Some people simply gaze at life as it passes by. Others have to be where the action is.
Crystal Lake’s J. Larry Lane is a member of the latter group.
And in his own way, he has brought his love of nature to others as an educator and environmentalist.
The immediate past-president of the McHenry County Conservation District, former commissioner with the Crystal Lake Planning Commission and Park District, this 58-year-old avid skier, bicyclist, canoeist and hiker even climbed a mountain last year.
“Each one of us is the sum total of all our expriences,” Lane philosophized. “It’s important for people to be exposed to a wide variety of situations because that gives them a broader base, a different perspective. You learn a whole lot by doing.”
Raised on a farm in Carthage, just east of the Mississippi River in west-central Illinois, Lane said his rural upbringing taught him about life in ways that books simply could not.
It was through books and a sound education, however, that Lane obtained the foundation for his career.
After receiving a bachelor’s degree in biology from Western Illinois University in Macomb, he taught biology at a school in Downers Grove.
It was there he met his wife, Lucy, a home economics teacher. After they married in 1960, school policy required that one of them quit, so they chucked the policy and the school and traveled to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where they both obtained teaching positions at a high school in Calumet.
While in Michigan, Lane received his master’s degree in biology from Northern Michigan University in Marquette, and an additional year of training at the University of Michigan helped him land the job that young kids’ dreams are made of: park ranger at Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior.
This seasonal position, which he held for five summers, allowed Lane to not only commune with nature but with his family as well.
During their final season at the park, the Lanes and their two young boys (a third son was born later in Crystal Lake) lived in a three-room cabin with no indoor plumbing.
Although Lane claimed his wife was a good sport about the circumstances, not even Lucy’s own rural background or home economics training adequately prepared her for that Spartan summer.
“We had a wringer washer and washed with water heated on the stove. We had to mail a grocery order into town via boat. Then it would take 10 days to two weeks for those groceries to arrive,” Lucy remembered. “I baked a lot of bread, and we ate a lot of fish.”
After teaching in Calumet for a couple of years, the family moved to Crystal Lake in the early 1960s, where Lane spent the school year teaching biology at Crystal Lake High School and the summers with his family at Isle Royale.
When he moved to McHenry County, he became involved with the Planning Commission and Park District.
“He was a very active and dedicated member,” said Joe Misurelli, Crystal Lake’s city manager. “He was dedicated to the preservation of natural environments and very concerned about open space and outdoor recreation.”
Lane’s interest in natural preservation steered him toward the McHenry County Conservation District, where he served as a trustee for five years and as president for the final two. Due in part to his zeal, the district thrived during his term.
“During Larry’s time on the board, our acreage almost doubled (from 4,500 acres in 1987 to 8,000 when he stepped down). He’s an outstanding individual and a dedicated volunteer,” said Steve Weller, the organization’s executive director. “His dedication to saving open space and preserving natural areas in McHenry County has been premier.”
In 1968, Lane began his college teaching career at River Grove’s Triton College, where he taught environmental biology.
Although technically considered a retiree as of this summer, Lane is still an educator. He teaches two courses a year at Triton as professor emeritus of environmental biology.
And through Project Wild, an educational program co-sponsored by the Illinois State Board of Education and the Environmental Education Association of Illinois, he instructs teachers about the environment and conservation.
Following an eight-hour Project Wild workshop with Lane, these teachers go back to their classrooms loaded with ideas for nature activities to share with students from kindergarten through high school.
While at Triton, Lane, his wife and students took biology expeditions to such breathtaking areas as the Black Hills, Yellowstone National Park, the Grand Tetons and, of course, Isle Royale.
It was not uncommon for the Lane boys to accompany their parents on these trips, as well as to sit in on classes and watch their dad in action. This is how 27-year-old Jim caught the teaching bug.
“My eventual plan is to be a teacher like my dad. I always thought what he does is something I’d like to do. It was neat to see him teaching, with all these people listening to him. He’s a good speaker and a good storyteller. I’m very proud of him,” said Jim, who lives in Ames, Iowa, where he attends graduate school at Iowa State University and is working on his Ph.D. in organic biology.
Jim’s older brother said that while their father made sure all three boys could distinguish between hot-blooded and cold-blooded creatures and separate coniferous from deciduous trees, he never pushed them into his line of work, and he always praised them for their efforts.
“Dad always seemed to make it clear to us that if we were happy, he was happy,” said J. David, a 29-year-old radiology resident at Madigan Army Medical Center in Ft. Lewis, Wash., just south of Tacoma. “He let us guide ourselves and was never pushy. If he was ever disappointed with us he sure kept it to himself.
“He’s been a real motivating force in my life. And he’s always given me lots of positive feedback. I’d like to believe that I have those same ideals and that I’ll pass them along to the next generation.”
J. David (the “J” stands for John, as it does for all first-born Lane males) now has the opportunity to start passing those qualities along. His daughter, the first female born into the Lane family since 1930, was born this summer. Grandpa Larry and Grandma Lucy visited her after Lane returned from a bicycling expedition across Wisconsin with his youngest son, Stephen.
The two Lanes, along with 998 other participants, began the 500-mile ride in northern Wisconsin, at the origin of the Wisconsin River, and crossed the finish line a week later in Prairie du Chien, averaging about 70 miles a day.
“It was his idea to do the bike ride. It’s always his idea to do things. My brothers and I kind of worry sometimes about what he’ll come up with next,” said 24-year-old Stephen, an accountant with Clifton Gunderson and Co. in Milwaukee. “He’s a very caring father, and he has always been there for us. I’ve been really pretty lucky to have a dad like him. Sometimes it’s kind of hard to keep up with him, though.”
So last year when their father came up with the mountain climbing idea, the boys could hardly let him down or admit that he had proposed a challenge they were unwilling to attempt.
In August, the four conquered that suggestion when they reached the summit of Mt. Rainier, the highest mountain in Washington and fifth highest in the continental United States. Day one consisted of planning. During the second day they hiked from the starting point at 5,200 feet to 10,000 feet. From 8,000 on up there was nothing but snow.
The following morning the Lanes began climbing at 2 a.m., while the temperature hovered around a crisp 20 degrees. They reached the top, 14,411 feet, by 10 a.m.
The climb was full of marvelous sights. “The sunrise was spectacular,” Lane said. “The sun was coming up, and the world was under us. You could see the red glow from the sun reflecting off the snow and the mist hovering around the peaks below. It was quite nice, and especially wonderful because I was with my sons.
“It’s nice to know that my sons still enjoy doing things with their old man.”
Lane acknowledged that the climb was one of the most magnificent experiences he has enjoyed, although he is looking forward to discovering what New Zealand, Australia and some of Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks have to offer.
“It’s so important to live each day to the fullest, and enjoy today,” Lane noted. “You never know about tomorrow.”
