬĞĨƌŽŵ^ƚĞĞů DŝůůƚŽ ƐƚĂƚĞůŝŶĞĂƌĞ ĂůůƵƉĨŽƌ ϮϬϭϯ͘ zƌ hŶŝƚƐ DĞĚ dŽƚĂů WƌŝĐĞ ΨsŽůƵŵĞ Ϭϱ ϭϵ ΨϯϲϱŬ Ψϴ͘ϯ͘D Ϭϲ Ϯϰ ΨϯϵϭŬ ΨϭϬ͘ϲD Ϭϵ ϭϭ ΨϮϰϴŬ Ψϯ͘ϮD ϭϬ ϴ ΨϯϰϴŬ ΨϮ͘ϲD ϭϭ ϭϵ ΨϮϰϬŬ Ψϯ͘ϴD ϭϮ ϭϭ ΨϯϮϬŬ Ψϰ͘ϮD Evelyn Kirkwood stands at the opening at the top of the letter U in Studebaker. This is the easiest letter to pick out from ground level. ϭϯ Ϯϭ ΨϯϯϱŬ Ψϴ͘ϮD (Photo by Rick A. Richards) As Kirkwood explains what is being done, she dŚĞ LJĞĂƌ ƚŽ LJĞĂƌ ƐƚĂƚŝƐƚŝĐƐ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ ƉĂƐƚ ϭϮ ŵŽŶƚŚƐ also shows off the trees from ground level. It’s not ůŽŽŬũƵƐƚĂƐƉŽƐŝƚŝǀĞͶĞdžĐĞƉƚĨŽƌƚŚĞϮϬϭϯDĞĚŝĂŶ easy to pick out the letters, but there is a routed ƐĂůĞƉƌŝĐĞƚŚĂƚĚƌŽƉƉĞĚďĂĐŬƚŽƚŚĞϮϬϭϭůĞǀĞů͘ wood sign at the top of each letter to guide visitors. The ‘U’ is the easiest to pick out because there is a zƌĞŶĚ hŶŝƚƐ DĞĚ dŽƚĂů clearing in the middle of the letter. Inside the ‘D’ is ϯͬϯϭ WƌŝĐĞ ΨsŽůƵŵĞ a picnic table for visitors. “Once you get the layout of the 13 acres where ϯͬϯϭͬϬϯ ϭϭϯ ΨϮϱϬŬ Ψϯϯ͘ϭD the letters are, you can see what each letter is,” said Kirkwood. ϯͬϯϭͬϬϲ ϭϯϭ ΨϯϳϱŬ Ψϱϱ͘ϱD ϯͬϯϭͬϬϵ ϴϯ ΨϯϱϬŬ Ψϯϴ͘ϬD ϯͬϯϭͬϭϬ ϲϴ ΨϯϰϱŬ ΨϮϰ͘ϭD ϯͬϯϭͬϭϭ ϴϵ ΨϮϵϮŬ ΨϯϮ͘ϭD ϯͬϯϭͬϭϮ ϴϰ ΨϯϭϰŬ Ψϯϯ͘ϬD ϯͬϯϭͬϭϯ ϭϭϱ ΨϮϵϬŬ Ψϰϰ͘ϬD dŚĞ ũƵŵƉ ŝŶ ƚŽƚĂů ΨsŽůƵŵĞ ŝƐ ƐƚƌŽŶŐ ďŽƚŚ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ ĨŝƌƐƚ ƋƵĂƌƚĞƌ ;ϵϱйͿ ĂŶĚ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ LJĞĂƌ ĞŶĚŝŶŐ DĂƌĐŚ ϯϭƐƚ;ϯϯйͿ͘EƵŵďĞƌŽĨƐĂůĞƐŝƐĂůƐŽƵƉƐƚƌŽŶŐůLJĨŽƌ ƚŚĞĨŝƌƐƚƋƵĂƌƚĞƌ;ϵϭйͿĂŶĚƚŚĞLJĞĂƌ;ϯϳйͿ͘dŚĞŽŶůLJ ǁĞĂŬŶĞƐƐ͕ ĂƐ / ŶŽƚĞĚ͕ ŝƐ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ŵĞĚŝĂŶ ƐĂůĞ ƉƌŝĐĞ LJĞĂƌ ŽǀĞƌ LJĞĂƌ͘ /ƚ ŵĞĂŶƐ ƚŚĂƚ ŵĂŶLJ ŽĨ ƚŚŽƐĞ ĂĚĚŝƚŝŽŶĂůƐĂůĞƐǁĞƌĞĂƚƚŚĞůŽǁĞŶĚŽĨƉƌŝĐĞƐ͘ EŽǁǁĞŚĂǀĞƚŽƐĞĞǁŚĞƚŚĞƌDŝĐŚŝŐĂŶƌĞďŽƵŶĚƐŝŶ ƚŚĞ ŶĞdžƚ ĐŽƵƉůĞ ŽĨ ŵŽŶƚŚƐ͘ ^ŚŽǁŝŶŐ ĂŶĚ ǁƌŝƚŝŶŐ Provided by St. Joseph County Parks Department. ŽĨĨĞƌƐŝƐǀĞƌLJďƌŝƐŬĂƐŽĨƉƌŝůϭϬƚŚ͘ Even though Studebaker is long gone, its tradi- tion remains. In 1966, the proving ground was sold to Bendix Corp., which donated the former Stude- harbor country baker Clubhouse (now park headquarters) and the O: 269.469.5635 Ext. 302 175 acres that make up Bendix Woods County Park C: 269.612.0505 Dan Coffey E: [email protected] to the St. Joseph County Parks and Recreation W: www.remaxhc.com Board. Studebaker Continued on Page 4 THE Page 4 May 2, 2013 Studebaker Continued from Page 3 Since then, the adjacent proving ground has been acquired by Bosch Corp. In a letter in the St. Joseph County Parks ar- chives, James Cleary detailed his ideas for the con- cept of the S-T-U-D-E-B-A-K-E-R trees. A few years after the trees were planted, Cleary visited them. WIMS RADIO “The Talk of the South Shore” “Some years ago I went to the proving ground to LIVE RADIO REMOTE ON inspect the sign and found the trees about twenty SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2013 FROM 11 AM TO 1 PM... feet tall and so close together that it was almost im- possible to walk between them through a letter.” Cleary didn’t record his reaction to that, but after Hot Buy fl ying over barren ground and offering the sugges- 20-Lb. Potting Soil tion to Studebaker to plant the trees, there certain- (13733191) (GPS20) ly had to be some satisfaction in seeing the world’s largest living billboard up close. 8-Oz. Brown Jersey Gloves Comfortable poly/cotton blend. Knit Bendix Woods is located at 32132 State wrist seals out dirt and provides a secure fi t. Rd 2, New Carlisle, Indiana. (23704265) (4020S) Phone: 574-654-3155 30-Gal. Paper Lawn & Leaf Bags Web site: www.sjcparks.org/bendix 5-Pk. 2 ply, inner ply is virgin SOME INTERESTING FACTS Kraft paper, outer ply is Bendix Woods is part of the St. Joseph County wet-strength paper. (0842351) Parks Dept. It consists of 195 acres with wooded trails, ponds and fi elds. 22-Tine Plastic Lawn Rake Some unique features about the area: (12900668) (EP402) •An Art & Earth Trail destination •The second highest point in the county is General Purpose 100% found here Clear Silicone Sealant •The pine trees planted to spell “STUDE- (08641) BAKER” in the 1930s grow here and are listed in the Guinness Book of Records and the Na- Adirondack Chair tional Historic Register Mixed stack of assorted colors.