Watch as the backhoe takes chunks out of the former Portage Township Cemetery office Monday. A new building will be constructed on the site.
We love our parks!
It may not feel like it, but spring is just around the corner and what better way to jump into the season but by doing a spring cleaning.
We're inviting you to help by participating in our annual Team Up 2 Clean Up event from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., with a cook out following. Volunteers meet at Haven Hollow Park, 333 W 700 N.
Not only will volunteers help us get ready for the busy season, they'll give the South Haven Fire Station, Boys & Girls Club and the area along McCool Road a clean up.
Any individual, group, organization, business who would like to volunteer in this effort are asked to contact the Portage Township Parks & Recreation office at 219-759-5471 to participate.
The event is sponsored by the parks department, a division of the Portage Township Trustee's office.
Listen to the Bonner Senior Center’s Choraleers sing Away in the Manger during this week’s Christmas party.
Santa Claus came to town last night thanks to the Portage Township Parks and Recreation Department.
Enjoy the Bonner Senior Center’s Choraleers rendition of “White Christmas.”
Bonner Senior Center member Bonnie Fox played Christmas tunes for fellow members Monday morning as they gathered for another day of activities. For more information on the center, visit the Portage Township Trustee’s website at portagetrustee.org
Can’t get enough of the Kyle Elementary School choir which performed at Bonner Senior Center Thursday.
Kyle Elementary School’s 4th and 5th grade choir visited the Bonner Senior Center Thursday morning. Youngsters treated members to a variety of holiday songs including this one. Good job kids! Members enjoyed your visit!
Bonner Senior Center member Ron Hughes serenaded members Monday morning as they decorated the center’s Christmas tree. Folks enjoyed Ron’s singing and a few even rocked around the Christmas tree!
What better way to kick off Thanksgiving week than to be serenaded by the Bonner Senior Center’s Choraleers. Enjoy their rendition of Over the River and Through the Woods.
Members of the Bonner Senior Choraleers serenaded fellow members Monday morning with their rendition of Blue Moon. The sing-a-long was part of the center’s monthly birthday celebration.
Members of the Bonner Senior Center are having a wonderful time this Halloween. After lunch many participated in a costume parade.
Each Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. members of the Bonner Senior Center gather in the center's dedicated pool room to participate in weekly pool tournaments.
Members not only test their pool skills against one another, but have a great time socializing, centered around one of their favorite activities.
The pool room and tournaments are open to any member of the Bonner Senior Center and is one of the dozens of activities offered each weekday at the center.
There's something for everyone, from pool to bingo, bunco to dance, yoga to fitness classes. The center also provides a transportation service to and from the center and for members to medical appointments. The center is also one of the largest nutrition sites, offering lunches to those age 60 and over each day for a donation of $2.
The center, a service of the Portage Township Trustee's office, is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Membership at the center is open to any Portage Township resident age 55 and over for an annual donation of $10. Non residents age 55 and over may also join for an annual membership fee of $20.
Check out more of the activities, events and trips hosted by the center at the Portage Township Trustee's website at portagetrustee.org/bonner-senior-center
Members of the Bonner Senior Center gather at 12:30 p.m. each Wednesday in the community room to enjoy each other's company while playing Bunco.
The games are one of many activities offered at the center, 5800 Lexington Ave., Portage, each week.
Portage Township residents, age 55 and over, can join for an annual donation of $10. Nonresidents age 55 and over may also join for an annual membership fee of $20.
In addition to Bunco, members can participate in fitness classes, dance, bingo games and, those 60 and over, can enjoy lunch each day for a cost of $2. Transportation services are also provided.
For more information on the center, a service of the Portage Township Trustee's office, visit the trustee's web site at portagetrustee.org
The center is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Members of the Bonner Senior Center participate in Zumba Gold classes from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. each Monday at the center, 5800 Lexington Ave.
The class combines music and exercise, along with fellowship and socializing.
The class is free to members of the center. Membership is open to Portage Township residents age 55 and over for an annual donation of $10. Non residents may also join for an annual $20 membership fee.
The center, a service of the Portage Township Trustee's office, is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.
The center offers members a variety of services, from fitness classes to bingo, bunco, dancing, trips and transportation services. It also provides nutritious lunches for seniors age 60 and over for $2.
For more information on the center and all of its activities, visit the township's web site at portagetrustee.org/bonner-senior-center
Each Thursday afternoon, members of the Bonner Senior Center's dance group gather in the community room to dance to a variety of music and spend the afternoon socializing.
The dance group is one of several activities offered at the center, a service of the Portage Township Trustee's office.
The center is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Portage Township residents, ages 55 and over, are invited to join for an annual donation of $10. Non residents may join for an annual $20 membership fee.
For more information on the center and all of its activities, including serving nutritious lunches each day, visit the township's web site at portagetrustee.org
Youngsters had a great time Saturday casting their lines into the Little Calumet River! They not only got expert advice on the art of angling, but also learned about conservation.
The Portage Township Parks & Recreation Department hosted Youth Fishing Day with the help of sponsors Izaak Walton League Miller Chapter, Bam Pizza and Bass Pro Shops.
Youngsters got to fish - and take home their rods, reels and tackle - enjoyed a pizza lunch and had fun.
Portage Township Parks & Recreation is a department of the Portage Township Trustee's office. For more information, visit portagetrustee.org
Dorcus Hammond, granddaughter of Eunice Bonner, speaks about her grandmother’s accomplishments Saturday during the celebration of the Bonner Senior Center’s 40th anniversary.
Members of American Legion Post 260 raised the flag this morning to open the celebration of the Bonner Senior Center’s 40th anniversary. The flag was donated by US Representative Pete Visclosky.
Field of Dreams Park is in the heart of South Haven, located at 402 W. County Road 700 North, just down the road from both the South Haven Fire Department and South Haven branch of the Porter County Public Library.
The park is one of four properties operated and managed by the Portage Township Parks & Recreation Department, a service of the Portage Township Trustee's office.
The 24-acre park is a mix of developed, wooded and open land.
The park includes a playground, the Bullpen picnic shelter, a one-half basketball court and three softball fields.
For more information on Field of Dreams Parks, or the other parks owned and operated by Portage Township, visit the township's web site at portagetrustee.org
TBT: Bonner Senior Center has come a long way! Take a look at some of the faces of those who made it happen
It's been some 40 years since the Portage Township Trustee's office began offering services to the township's senior citizens. Transportation. Programming. Meals.
The township's services, along with the Bonner Senior Center, continue to grow. There are approximately 1,000 seniors who are members of the center.
Opened in 1980, the center saw additions in 1984, 1996 and, most recently, under the leadership of Township Trustee Brendan Clancy, the addition of a fitness room, computer room and four seasons room plus improvements to the kitchen, in 2015.
Janet Clem, the center's director for some 15 years, began working at the center as a substitute bus driver 30 years ago.
The center, and its services, Clem said, will continue to evolve.
"The senior population is younger, mentally and physically. They are looking for more active things to do," Clem said.
The next project she'd like to undertake is the addition of a walking path on the grounds of the center, 5800 Lexington Ave.
The center celebrates its 40th anniversary beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday with entertainment and demonstrations of many of the activities which go on daily. Bingo will follow the official celebration at 2 p.m.
The center is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Township residents age 55 and older may join for a $10 annual donation. Non township residents may also join for an annual fee of $20.
For more information on the center, visit the township's web site at portagetrustee.org
Take a listen to members of the Bonner Senior Center Choraleers as they rehearse for their upcoming performance at the center’s 40th anniversary celebration Saturday, September 14. The party starts at 10 am at the center, 5800 Lexington Ave.
The center is a service of the Portage Township Trustee’s office.
The James/Schrock Cemetery is the oldest of the three cemeteries under the jurisdiction of the Portage Township Trustee.
It has quite a history.
The James/Schrock Cemetery is a pioneer cemetery located along the Indiana Toll Road, east of McCool Road and behind the Pleasant Valley Mobile Home Park. The first burial was in 1838. The last burial was in 1884.
The cemetery was named in honor of the Allen B. James family, original owners of the property, and the August Schrock family, later owners of the property.
The cemetery nearly became lost to progress with the construction of the Indiana Toll Road.
Maime Magneson, first fought to protect the graves of her ancestors decades ago. Magneson, of Chesterton, protested the original route of the Indiana Toll Road, which would have gone right over the James/Schrock Cemetery. Magneson won and the highway was detoured by a mile to go around the burial place of some of Portage Township's earliest pioneers including her half sister Mary Hoeckelberg, buried there in 1878 and Mary's mother Anna, buried in 1875, the same year Mary was born.
Over the years, the cemetery fell into disarray. Vandals destroyed headstones marking the early graves.
The Portage Township Historical Society worked with Portage Township Trustee Brendan Clancy and Cemetery Director Debbie Clem to save the remnants of the headstones and to create a memorial to those buried there.
In October of 2014, a memorial to the some 40 early Portage Township residents buried in the James/Schrock Cemetery was dedicated at McCool Cemetery. A memorial listing the names of those buried there was erected and pieces of and full headstones were moved to the memorial site.
For more information about the Portage Township cemeteries, visit the website at portagetrustee.org
Take a walk. Swing on a swing. Have a picnic. Bat a few balls around. Relax and watch the flow of Salt Creek. Grab a fishing pole and try your luck. Enjoy a festival.
Haven Hollow Park, 330 W. 700 North, South Haven, is the place to do it all.
At 40 acres, Haven Hollow is the largest of four park sites managed and operated by Portage Township Parks, a department of the Portage Township Trustee's office.
The park, which also serves as the headquarters for the parks department, features three picnic shelters, Fessler Fields softball fields, a one-third mile long paved walking and a playground equipped with handicapped accessible equipment.
Want something a little more serene?
Talk a walk down to the fishing pier. Just over the hill is another world. Drop in a line or just relax as Salt Creek meanders by.
Haven Hollow is also home to most of the community festivals and activities each year in South Haven.
It's a great place to play!
For more information on the township and its parks department, visit the township's website at portagetrustee.org/
Here's some more photos of Wednesday's Crafts and Cookies program at Haven Hollow Park in South Haven. Youngsters, with the help of Portage Township Parks Director Taylor O'Neal, Parks Program Coordinator Jennifer Silkwood and a couple of helpful moms, tie-dyed tee-shirts.
The Crafts and Cookies program will continue once a month this fall. The next program, which will feature button art, will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., Sept. 17 at Haven Hollow park. The cost is $7 per child. For more information, or to register, contact the Portage Township Parks Department at 219-759-5471. The parks department is a service of the Portage Township Trustee's office.
Kids just want to have fun and they did Wednesday night during the Portage Township Parks Crafts and Cookies event at Haven Hollow Park in South Haven. For more information on the parks department, visit the Portage Township Trustee’s website at portagetrustee.org.
Members of the Bonner Senior Center keep active by participating in a recent fitness class led by Gail Hollinman. A variety of classes are available each week. The center, a service of the Portage Township Trustee’s office is located at 5800 Lexington Ave., Portage.
For more information and a list of classes, visit portagetrustee.org or call 219-762-1522.
Bonner Senior Center member Bonnie Fox serenades fellow members on the piano Monday morning. Fox said she usually plays for the Bonner family three mornings a week for about an hour each morning after she arrives on the bus. Catch Bonnie’s playing during a visit to the center, 5800 Lexington Ave., Portage. To learn more about the center, a service of the Portage Township Trustee’s office, visit the website at portagetrustee.org
