Creek catches cold

A narrow stretch of Little Silver Creek flows freely yesterday, despite a couple of days of temperatures in the teens. The cold snap did cause the creek to freeze in its wider, slow-moving sections. The little tributary flows north to south, passing along the eastern boundary of my hometown of Lebanon, Ill., and was a playground for me when I was growing up. I would cast worms to the bottom to tempt catfish and carp, and I fly-fished for fat bluegills and chunky green sunfish. Yesterday, ice formed only on the edges of the running water near Midgley-Neiss Road. Little Silver Creek is named after Silver Creek, which flows north to south just west of our town. I used to think that somebody named it Silver Creek since it looked like a silver ribbon when it would freeze over in the dead of winter. It turns out that around 1712, according to an old story, some Spanish miners set up a silver smelter along the creek southwest of town, and the waterway became known as Silver Creek. To the miners' dismay, however, some American Indians chased them off and seized the silver. Spring is still nine weeks away, but I'm already thinking about
springtime – the best time to seize some Little Silver Creek catfish for my frying pan.