Guests this week at the Channel Marker, from left are Kris Williams, Jeff and Vicky Owens, Paul Finley, Brittany Lyon, Shari Benyousky, Dr. Nate Bosch, Janet McIlroy and Erik Robinson.

Text and Photos
By Shari Benyousky
Guest Columnist

Column Note: In the 59th column in the Diners and Dives series, a small group of Warsaw Breakfast Optimist Club members explore Syracuse.

SYRACUSE — There isn’t a better place to chill on a balmy Friday afternoon. Up in Syracuse, overlooking Lake Wawasee, you can walk, drive, or boat into the Channel Marker Restaurant. Once there, you can sit inside or outside on the Tiki Bar patio.

The Channel Marker sprawls along the channel, so you walk through multiple levels. Our hostess said, “Watch your step,” a few times as we moved to a wide room full of windows and lake views. On the way, you’ll pass the glossy hull of an old wooden boat built into the counter. This place screams look at the water! Have some great food! Relax! Fittingly, we invited some guests who spent their time researching under the very surface of the water we enjoyed looking at.

Lilly Lakes & Streams

Lilly Intern Erik Robinson shows off the Channel Marker menu.

Our guests were already inside perusing the extensive menu. Dr. Nate Bosch is the director of the Lilly Center for Lakes & Streams located on the campus of Grace College. He brought two of his summer student intern researchers. “Look, I’m a nerd through and through,” Bosch described his job happily. He clearly loves his work researching limnology. Limnology?? That means studying inland waters of all kinds from lakes to rivers to groundwater. Kosciusko County with more than 100 lakes and streams is nothing if not one giant test tube for limnology.

We wanted to be test subjects for Channel Marker lunch fare, so before we got deeper into the science, we checked out the extensive menu. Our waitress Megan, who had her blonde hair up in a beachy bun, told me her favorite item on the menu was the shrimp tacos. I got the lettuce-wrapped fish tacos. Funeral Planner Brittany Lyon opted for the lovely Typhoon Tuna Salad. Cokes and teas appeared on the table quickly even though the restaurant was full.

Like A Fish To Water

Bosch took Megan’s advice and ordered the shrimp tacos with mango sauce before discussing more of his work. Lilly Lakes and Streams people spend their lives studying tiny wriggling things mostly seen under a microscope. These little water things can make a huge difference in whether you can swim without getting sick or continue to catch fish when you toss out a lure.

Bosch’s two student interns nodded enthusiastically about researching water. “Where did you come from to get to Grace College?” Realtor Jeff Owens asked them.

Senior Janet McIlroy comes from middle-of-nowhere Horsecreek, Calif. Junior Erik Robinson comes to Lilly from Plainfield near Indianapolis. Erik has already been an MP or military police in the National Guard and wants to use his degree to work in the DNR. “I love being outside,” he tells us. “I want to work in nature.”

Reel It In

Vicky Owens and Brittany Lyon show off their suntans.

Waitress Megan checked in on us, handing out napkins, and refilling drinks. As we waited for our food, Bosch told us about the Annual Fall Lilly Center report called Under-the-Surface which compiles its most fascinating research. Local fisherpeople pay close attention to it as it gives clues about where to find the fish from year to year. Fish and native species like to swim in healthy water.

Fisherman and Consultant Kris Williams ate his Beachcomber (grilled blackened catch of the day on swirled rye with Swiss, slaw, and thousand-island) and paid special attention. “Have bass fishers ever infiltrated your team?” he chuckled before explaining. “Although I mostly fish for trout.”

Bosch leaned forward. “I’ve heard that you can successfully fly-fish smallmouth bass on the Tippy River.”

Intern Janet, who heads the student research team for the summer, settled her enormous Channel Burger down. “Sometimes, I get the inside scoop about my research needs from fisher people.” She illustrated someone tossing out a fishing line with her hands. “They often give us tidbits of information that help us create future projects to research.” Everyone wants healthier water and healthier fish.

Wading Into The Conversation

Bosch told us that sometimes Lilly pays students to go fishing for small native species to fill their 90 aquariums which go out on loan during the year to libraries and classrooms for education. The Lilly Center spends a lot of time educating the public, including local elementary schools.

Visiting Vicky Owens who works with kids told the Lilly team how “people at Jefferson Elementary are ecstatic about learning from Lilly and wearing waders in the water.” Last year 1,200 plus students in K-12 grades in Kosciusko went through the Lilly education, and many of those lucky kids donned waterproof waders to gather test data from local stream sites.

Batten Down The Hatches

Charlie Wagner sitting large.

Lilly also researches things that are toxic to people such as their recent warning about a blue-green toxic algae bloom spotted on Big Chapman Lake (it looks like a green oil spill on the surface). Bosch said, “Blue-green algae is a super competitor. It can fix nitrogen out of the atmosphere and control buoyancy to grab all the sunlight.”

“So, blue-green algae is like the Michael Jordan of algae?” half-joked realtor Jeff Owens finishing his soup du jour.

Bosch agreed with a serious look. “Except that high levels of it are toxic to humans and other species.” The algae take needed nutrients from plants and animals and even fish won’t eat it. “It’s nefarious!” If YOU want to be on the Lilly summer weekly Microcystin Toxin report so you can check out where to swim or fish, sign up here.

Under Janet’s student team, Lilly samples seven public swimming beaches and six stream sites plus 16 lakes. “We have volunteer captains who take us out every week over the summer,” Janet told us. “We don’t want to use our own boat as taking a boat from lake to lake can transport species between them.”

Bosch finished his chips and salsa. “We are a research organization, so we have a very high bar for high-quality data.” Lilly works with agricultural partners as well. “Our community is very collaborative. More than most. “

Intern Janet waved a French fry and added, “Our goal isn’t to prove any one way but to learn. Many people are thankful to know. We’re all nerds. This is why it’s all interesting to us.” Erik nodded in total agreement.

Above Board At The Tiki Bar Patio

We thanked the Lilly team. They had another site to visit and data to gather while up near Syracuse. We are glad they’re out there all summer keeping an eye on Kosciusko’s most precious resource.

After they left, a few of us went outside to the Tiki bar to sit under a colorful umbrella and try a famous cocktail. We recommend that you try a Wawasee Sunset, a Beachy Peachy, a Lakeside G&T or a secret-recipe Swamp Water.

You can also linger by the water, watch the boats, and nibble Key Lime Pie if you’re so inclined. No matter how you try the Channel Marker, wave and kick off your sandals because this is Island Time.

Do you know of an interesting place, restaurant, nonprofit, or person that you’d like to see featured in Diners and Dives? Send Shari Benyousky an email at [email protected].