By By MARCIA STEFFENS / Niles Daily Star
EDWARDSBURG – A brother and sister returned to their roots at the edge of Eagle Lake Sunday to remember the bounty the land provided in their youth.
Trees rustled in the wind while Rada Radebaugh talked, as if agreeing to the decision to preserve the last natural piece of land along Eagle Lake.
Though rain drops temporarily halted the dedication of the Vernon and Velma Radebaugh Memorial Plant Preserve, for Rada they blended in with her own tears as she recalled how the land was her first teacher.
"This place was the happiest playground for myself and my friends," Rada said.
Their decisions was "that this land be left for future generations to enjoy," she added.
Rada Radebaugh returned from Corpus Christi, Texas and her brother Ray from Louisville, Colo. Sunday for the dedication of three acres in their parents' name.
The other adjoining 51 acres, which include two ponds, which their parents purchased in 1937, is now being developed into lake homes.
The acreage, which will now be taken care of by the Michigan Nature Association, is considered in its original state since 1836, though the lake itself has receded.
The association will keep invasive plant life out so as to keep the native flora and fauna, according to Jeremy Emmi, executive director. This is the fourth sanctuary in Cass County, Emmi said.
Deer, herons and other wildlife also continue to frequent the property on the west side of the lake.
The land, Rada added, was also a source of nourishment, with wild berries and nuts.
Ray spoke of the land's roots to the Native Americans, who once lived along the bank, as proven by the numerous arrow heads he found as a child.
Where there were once only summer cottages, now stand permanent homes, some like mansions.
Their parents had one of the few year-round homes on the lake.
Radebaugh's mother, Velma Johnson, lived on Oak Springs Road in the summers. Later she would meet and marry Vernon Radebaugh.
Both swimmers, they met in South Bend, Ind., at the Natatorium. Married the year of the stock market crash, they settled at Eagle Lake in the mid-1930s. Two other siblings, Vee and Veda, have since died.
Residents of Eagle Lake, Jerry and Nancy Wright, just down the road from the preserve, walked down to see the dedication.
"We are excited it is to be a preserve. There is still a lot of nature – deer, birds, turkeys and turtles. There is a lot of history," Jerry said.
Of the nearby land being developed, he added, "we hope they save a lot of woods."
Nancy would bring her grandkids down to pick berries. She remembered Velma.
"She spent a lot of time mowing – wearing a great big brim hat. It took her three days," she added.
She also enjoyed the raspberry jam Velma gave her every year and the lilies of the valley which Velma gave her starts of that still grow by the Wright's home.
They also remember Velma swimming across the lake and back, with Rada in a row boat beside her.
Well into her 80s, Velma was known to celebrate her birthdays by swimming across the lake.
A teacher in Edwardsburg, Cassopolis and Benton Harbor, Rada's mother loved to travel when she retired, still enjoying athletics and trying mountain climbing, river rafting and surfing in her later years.
A dream house was designed by Velma with large windows overlooking the lake, after Vernon died in 1966.
It was a wonderful place to grow up, for Rada and Ray and they will always have a little piece of home to return to.