MWCD open house planned for June 3
Hugh Brook, 6, of Logan makes a pretend s'more at the MWCD 90th anniversary display at the Dennison Depot Railroad Museum.
Apublic open house for the new exhibit that honors the 90th anniversary of the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District will be held June 3 from 1-3 p.m. at the Dennison Depot Railroad Museum. The MWCD was established on June 3, 1933.
The exhibit, designed by Ethan Zucal, engagement and outreach coordinator for the MWCD, features a timeline of important events throughout the organization’s history and other displays.
A featured item to help celebrate the anniversary is the s’more, and there is even a station where children can pretend to roast a marshmallow.
Zucal welcomed guests at a recent event showcasing the display to MWCD staff, board members, their supporters and guests.
“Anniversaries create a special moment to reflect — reflect on the past, reflect on the present, reflect on the future,” Zucal said. “Remember your story, your value and to share that purpose with the future generations. MWCD has a rich history that has had a significant impact on millions of Ohioans. We tend to take our past for granted, but it is the anniversaries that make us remember that we did not get here overnight and that our work is not yet finished.”
The MWCD is the largest conservancy district in Ohio. It serves an 18-county area. The groundwork for conservancy districts began after March 1913 when the state received 8 inches of rain over a four-day period that claimed nearly 500 lives. Property damage in the Muskingum Watershed area alone was about $9 million, and 11 lives were lost. In February 1914 the Ohio Conservancy Act provided the legal framework for the creation of conservancy districts in Ohio.
“The most important figure in MWCD conservancy history to me was Muskingum Watershed’s founding Executive Director Bryce Browning,” said Craig Butler, executive director of the MWCD. “It was said that he was an energetic member of the Chamber of Commerce, that he realized that if the Muskingum Valley were to prosper, flooding needed to be tamed, adequate waters were needed to be maintained during times of drought and to power industry to see the region prosper.”
Butler read a quote from Browning that is part of the new display:
“We had a vision. We studied, planned and worked to make it a reality. Strong leaders developed from among us. We followed them through the difficult days when discouragement made the vision seem dim and the goal very far away. The Muskingum Valley today is a living thing. It is the growing trees and grasses, the fish and wild animals, the fertile fields responding to the changing season, the living waters. It is the people and the hopes and the aspirations of generations yet unborn. On this good land, full and abundant, there is life. It is a happy place. But our story does not end here. It will never end. Once a vision is born, it can never die. The vision grows, and the people grow with it. But come. See it for yourself.”
In addition to the display, Butler said there also will be events planned at some of the parks.
The 90th anniversary display will remain at the Dennison Depot Railroad Museum for one year.
“We hope to see a lot of our visitors will come through the display here and then learn a little history about the Dennison Depot and what part in history it played during the (World War II) war effort,” Butler said.
Butler thanked Zucal for his efforts. The project took close to a year to complete.
“A lot of this existed, but it just wasn’t put together in a way for people to enjoy it and really get a sense of our history,” Butler said. “He did a wonderful job.”
Butler also wanted to focus on the fun the parks provide, and as a result, the MWCD will give out 90th anniversary s’mores kits to children throughout the year. The MWCD 90th anniversary logo is on the marshmallows.
“We think it’s just a neat, whimsical, little way to celebrate our 90th birthday,” Butler said.
Expanding conservation efforts throughout the watershed is currently an important focus for the MWCD.
“We have lots of really great projects for conservation. One of the cool things that we’ve done over the last few years is to provide funding into communities throughout the watershed to help them do conservation projects like logjam removals in the streams or wetland habitat restoration. It’s all about water quality. And we have the best water quality in the state. It’s because of how we protect the watershed,” Butler said.
Partnerships are the key to success in the MWCD’s focus on water quality and that the lakes remain the best they can be.
“We really partner with our communities in the watershed to make sure that if you have farming and fertilizer, that it stays on the land, that you’re not eroding the soils and putting them in the lake,” Butler said.
In addition to the open house on June 3, be sure to visit an MWCD lake this summer and experience why there is so much to celebrate.