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Actor Clancy Brown rallies for Cedar Bog
Although the Urbana native is busy with new projects, saving the bog is 'one of the things you just do.'
Monday, September 24, 2007
MECHANICSBURG — The stars came out early in Mechanicsburg on Sunday — at least one of them.
Actor Clancy Brown paid a visit to the village to help raise money for the Friends of Cedar Bog Nature Preserve.
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Brown, best known as the voice of Mr. Krabs from "SpongeBob SquarePants" and as prison guard Capt. Byron T. Hadley in "The Shawshank Redemption," answered questions about his Hollywood career at a fundraiser held at the home of Lu Blaine, Mechanicsburg village council member.
Brown, 48, said he chooses roles that he likes, not based on whether the movie is expected to be a success.
"The problem is you never know whether it's going to be good," he said.
The actor said "Shawshank" was a good film, but he struggled with playing the sadistic Hadley because the character had no "redeeming qualities."
Brown, an Urbana native, said the two greatest things about Champaign County were "the county fair and (my) Mom and Dad."
The Friends of Cedar Bog Nature Preserve was founded in December of 2006 to raise money for the operating funds for a new education center at Cedar Bog, said Blaine, also a Friends committee member.
Brown said he supports bog preservation because it's a basic human responsibility.
"It's just what you do as a steward of the Earth and as a human being," he said. "It's one of the things you just do, like taking your kids to school."
He went on to praise the work of the Friends and people who have worked to protect the bog.
"The spotted turtles and rattlesnakes are still there at Cedar Bog because of the continuity of that effort," said Brown. "It's been worth saving for a long time."
Cedar Bog is a fen, a "wetland fed by constant flowing springs of cool, alkaline water," according to the Ohio Historical Society, which operates the site. The bog is located near Woodburn Road and state Route 68 in Champaign County.
Though Brown said he is involved with some new projects, there is one thing he's working on that takes precedent above all others.
"Getting my daughter ready for middle school," he said.
Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0360 or vlough@coxohio.com
