LARVALBUG LENS, July, 2018
If the scene here looks like the temperature is a little chilly, that is certainly an accurate assessment. Evelyn is shown navigating the "Lunch Stop Rapids" on the Mazon River, a tributary of the Illinois River just southwest of Chicago, in early April, 1981. As a member of multiple canoe/kayak clubs in the northern part of the state at that time, Ev participated in many river trips during the ice-free months. Although being an extremely accomplished paddler usually helps one avoid the common occurrence of tipping over, or dumping, nobody who puts in a lot of hours with a crowd of mixed-experience folks escapes entirely. In fact, earlier on this trip, Ev had already had such an mishap after a couple of kids accompanying their parents were fooling around with the end of an electric fence that was strung across the water just below the surface. Just before Ev encountered this previously insignificant obstacle, the kids had pulled it and raised it to a couple of feet above the surface, which would have caught a kayaker in the chest. Due to the fast current and the short distance, the only way to circumvent getting trapped was to sort of tip over and jump out of the boat, which saved Evelyn from injury but also meant that she got pretty wet and the boat took on water. It's inconvenient, but not unexpected, so she simply got to shore, bailed out, put on spare clothes from her dry bag and continued on. This was the second incident within the space of only a couple weeks for Ev, the other being an unavoidable canoe pile-up at a tricky curve on a different trip.The flower-decorated hat that Ev is wearing needs a little explanation as it is not usual paddling attire. The crown was bestowed during the recent Ice-worm Ball, a dinner and dance sponsored by an informal group led by Ralph Frese of Chicagoland Canoe Base that liked to reenact events, costumes and customs of the Voyageurs. When asked how she came to be chosen as Queen of the Ice-worms, Ev simply cannot remember. Must have been some party!