Chris Ryback, Director of IT and Heritage at the Edward Lowe Foundation, Cassopolis, served as tour guide for the Cass County Historical Society during the group’s outing to Big Rock Valley Farm.
From a 1986 TV commercial:
“In 1947, this man invented Kitty Litter brand. Why?”
“Cause I’m Ed Lowe and I love your cat.”
And indeed, he did. Anyone who has lived in Cass County, or owned a cat, has no doubt heard the name Edward Lowe, the man whose made it possible for outdoor cats to become indoor cats. His granulated clay product that started selling for 65 cents a bag evolved into a company that sold in 1990 for $200 million plus stock.
According to Chris Ryback, Director of IT and Heritage at the Edward Lowe Foundation, Ed was more than a successful businessman, environmentalist, educator, and author. He was a showman. And his legacy put on a grand show for members of the Cass County Historical Society, Monday, June 19.
The evening began with a question-and-answer session with Ryback in the Tower of Tomorrow, part of the Foundation’s educational center at Big Rock Valley Farm on Decatur Road. The Tower, while not exactly built like a tower, serves as the site for ongoing programs provided by the Foundation.
“When Ed was envisioning how the property would be used,” Ryback says, “he envisioned a campus where people could come and learn about entrepreneurism and business. He wanted to focus on businesses that had similar experiences to what he had gone through. Not Fortune 500 companies and not necessarily start-ups. People who were already beyond the initial growth phase but hadn’t pushed through some brick walls people would come across.
“Ed was big on breaking down brick walls and helping people to achieve success. The American Dream. Ed was very Americana and gung-ho about America.”
Big Rock Valley Farm is more than a salute to America. It’s a reflection of what Ed and wife Darlene found great about our country. The juxtaposition of the modernity of the Tower of Tomorrow and the quaint throwback buildings of Billieville and the boxcar village reflect how a simple background and upbringing are not necessarily barriers to great success.
After an introductory discussion in the Tower, Society members strolled the wooden sidewalks of Billieville and wandered through the Billygoat Tavern before heading to the boxcar village. At one time, the wooded area was a just collection of pole barns used for storage, but as the need for conference space grew, so did Billieville. Lowe designed the turn-of-the-century storefronts to create an homage to simpler times and named it after Darlene, whose middle name is Billie.
The five boxcars, purchased in 1990 from Grand Trunk, serve as housing for the many guests the Foundation hosts each year. Each has been retrofitted with a bathroom, utility room, sitting room, and two bedrooms. They sit in a semi-circle in a peaceful wooded area with a large figure of Casey Jones watching over the parklike setting.
Environmentalism was another of Lowe’s passions. He loved the land and had a tremendous respect for nature. In particular, Big Rock Valley has become a mecca for eastern massasauga rattlesnake researchers.
According to Guest Services Manager, Julie Pond, the Foundation hosts about 35 zoologists and biologists who come to the farm specifically to search for and research the snakes.
“Other researchers from universities or environmental organizations also come to the farm to study everything from ants to pollen to legumes and birds. We only ask that they share their research with the Foundation.”
Pond says, to date, researchers have catalogued over 115 birds on the property.
As the sun began to drift slowly behind the treetops, the Society’s evening at Big Rock Valley came to a close. It was time to begin the journey home past the Memorial Gardens, Foundation Headquarters, the old Penn Church, Gench House and Allegheny School before reaching Decatur Road with a new appreciation of Entrepreneurism, Environmentalism, and the legacy of Ed and Darlene Lowe.
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