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Who was Dorothy Richard Buell, after whom the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore visitor center is named?
She was the woman whose enthusiasm, determination and fearlessness were directed toward a single goal: saving of the Indiana Dunes for public use and enjoyment.
She did not do it single-handedly. It was her ability to enlist others, to refuse to take no for an answer, and to step in where others feared to tread that started the momentum that eventually brought about the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Born in 1886 in Menasha, Wis., Mrs. Buell was married in 1918 to Maj. James H. Buell. They had one son, Robert. An English teacher after her graduation from college, she became a professional reader of current plays and organized book review groups after the Buells moved to the Chicago area.
In 1952, she was inspired to found the Save the Dunes Council by Dr. R. M. Strong, retired professor of biology at the University of Chicago and president of the Conservation Council of Chicago and the Illinois Audubon Society. The group's goal: Preservation of the Indiana Dunes for public use and enjoyment. The Council's original plan was to obtain dunes land and give it to the Indiana Dunes State Park, but over the years circumstances changed and the group's plans changed with them.
In 1958 she approached a long-time dunes supporter, Donald Culross Peattie, and his wife. Peattie, a noted author of nature books, suggested she work with Sen. Paul Douglas of Illinois, and put in a good word for her with Sen. Douglas. Douglas agreed to espouse the Dunes cause through his leadership in the Congress and, despite many setbacks, the National Lakeshore was established in 1966.
Over the years Mrs. Buell received wide recognition and many awards. In 1954 she was cited as one of the top 10 clubwomen in the nation by Woman's Home Companion magazine for "distinguished community service and improvement." In 1955 she was named leading newsworthy woman in Indiana. In 1961 she received a plaque for distinguished service in the cause of conservation from American Motors. In 1966 came two awards: a citation for volunteer service from Lane Bryant Annual Awards, and Indiana Conservationist of the Year from the National Wildlife Federation and Sears Roebuck Foundation. The following year these two groups gave her another award, $1,000 and a sculpture of a whooping crane, for national distinguished service and outstanding contribution in conservation.
The Buells retired to California in late 1968. She died there in 1977 at the age of 90. She lived to see the establishment of the park she had fought so hard for. In 1992, Congress recognized her extraordinary contributions by directing that the park's visitor center be dedicated in her name "...to commemorate (her) vision, dedication, and work ... in saving the Indiana Dunes......
What drove this dedicated woman? She learned to love the Dunes as a child at the family's summer cottage in what is now Ogden Dunes. She began to feel the Dunes were meant to be enjoyed by all the people. She worked unflaggingly to preserve the Indiana Dunes from industry's bulldozers. To muster support for this cause as Council president, she attracted groups of volunteers. She traveled hundreds of miles to raise funds, arrange public meetings, and plead the cause of saving the Dunes with state and national leaders.
At an age when many are content to rest (she founded the Council when she was 65), she pursued her worthy objectives with undiminished vigor. By her concern for the preservation of natural beauty and her energetic efforts to achieve that end, she exemplifies the finest traditions of the citizen-conservationist in America.
Larger than life? No. Mrs. Buell was human and known for her sense of humor. She once remarked that she hadn't known what she was getting into and didn't know how to quit.
Dorothy Buell, a nation now conscious of the natural beauty of its land honors those who tutored us during years when we often neglected our heritage. You undertook with pioneering courage the work which made possible the newly created Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. During fourteen arduous years you persisted in finding ways to realize conservationist dreams when others grew weary in their labors. Now all Americans owe you their gratitude: especially is that true of the alumni of your two colleges - Milwaukee-Downer and Lawrence. You have brought acclaim to us with your remarkable achievements.
I am privileged to present to you the Lawrence Alumni Distinguished Service Award.
- - Curtis W. Tarr, President of Lawrence University, June 11, 1967
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