The River

•December 31, 2025•

by Janet Roney

The Kaskaskia River has a life plan. It drains water from the Grande Prairie to the Mississippi. Its course has not changed much in ten thousand years. Even after the Corps made Lakes Shelbyville and Carlyle, the river still stubbornly flows in its old river bed deep under the surface of the lakes. (By the way, did you ever notice that the Kaskaskia, Sangamon, and Embarrass all originate a few miles from each other in the Champaign County area, and flow in three different directions, to the Mississippi, Illinois, and Wabash Rivers?)

Not only does the river have a plan, but the fish, ducks, turtles, blue herons, mussels, raccoons, and water snakes that live in and along it have predictable life plans, too. Fishermen, boaters, hikers, and artists like me are drawn to the river, but most folks just pass over it on their way to work and never notice it.

    Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.