Bob Stwalley, 90, paddles through the old lowhead dam site on Sugar Creek. The dam was removed last week, and Stwalley said there was about only about 4 inches of water in that part of the creek. In a letter submitted to the Journal Review, Stwalley wrote: “I wish to thank all involved in the removal of the last dam on Sugar Creek. Mayor Todd Barton and his administration, the Friends of Sugar Creek, Dr. Jerry Sweeten and his staff and the heavy equipment operators of Walden’s. From start to finish, four days. Fantastic. I dedicate this paddle through the old dam site to three men and one woman who are no longer with us: Roger Beach, Don Bickel, Dr. Lewis Runnels and Patt Oakley. Also to Bob Demoret, my part-time paddling partner and all the USA paddlers. May this beautiful river now forever flow free.”
Nick Hedrick/Journal Review
Bob Stwalley paddles through the old lowhead dam site on Sugar Creek on Monday.
Nick Hedrick/Journal Review
Bob Stwalley, right, talks to people gathered on the banks of Sugar Creek on Monday as Friends of Sugar Creek President Ed Fain looks on. Stwalley paddled through the old lowhead dam site.
Nick Hedrick/Journal Review
Bob Stwalley comes in after paddling through the old lowhead dam site on Sugar Creek on Monday.
Nick Hedrick/Journal Review
Crawfordsville Mayor Todd Barton, right, speaks with Bob Stwalley, center, and Ed Fain after Stwalley paddled through the old lowhead dam site on Sugar Creek on Monday. Barton watched alongside city planning and community development director Brandy Allen, economic development consultant Cheryl Morphew and the city’s new communications coordinator, Abigail Campbell.
Nick Hedrick/Journal Review
Austin Brooks, past president of Friends of Sugar Creek, works to remove a sign warning boaters of the Sugar Creek lowhead dam alongside current president Ed Fain on Monday. The dam was demolished last week.
