May 2017 - Parks & Recreation - 24

Community Center

The Grove and hunted and collected in
and around The Grove. I attended college
in Southern Illinois and collected in the
same areas Kennicott did. We still collect
in Southern Illinois for [The Grove's] interpretive center displays. "
Swanson was already involved in a
plan to have Kennicott's remains returned to The Grove when he happened
to attend a lecture at Oakton Community College featuring Doug Owsley, head
of the Smithsonian's physical anthropology division. Owsley had expertise
in examining iron coffins - Kennicott
had been buried in one of the formidable contraptions - and Swanson saw
an opportunity. " I shared with [Owsley]
our need to have Kennicott's remains
examined to see if a definitive cause of
death could be determined, " Swanson
says. " We worked with the family and
the Glenview Park District board to seek
approval and permission to conduct the
investigation. Long discussions among
the staff were held to be sure we could
accept the cause [of death] if it turned
out to be suicide. Being historians, we
had to be prepared for that to become
our story line if true. Doug and Kari assembled a scientific research team and
the investigation was carried out at The
Grove in 2001. "
During the next 15 years, Owsley,
Bruwelheide, Swanson and a team of
scientists and historians carefully examined historical records of Kennicott's life, as well as his coffin and all
contained therein - including his hair,
most of his clothing and, of course, his
bones, now stained a ruddy brown from
decades boxed in iron. " Iron coffins are
like time capsules, " Bruwelheide explains. " They preserve certain types of
evidence (soft tissues, clothing, hair and
finger and toe nails) that require special
analyses....We do a complete inventory,
take a whole suite of measurements to
determine stature, robusticity, etc., and
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Parks & Recreation

Robert Kennicott

also examine the remains for evidence
of trauma and disease. "
To Swanson's delight, the team was
able to conclude that a heart attack ultimately laid Kennicott low. " Chemical
analysis and historical information indicate no evidence of death due to poisoning or suicidal ingestion of strychnine.
Robert Kennicott died a sudden death
as a result of cardiac arrest, probably a
congenital condition. Several previous
attacks probably preceded the final, fatal
one, two of which were documented by
eyewitnesses, " Owsley wrote, in his final
determination of the case.
" We celebrated the results with an exhibit in our archives building on Kennicott's life, " Swanson says. " The exhibit
is one of five rotating exhibits that are
rolled out in conjunction with important anniversary dates of the site and the
Kennicott family - the results of the forensic autopsy were a major part of the
main exhibit panels. "
Preserving a Legacy
While the preservation of the Kennicott
estate is itself a great boon to the many

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people who frequent The Grove, this new
information about Robert Kennicott's
life, death and work provides greater enhancement of the educational opportunities already offered there. " People love
stories and the Kennicott story is one of
adventure and exploration, " Mike McCarty, CPRP, and executive director of
Glenview Park District, says. " It immediately connects people to the land and
the natural environment. Our visitors get
to walk the land that Robert grew up on
and see plant, insect, reptiles, fish and
animals that he studied and collected still
living on the property. "
Swanson says he and The Grove staff
make a concerted effort to reflect Kennicott's legacy through regular programming at the facility. " Our program staff
and volunteers engage visitors - we tell
Kennicott's story to excite them. We have
visitors who first came to The Grove as
kids and have returned with Ph.D.s in
herpetology, or as geologists or antique
dealers who gained their first experiences at The Grove. "
Here is the true marrow of the labor behind understanding Kennicott's life and
legacy - to open peoples' eyes to the possibilities of how they might become more
deeply involved with the natural world.
" Parks and recreation agencies have an
obligation to tell the story of what we do
and why we do what we do, " McCarty
says. " You couldn't have a better avenue
[than The Grove and Kennicott's story] to
have people appreciate the impact of service agencies like ours on a community. "
[Objects of Wonder is on display at the
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural
History through 2019. To learn more about
the exhibit, visit http://naturalhistory.
si.edu/exhibits. To learn more about Kennicott's legacy and The Grove, visit www.glenviewparks.org/thegrove.]
Samantha Bartram is a Northern Virginia-based
Freelance Writer (sambartram333@gmail.com).

May 2017 - Parks & Recreation

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