News of Ralph Frese....

Greg S

New Member
From the WCHA Facebook page...

Paul K said:
Not sure who all knows Ralph Frese, but he's reported to be in Skokie Hospital (Illinois), and is not expected to come out. He has been battling prostate cancer for some years now, and it looks like he's losing the battle. Skokie Hospital is located at 9600 Gross Point Road, Skokie, IL 60076, if you'd like to send anything.

Posted here as per the request of Kathryn K.
 
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From the Chicago Wilderness Magazine: Ralph Frese: Urban Voyageur

M.G. Bertulfo said:
It's a perfect summer afternoon and canoeing legend Ralph C. Frese is in his element — namely, water. We’re paddling the North Branch of the Chicago River, on the “water trail” named for him. Frese anticipates every bend. He reads the water adeptly, subtly. He talks easily about how to find the direction of the current; how ripples betray the hiding places of submerged rocks, branches, and logs; the best way around logjams (usually through them). Dragonflies and damselflies dance low on the water. Spheres of fragrant, feathery, white flowers nod on bank-side buttonbushes. A great blue heron with a three-foot wingspan glides overhead, like a guardian of the river. A reverie seems to come over Frese. In hushed tones, he says, “Nature has given me so much. That’s why I have to give back. That’s why I do all I do.”

Over the last 50 years, Frese, popularly known in the paddling community as “Mr. Canoe,” has championed the conservation of Chicago-region rivers. He has received awards from the Cook County Board of Commissioners, the federal EPA, and the Bureau of the Interior. (“All three on the same night,” he says.) In 1994, he was the first recipient of the American Canoe Association’s “Legends of Paddling” award. Last year, he was inducted into the Illinois Outdoors Hall of Fame.

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Continues at length...
 
More recent: At 85, Life is Still But a Dream for Mr. Canoe, Ralph Frese.. originally published on Seth Arkin's Blog

Seth Arkin said:
"In canoeing, we have the only trail in nature that leaves no trace of our passing."

With this thought-provoking statement, one of many insights imparted during an engaging and educational conversation, Ralph Frese, longstanding proprietor of the Chicagoland Canoe Base, cast a light on two of his enduring passions--canoeing and environmental preservation--while obliquely referencing a third: history.

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