Umbria neighbor shares his love of the area
Sister Mary Hroscikoski and Elizabeth Rydeen
Sisters and employees enjoyed a presentation by Johnathon Zwack, a recent graduate of St.
Cloud State University with a degree in earth science. His senior project included a geological
survey of The Cove area in Watab Township, about a mile south of Umbria. His love for rocks
and land history was evident throughout his impressive presentation.
We learned about the history of The Cove, near what was Pirate’s Cove Restaurant and now
a new housing development. Johnny spoke of geologic terms such as outcrops (rock and other
formations that make up a landscape), glacial polishing, and glacial till and lichens. The Umbria property includes part of an island that presumably came into being after the construction of the Sartell dam in 1908. When the land was platted in the 1850s it was all one piece. Johnny talked about Gordon Bridge on the River Road, originally being made of rocks over a marshy area extending east and north from the Mississippi River to what later became Little Rock Lake. Coincidentally, both Johnny and Sister Christelle Watercott have fond childhood memories of fishing there.
He excitedly shared a photo of a petroglyph he found on one of The Cove granite outcrops
and his realization that a triangular arrow figure at its uppermost part pointed north. He also
spoke of the area as homeland of the Dakota and Ojibwe peoples. He has loved walking the land at Umbria and observing its wildlife; he delighted us with videos he had taken from a tree stand in the woods of a doe and later a fawn browsing the underbrush and two bucks separating after a fight at the edge of the prairie, a once-in-a-lifetime experience, he said.
After the presentation, Sister Mary Hroscikoski showed him the Music Center where some 20
years ago he learned to play guitar. She promised him our prayers as he, his wife, and 18-month-old son move this week to St. Louis where he will begin his first professional job with an
environmental services company.
Sister Mary Hroscikoski invited Johnny to share his research. She first met Johnny at the entrance of the Umbria lane. With permission from Sister Julien Dirkes, he had come to hunt, but he preferred using his eyes and ears rather than a bow and arrow.
