The new millennium has arrived and at last the Y2K bug has been killed! This year promises to be a tremendous year for the many activities and projects that are currently in progress. Our greenhouse at 31st Street and Wolf Road in Westchester is now complete and preparation for the garden has begun. Members of SOARRING have been steadily working in the prairie removing all the non-native invasive plants. In this state, there are no grade A prairies left and currently there are only two grade B prairies. Wolf Road Prairie is one of the two. The grant for the addition to the Franzosenbusch Prairie House has arrived and the foundation has been poured. We are in need of volunteers who want to work either on the Prairie House or in the greenhouse and garden. Jobs will vary upon skill level, but we are sure to have enough work for everyone! Dates in May will vary, so please contact me if you are interested (see below).

As you have read in our lead article, this year's Flower and Garden show at Navy Pier was a tremendous success for Midwest SOARRING Foundation. I want to again warmly thank all those who participated in making this an historical event. To be able to go mainstream and come out on top with such odds against us is something to behold. I especially want to thank Nick Hockings for coming down from northern Wisconsin to help us construct the village and artifacts, and Janet who assisted me in every aspect of the project--planning the set, organizing the participants, putting aside her shyness to show the artifacts and answer questions, and photographing the event from start to finish.

In Rockford, Illinois, there are plans for a road to be made which would possibly impact a village site and might run very close to a burial area. This is a rare area with many different types of birds, and it may contain endangered species. We are going to have a prayer vigil there, starting at 6:00 PM on Sunday, April 30th.

It was good to see many of you at our Prayer Vigil on April 2. After the vigil at the Turtle Effigy, if was especially appropriate that we re-visited the New Lenox site. There we laid tobacco and said prayers for the Ancestors as we had at SOARRING's beginning. It was an extreme pleasure to see how they dug the new water main project there. I pointed out to the people present that it did not go in a straight line but dug into their own golf course road rather than dig into the site that we fought to save. A victory of respect!

We have been blessed with a immense gift! Christine and Carl Perry have given us the funds to purchase a beautiful brand new 14x7 foot red trailer with a concession window. It has a double axle and many excellent features. This trailer will serve SOARRING well and will double as both a food concession stand and storage trailer, saving us many hours of set-up and take-down time. A truly wonderful gift! Many thanks for your good hearts.

Much appreciation to all those that contribute so much in every way.

I embrace you strongly,
Joseph Standing Bear
773-585-8613
JSTANDBEAR@aol.com
P. O. Box 275, Lyons IL 60534