Vera Baebler

Vera Baebler passed away last week at the age of 94, but her generosity will be remembered for generations of Monroe County residents involved in agriculture as well as pet lovers.

Baebler recently donated her family’s 102-acre farm on JJ Road south of Waterloo to the 4-H Education Foundation. It is now known as the Baebler Educational Farm.

And just last year, Baebler donated $400,000 toward the building of a new Helping Strays shelter facility off Hanover Road. The facility, slated to open soon, will be named the Kenneth and Vera Baebler Pet Adoption Center.

Baebler donated the farm for the express purpose of providing Monroe County’s young people with an outdoor educational and recreational center.

“The Monroe County Extension & 4-H Education Foundation is very honored to have been the recipient of the Baebler Farm property,” said Don Schrader, President of the Monroe County Extension & 4-H Education Foundation. “Vera wanted the property to be kept in its natural state for youth, families, schools and groups to enjoy the beauty of nature through an outdoor learning environment. The foundation and Baebler Educational Farm committee has pledged to keep Vera’s wish. Volunteers are diligently  preparing  the farm for public use.”

In fact, the foundation was recently awarded a grant by the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation under its K-12 Pollinator Schools Pilot program. The foundation will use the $11,000 award to install a pollinator habitat at Baebler Educational Farm…>>>

Read this story in the April 27 issue of the Republic-Times. If you don’t already receive the paper, you can subscribe by calling 939-3814 or clicking here. Or you can pick up a copy at the R-T office at 205 W. Mill Street in Waterloo or at any of these other locations.