The Darby Creek Association honors the efforts of Kay Boggs
Kay Boggs was a past president of the Darby Creek Association and a great supporter for the preservation of of Big and Little Darby Creeks. Due to the efforts of Kay and other friends of the Darbys, we can still enjoy one of Ohio's great natural features.
Please see the history of the efforts to save the Big and Little Darby Creeks. Kay participated in many of the events described and leaves a much-appreciated legacy for future generations.
KAY BOGGS | 1921-2008
Woman helped preserve region
Boggs started fight in 1970s that led to protections for Big, Little Darby
Friday, June 6, 2008 3:12 AM
By Mark Ferenchik
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
If you go to the Darby Creek Association's Web site, you'll read a history of
the battle to protect the Big and Little Darby creeks that ultimately led to
their designation as federal- and state-protected scenic rivers.
Kay Boggs compiled that history. A tireless advocate for the creeks, she helped
lead the grass-roots fight from the beginning.
Part of her legacy is what the Darby creeks have continued to be, a peaceful
retreat on the outskirts of a burgeoning metropolitan area.
Boggs, a former Darby Creek Association president, died Monday at First
Community Village. She was 86.
"Kay was the real hero of the Darby," said the Darby Creek Association's John
Tetzloff. "If it weren't for her, I don't think we'd have anything like we have
now with a healthy stream. We'd have a reservoir."
In the 1970s, the city wanted to build a dam and reservoir on the Big Darby
north of I-70.
Boggs, who at the time lived on Amity Road near the creek, collected petitions
in 1976 opposing the plan.
"What they want to do would ruin this part of the county," she said at the time.
"She was right at the forefront," said Carol Boggs, a daughter who lives in
Silver Spring, Md.
The city said it was the last practical place in the metro area for building a
reservoir to serve the growing city.
A court order halted those plans, and the city finally dropped the idea in 1992.
Tetzloff said he has seen plans showing a marina, houses and new roads if the
reservoir had been built.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers also dropped plans to build a flood-control dam
on the creek in the 1970s.
The state designated the Big and Little Darby creeks as scenic rivers in 1984.
Ten years later, they were designated national scenic rivers.
Those measures give officials the power to reject federal and state highway and
construction projects for the creeks.
The Darby Creek Association Web site says Boggs was instrumental in mobilizing
residents to prevent planners and developers from ruining "a precious and
irreplaceable national treasure."
Visiting hours are from 4 to 7 p.m. today, with the funeral at 7 p.m., at the
Tidd Funeral Home in Hilliard. Boggs will be buried Saturday in her hometown of
Wellston in southeastern Ohio.
To read about the history of the Darby Creek Association that Boggs compiled, go
to www.darbycreeks.org.
mferenchik@dispatch.com
http://www.legacy.com/Dispatch/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStoryPrint&PersonID=110972447
Katheryn Frances (Kay) Boggs
BOGGS Katheryn (Kay) Frances Boggs, age 86, of Columbus, died Monday, June 2,
2008, at First Community Village in Columbus, OH. Preceded in death by her
husband Londie, her parents, brother and sister-in-law James (Jiggs) and Patty
Smith, step-sons Herbert Dale Boggs and Alan Frederick (Freddie) Boggs. She was
born August 27, 1921, in Wellston, OH, to parents J. Franklyn and Katherine
Smith. She married Londie Dennis Boggs on April 1, 1945. She is survived by
children, Carol Boggs of Silver Spring, MD, Linda (John) Bozzelli of Midland,
MI, and Keith (Bev) Boggs of Columbus, OH; grandchildren, Elizabeth and
Christopher Bozzelli, Meghan Scott, Maylyn (Paul) Schneider, and Trevor Boggs;
brothers and sisters-in-law, Theodore (Ted) and Mary Jane Smith of Columbus, OH,
Lawrence and LaRue Smith of Circleville, OH; along with several nieces and
nephews. Katheryn will be remembered as an active volunteer in Girl Scouts for
more than 15 years and worked along with husband, Londie caring for Camp Ken-Jockety.
She was an active member of the Darby Creek Association, Rivers Unlimited, and
The Nature Conservancy. Her untiring efforts were instrumental in saving Big and
Little Darby Creeks as part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Preservation
Act of 1968. Visitation will be held Friday, June 6 from 4-7 p.m. with funeral
service at 7 p.m. at THE TIDD FUNERAL HOME, 5265 Norwich St., Hilliard.
Interment 11 a.m. Saturday, June 7 at Ridgewood Cemetery, Wellston, OH.
www.tiddfuneralservice.com. Sign the online guestbook at www.dispatch.com/obituaries
Published in The Columbus Dispatch from 6/4/2008 - 6/5/2008.
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