Some 70 or more people began showing up at work weekends. The Wohlsen family allowed an old mill dam to be destroyed, making the stream free flowing for the first time in centuries. All the while, Wilson kept the momentum going. He was a dynamo, tracking down materials and coordinating equipment during the week, donning waders with volunteers on weekends. Today, with work still to do, Lititz Run flows cleaner and colder.
Trout again inhabit at least four miles.
The hard work and broad community support have not gone unnoticed. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has selected the Lititz Run restoration as one of 12 in the nation to serve as a model for other communities. In 1999, the Lititz Run project won a Governor's Award for Environmental Excellence. Government officials from as far as Japan have toured what Wilson set in motion in Lititz. Only two weeks ago, dozens of new watershed coordinators appointed across the state were led by Wilson on a tour of the string of streamside parks, trails and wetlands that have grown along Lititz Run.