Pilot Knob State Park Has a 100 Year Anniversary Celebration

A century of celebration took place in Pilot Knob State Park on Saturday. The park held its 100th anniversary dedication with guest speakers, rangers from the past who guided and protected the park, and volunteers aplenty. Dawn Bill who is the president of the Friends of Pilot Knob was pleased with the number of people who came to the dedication.

Bill also expressed how important the park was to the local communities and its role in bringing visitors to the area.

The ceremony honored and thanked a number of individuals. One of them was former Park Ranger and Manager Michael Strausser who read a poem entitled Pilot Knob which describes the beauty and serenity of the park. Strausser recently handed over the reins of management to Park Ranger and new manager Katie LaDage. She fell in love with natural sciences in school and followed her dream to her present job. She described how she found her way to the park with the second highest point in Iowa.

LaDage already has plans to make some slight improvements to the park.

She also intends to keep certain programs going which have been very successful.

Bell and the Friends of Pilot Knob are always looking for volunteers to help at the park. Those who are interested can reach out to either Bell or LaDage.

Bell stated that there is always something to do in the 100-year-old park and there is no requirement on the number of hours you have to put in.

The Friends of Pilot Knob is an all-volunteer group dedicated to the preservation of the state park.