6-12-54 article excerpt:
Warren County’s Lake Warren is fast becoming recognized as being among the area’s most beautiful and popular resort sites. The lake includes a 70-acre lake and nearly 100 acres of wooded land, beaches, building lots, and a picnic area—a total of 600 families own shares in the Lake Warren Association.
LAKE WARREN NEWS – MAY 1954
Excerpts from the first newsletter
Howdy Members! Here is your first monthly issue of the Lake Warren News. The Directors decided it would be well to keep all the members informed of the club’s activities and have decided to issue a monthly newsletter.
The Directors are happy to announce that 12,500 trees and 2,000 multiflora rose bushes have been planted for spring. Chick Hennefent, Bud & Jack Horter, Richard Foust, Paul Lee and Bill Thompson set out 11,500 of those trees one week-end with a tree planter. Thirty-five members set out the other 3,000 by hand the following Sunday.
We have will over 50 cabins and trailers at the present.
For sale: Modern cabin and lot lease–$8000. If interested, call 172
History – In the beginning
Scott Gibson remembers:
My father, John “Hoot” Gibson, grew up south of Monmouth, Illinois, when Lake Warren was still open pasture and quiet meadows. His brother-in-law, Paul Lee, mowed the land, and after the lake was built in 1949, Paul’s brother Ralph welcomed visitors as the gatekeeper—back when the lake was coming to life.
As a boy, I lived nearby and spent long summer days at the beach, often fueled by ham-and-cheese sandwiches from The Frog. After football practice, my teammates and I cooled off in the water, occasionally flirting with the lifeguards—much to the delight of a packed beach. Hoot liked to say The Frog was built to withstand tornadoes and even nuclear bombs, complete with radiation signs on the walls—and a healthy supply of ham-and-cheese sandwiches.
The old open “Shelter House,” now the Community Center, still hosts gatherings today. One of my favorite memories is the Father’s Day Fish and Chicken Fry, a tradition that brought the lake community together.
Now that I recently purchased a cabin on the lake, it feels like coming home. My wife, Karen, and I look forward to sharing old stories and creating new ones for the Gibson generations to come, just like old Hoot did.
World Record Flathead Catfish Caught at Lake Warren by Roy Schwass!
