Volume 1, Issue 3 ---- 1 October 1998 |
Editors: Don & Susan Peterson, Phone (317) 776-3868
E-Mail dspeterson@musa.org
The Nike Preservation Group, 211277 Clare Avenue, Noblesville, Indiana 46060
The official position of The Nike Preservation Group is that the State of Indiana has a responsibility to acquire and preserve this site for future generations. The Group has presented a plan to the state which would allow The Nike Preservation Group to provide the means to preserve and restore the site. The Group's plan was submitted as part of the application to the Indiana State Museums and Historic Sites. Please send your letters in support of the C47 Launcher Area becoming a state-owned historic site to:
CALL FOR ACTION!
NATIONAL REGISTER
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New Members Since Last MonthRobert F. Cook, Indianapolis, Indiana Nike Veteran 1962-64, Caswell, Maine George W. Runkle, Lawrenceville, GA Cold War Historian |
Help with the battle to save and protect the C47 Launcher Area.If each member of The Nike Preservation Group turned in only one completed petition this issue would be quickly decided by our politicians. Please help if you can. Thanks, Bob Peterson |
Visit the Nike Sites of Indiana Web Site at:
http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/6540/
JOIN THE NIKE PRESERVATION GROUPDate____________________________________ Last Name_____________________________________________________ First Name ______________________________ Middle Initial _____
Mailing Address: ______________________________________________________ City _________________________________________________ State __________________________ Zip Code ____________
Phone Number: Work ____-______-_________ E-Mail Address ________________________________________ Are you a Veteran? (Yes) (No) Did you work with Nike Systems? (Yes) (No) Were you stationed at a Nike site? (Yes) (No) If so, Where and When?__________________________________ _________________________________________________________ Are you interestid in volunteering labor at C-47? (Yes) (No) What do you think you cold help with?________________________ _____________________________________________________________
Mailto: The Nike Preservation Group. Inc. Join now and save a membership fee. Membership fees will be introduced once the group has secured a non-for-profit status. Annual Membership Fees will be determined by the Board of Directors at the first scheduled meeting. Purpose of the membership fee is to offset the administrative cost of group membership. The cost of newsletters, postage and membership tracking are all typical administrative costs. |
Wolf Lake is on the Indiana and Illinois State line. Nike (Ajax) C-44 was on the west side of Wolf lake in the William W. Powers State Conservation Area, which is within the Chicago City Limits. (The launcher area of C-44 is in a Cook County forest preserve which is within the state conservation area.)
On this first trip to find C-44 we were unsuccessful. We couldn't even find the conservation area it was suppose to be in. We asked several people in the area but no one knew what we were talking about. The IFC (radar) location given at one of the Nike home pages said "west of 136 Street". We found 136 Steet, but that street runs east-west so there was no "west of". After searching for a while I had a hungry, mad teenager on my hands so it was time to go.
Seeing that we had a lot in comnion and still wanting to see the site, I drove out to the park on Sunday. With better directions, found the park but still couldn't find the missile site. This is a huge park with lots of forest and wetlands. I went to the park headquarters and found that Saki was in his office with several friends. His office is in the home the state gives him to live in. He told me how to get to both sites of C-44. Then we all drank beer and told Nike stories for a couple of hours. First I visited the launcher area, which at this site had the administration are a co-located with it. The launcher/admin area is about 3 timesthe size of the C-47 launcher area. It is in a very nice location and appears to have been a double site, as there were 16 launchers.
There are no buildings or fences left. The magazines looked like they were filled in some time ago It is still worth a visit to see the size of this site and it is located in a pretty area.
Now it was time to find the IFC area. The nearest street location is North-North-East of Ave K & 133rd Street. This area is within the state park and is located right on the lake. One of the towers was sitting in the middle of a creek. It is about a 3/4 mile hike in from where you park your car. This area is wooded and was kind of spooky as the sun was starting to set. As I walked through the woods I found a radar tower that had fallen over years ago. This reminded me of the scene from the movie Planet of the Apes where Heston finds the remains of the Statue of Liberty on the beach. I found four radar towers, all of them concrete. three of them were very tall and one was shorter. Saki told me that there were five towers (guess I missed one) and they haven't found out why there were five towers and not three. Remember, this was an Ajax site, so it should not have had HIPAR radar. The IFC area was very small. All the building foundations were small, as you would expect to find at a radar-only area.
Again let me say that this site is worth a visit, evelr with the buildings gone. Just ask for Saki Villalobos at the park headquarters for directions. The number of Saki's office is (773) 646-3270
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Originated October 12, 1998