Yesterday, I volunteered for a National Trails Day Service Project sponsored by my local REI and the Cook County Forest Preserves. Walking through the woods nearby influenced molded me into the person I am today. It provides me a place to run, to meditate, to reflect, and to ride. The local trails in my area helps me develop a sound mind and a sound body. It’s time that I give back to these trails and help other enjoy the trails that have given so much to me.
We had two goals that day. First, we removed an evasive plant from our forest preserves called Garlic Mustard. Second, we collected trash around Grove #16 in Busse Woods. We found a ton of garbage all over the place. People packed in styrofoam coolers, plastic containers for worms, fishing line, beer bottles, and other items in but neglected to pack it out. A lot of garbage also blew in from the surrounding area or washed up on shore. Luckily, we found very little second year garlic mustard and a lot of native plants. Volunteer efforts have kept it under control.
We found one area with broken glass everywhere. Initially, I thought complained about people coming in and not packing out their garbage. As we were cleaning, I realized this wasn’t ordinary garbage. The glass felt thick and heavy. The larger pieces we found had FW MULLER ARLINGTON HTS on the glass. One piece appeared to have a stopper in it. We also discovered some broken ceramics and a couple pieces of decorative metal. The forest preserve volunteer leader looked at it and believed that it was discarded reminants of an early homestead in the area. I’ve seen pieces of it in my neighborhood while digging around my backyard or near the creek. She took a few samples and will be giving it to the county’s archeologist.
I began to wonder why the glass bore the name of FW Muller and the village of Arlington Heights. After doing a search on the internet, I found a few things about the bottles. FW Muller Carbonated Beverages sold soda pop in the Northwest suburbs when a majority of the area was farmland and the towns and villages were separated by dirt roads. The company’s namesake, Frederick W. Muller was a native German who had a number of accomplishments in Arlington Heights (formally known as Dunton). In addition to his company, he was mayor of Arlington Heights, supervisor of Wheeling Township, and more. Finding all this information connected me to the past for a brief moment and to one of the communities I plan on purchasing a home in. It’s amazing where a piece of trash can take you.
I had a wonderful experience working at this service project and would like to volunteer more in the future with the Cook County Forest Preserve District. It’s a great way to give back, pay it forwards, and meet new people.
