Teaching Through Example

Pike Lake resident Brenda Houtz advocates for Healthy Lakes

“It’s perfect here!” Brenda Houtz sums up her love for our local lakes effortlessly. “It is so delightful living on the lake,” she said. “We all need to respect it and take care of it. I want to do my part, and to set an example for my neighbors.”

Brenda is an active member of the Pike Lake Association and recently made her first donation to The Watershed Foundation after learning more about the impact that land-based pollution issues can have water quality.

Brenda came to this area from Madison county in 1957. She attended Manchester University and Grace College, becoming an elementary teacher. She taught at Washington Elementary in Warsaw for 40 years, retiring in 2010.

Brenda was introduced to lake living when she was a resident of Lake Tippecanoe, “I fell in love with living on the water,” she says.

So after returning to Warsaw, she jumped at a chance to buy a former fisherman’s cottage on the west side of Pike Lake in 1984. The renovated and expanded lake front cottage became her permanent home, where she lived with her husband Jim until his passing in 2018.

Brenda loves that Pike Lake offers her a serene, peaceful setting with close proximity to downtown Warsaw and local shops. Her neighbors are another source of joy, and Brenda actively engages other Pike Lake residents to get involved to help protect their treasured backyard.

Brenda says she chose to donate to TWF because it is vital that our local lakes are protected. “I love the lakes. There is something so meaningful in enjoying their beauty. Like anything else you love, you have to respect it and take care of it. We must treat our waterways correctly in every respect. By not polluting, watching what we plant, how we fertilize and by donating to programs that take action, like TWF,” she said.

“We must think of the lasting legacy of our lake in everything we do.”