Olmsted County Parks Newsletter - Fall 2021
Volume 7, Issue 3
In this Issue:
Increased interest in camping this year, meet the seasonals & interns and get an update on the new Oxbow Park Nature Center.
Parks See Increased Interest in Camping
by: Celeste Lewis
Chester Woods Park has always boasted about having a busy campground on the weekends during the summer months. When the park first opened, and sites were originally “first come-first serve,” we had lines of cars and campers out on to highway 14 on Friday afternoon, and staff immediately knew something would have to change! Since then, campsites have always been reservable.
The campground grew to be one of the most popular in southeastern Minnesota. Weekends were always booked (during the summer months.) However, if you didn’t mind camping during the week, you easily could drive in and find almost any spot you desired.
Then came the pandemic…. Folks flocked to the parks and the outdoors. Of course, in 2020 there were not a lot of traveling options, so the uptick was a little to be expected. What we did not expect was what we are seeing this year….
We are having our busiest season ever. As you can see in the charts provided our reservations are up over 51%, our phones have been ringing off the hook! Yes, we were closed during the month of May last year due to the shut down, but even disregarding that if you look at the graphs, blue is 2021 compared to green (2020) in every category, we are up exponentially!!!
So, as you can see people are enjoying the outdoors and their local parks! Is this a result of the pandemic, a cultural or generational shift, who knows…? But whatever the reason, getting outside and back to nature is always a good thing!
Friends of Oxbow (FOX) Nature Center Update
The new Nature Center is on the way and we are heavily focused on contributing to its completion! We encourage you to check out the video on our website to see the plans. To support the effort, Friends of Oxbow (FOX) has officially kicked off a campaign to raise $1 million to finish the biome exhibits inside the new Nature Center. Donations of any size are welcome as we seek our campaign goals but donations $1000+ will be recognized permanently in the new Nature Center.
Additionally, we are planning a fall event to support our fundraising efforts - Brews for the Zoo will take place at Bearwood Event Barn (right next door to Oxbow Park!) in September. Attendees can sample beer and wine from local brewers and vintners. Details can be found on our website.
Please visit us at www.friendsofoxbow.org or e-mail us at friendsofoxbow@gmail.com with any questions regarding donations.
Dam Hike with Friends of Chester Woods (FOCW)
by: Ernie Freudenburg
Some traditions are hard to break. Since 2019, Friends of Chester Woods has not been able to offer the traditional Memorial Day Weekend Dam Hike and Picnic. Ever since this author can remember, FOCW has offered this community event in all sorts of weather. 2019 was the best attended Dam Hike and Picnic that any of the organizers could remember with over 100 people attending.
Then Covid hit. Need more be said? The tradition to kick off the summer season at Chester Woods had to be cancelled. However, it was surely possible to offer this event during the Labor Day weekend of 2020. Not so! For sure it could be rescheduled to the Memorial Day weekend of 2021. That calculation was also incorrect. At this time, FOCW is fairly certain that there will be a Dam Hike and Picnic on September 5, 2021. This is an opportunity to celebrate a season in which park patrons have experienced more flexibility to enjoy the park with other folks. Our beach is open, the restroom buildings are open, and park programming is returning to pre-covid scheduling.
If you are available, why not celebrate with Friends of Chester Woods on September 5. Hikers will depart from the boat ramp parking lot at 11:00 am. It is approximately a 1-mile hike to the Dam Overlook. Once at the overlook, a free picnic lunch will be waiting for you. If hiking is not a possibility, a tractor drawn wagon with comfortable seating (not necessarily by today’s standards) will bring folks to the overlook. After lunch, participants will be free to return on their own or by the wagon. So, spread the word and plan on celebrating at Chester Woods during the Labor Day weekend.
Meet the 2021 Chester Woods Park Seasonal Staff
Every summer, here at Olmsted County Parks we like to introduce our seasonal staff that we have working at Chester Woods Park. This year we have eight seasonal staff that you may run into while visiting this summer.
My name is Tasa Deden and this is my 2nd year out at Chester Woods Park as a seasonal. I work for the Rochester school system during the school season as a Paraprofessional for the Early Child Special Education. This is a very rewarding job that I absolutely love! To me is the perfect job for someone that does not want to retire! I have been married for 39 years with 3 daughters and 6 grandchildren. I am very fortunate that my kids still live close enough so that if this grandma needs a grandchild “fix” I don’t have far to go! Spending time with my family is what gives me the most enjoyment. I absolutely love working out at Chester Woods in the summertime as I get to work and meet so many nice people. I feel the Park has so much to offer that not everyone is aware of!
Ken Brooks - I am a long time three month seasonal at Chester Woods. During the school year, I am a high school special education teacher. Working at Chester Woods has been a big change of pace for me. This is my 18th summer working at Chester Woods. It has been great to see all of the improvements to the park; cabins, more electric sites, a new location for the rental boats, prairie management. As long the temperature is lower than 80 degrees, I don't mind pulling wild parsnip. The best improvement for me is that we now have a herbicide that will help take care of wild parsnip. It is nice to see that, in the developed area, we are doing pretty good with controlling it.
Hello, my name is William Davidson, this is my second year working at Chester Woods Park as a three-month seasonal. I live in St. Charles, Minnesota and attended the high school there before I graduated this spring. Sports I played in high school consisted of soccer, basketball, track, and golf. This upcoming fall I will be attending Winona State University and plan on majoring in Physical Education. I live with a family of eleven that consists of three sisters, five brothers and my parents. Some hobbies that I enjoy are hunting, fishing, hanging out and playing sports with friends and family.
Hello, my name is Baden Fenton. This is my first year working at Chester Woods and I love every minute of it. I milked cows for six years before I came here, and it has been a big switch. I go to Plainview-Elgin-Millville and will be a senior this upcoming school year. I'm very busy with the three sports I play: baseball, basketball and football. Things I like to do when I'm free are hangout with friends or go camping with my family. I'm in a family of four having a younger sister and my two parents who both also work for the county.
Hi, my name is Isaac Davidson and this is my third year working at Chester Woods Park as a three month seasonal. I am from St. Charles, MN and am from a family of eleven. I have three sisters and five brothers. This fall, I will be a junior attending Winona State University and am majoring in Recreation and Tourism. Some of my hobbies include playing sports, hanging out with friends, fishing, hunting, and pretty much anything outdoors.
Hello, My name is Bailey Wallace and this is my third summer at Chester Woods. I graduated fr
om Dover-Eyota High School and come from a family of 5. I will be entering my third year at North Dakota State University in the fall and I am majoring in criminal justice. I enjoy spending time with family and friends as well as doing outdoor activities.
Diego Lopez is attending University of Minnesota Duluth majoring in Sociology with a minor in Geographic information science with a projected graduation of fall 2021. Interning at Chester Woods Park has been a great summer experience, this position promotes his cartography skills and appreciation for the outdoors. He is excited to see all of the folks at the park everyday now that the parking fees have been lifted.
Jordyn G. Baker is attending Minnesota State University, Mankato majoring in Parks & Leisure Services – Resource Management with a minor in Geography with a projected graduation of 2023. Jordyn split her intern time between Chester Woods Park and Oxbow Park and Zollman Zoo. Her favorite activities involve being outdoors hiking, biking or swimming which give her ample time to continue to learn about wildlife and wildflowers. Jordyn’s desired career path is to continue working with wildlife conservation and wildlife rehabilitation.
Meet the 2021 Oxbow Park Seasonal Staff
Every spring we begin the search for seasonal employees that will help the Parks Department make a dent in the long list of projects we need to fit into the short season we call summer. And as always, we are amazed at the talent that we are blessed to pull from that pool each year. We would like to introduce those talented folks that are doing great things at Oxbow Park this summer. We can’t explain how grateful we are to have this group be part of the Oxbow Family.
Megan Long returned to Oxbow for her 5th stint as a Seasonal Naturalist. She brings a wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm that is beneficial to all when visiting Oxbow Park and Zollman Zoo. I have enjoyed watching Meg grow into a great teacher and outstanding Naturalist. She has been so valuable to us during the always changing environment at Oxbow Park.
Melissa Gerken chose to join Oxbow by serving as our Front Desk Attendant. Mel was previously employed here as a 6-month Naturalist and has now returned after a 27 year absence. She is a welcoming smile in the Nature Center, very knowledgeable of Oxbow Park and Zollman Zoo, and is looking forward to getting back to her first love, teaching people about all the wonders that nature has to offer.
Kyle Pike is filling one of our two 6-month Seasonal Maintenance workers positions. He joins our team after serving several years in the US Army and is a huge history buff. He used this talent to share historical info as we worked on the restoration of the Root River Park Stagecoach bridge. I have enjoyed working with him and am amazed at how much information he is able to retain.
Shane Little has shared his many talents with us since starting as a 6-month Seasonal Maintenance in April. He also served in the US Army and prospered in many different professions which makes him a Jack-of-all-trades and invaluable to us at Oxbow Park. He has done a great job handling all the different challenges that we have presented to him and I have been very grateful to have such a strong and solid go-to guy working with me at Oxbow.
Meet the 2021 Oxbow Park & Zollman Zoo Interns
Every summer Oxbow Park increases the staff team by adding interns that are currently enrolled in a college education pursuing a related field of study. Friends of Oxbow, our non-profit organization, sponsor the internship. This summer there are three interns.
Briana Leonhardt is a recent graduate from Luther College in Decorah, IA with her degree in Biology. Interning at Oxbow Park and Zollman Zoo has solidified her plan to continue to work with animals in zoos and hopefully contribute to animal research projects to benefit animals’ lives and habitats. If Briana could be an animal, she says she would be a red fox, because she has the red hair and is pretty sly and cunning like the red fox. One fun fact about Briana you wouldn’t guess about her when you first meet her is that she has been a black belt in karate since she was 10 years old!
Soni Shah is going into her second year at Tufts University in Medford, MA working towards an undergraduate degree in biology with the intention of attending veterinary school after. The ultimate goal for Soni is to become a large animal wildlife veterinarian or a veterinary surgeon. If Soni could be an animal she would choose to be a cow because they are gentle and sociable animals that always bring a positive attitude. One fun fact about Soni you wouldn’t guess about her when you first meet her is that she had her glasses stolen from her by a monkey!
Jenna Baumgartner is in her final year at Rochester Community and Technical College in Rochester, MN working towards her degree in Environmental Science. The long-term goal for Jenna is to care for animals while also working to preserve nature. If Jenna could be an animal she would be a quiet and sneaky animal, like a cat. One fun fact about Jenna you wouldn’t guess about her when you first meet her is that she likes to play video games in her free time.