Defenders Celebrating 50th Anniversary

Fifty years ago the McHenry County Defenders was founded.

It was right after Earth Day.

The first President was a dentist, Brian Koukol.

It occurred to me at the time that since dentists could not advertise, this was a good business move for him, as well as a way to advance the cause he believed in.

I remember taking my check to the back of Coventry Green, where his office was located.

Next month the organization, now named the Environmental Defenders of McHenry County, will hold a 50th Anniversary Dinner at the McHenry Country Club. (Call now or pay 10% more for dinner.)

I think it’s safe to credit the Defenders with recycling throughout the county.

This used to be their big money maker, but as garbage companies institutionalized the practice, the group has moved into resale bookstores, one each in Woodstock and Crystal Lake’s Downtowns.

The Defenders should also be credited with being the main force behind the creation of the McHenry County Conservation District.

I’m sure the dinner program will remind folks of other accomplishments.


Comments

Defenders Celebrating 50th Anniversary — 5 Comments

  1. Wrong Califate Cal, it was the McHenry Conservation Voters who started it.

    They were the real conservationists and conservatives.

    The Defenders were the libtards, now gone nuts on the Global Warming Hoax.

    I’m not saying Defenders didn’t do some good, like cleaning up Boone Creek.

    But Greta Thunberg is their Golden Calf now, they worship her idol.

  2. I guess I thought the two organizations were closely connected.

    Perhaps not.

  3. Well, maybe. Then again, maybe not.

    McHenry County Conservation District (MCCD) was formed in 1971 in accordance with a recently passed state law. The McHenry County Defenders organized in 1970.

    As near as I can tell the McHenry County Conservation Voters (MCCV), a political action committee (PAC) was spun off the Defenders.

    The PAC typically lends its support to candidates during the primary season, where a victory is tantamount to election in November in this heavily Republican county.

    Newspaper account seem to indicate they made a major effort in politics here in the county ca 1990.

    In 1998, the CHICAGO TRIBUNE reported that the MCCV had been a registered PAC for 15 years.

    Which came first?

    The chicken or the egg?

    My vote goes to the MCCD.

  4. Er, make the “My vote goes to the McHenry County Defenders”

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