Friends of Leclaire has re-opened the memorial brick program at Leclaire Park after receiving many requests for bricks over the years.

The Edwardsville Parks and Recreation Department has made many improvements at Leclaire Park this fall. The water level of the Lake was lowered in late summer so a stone wall could be installed along the Madison Avenue bank of the lake.

With the February 2016 opening of the Confluence Fab Lab in the former N.O. Nelson Manufacturing complex, the location is once again home to the constructive talents of the Edwardsville community. A Fab Lab (fabrication laboratory) is a workshop offering personal fabrication tools, equipment and training. Originally, fab labs began as outreach projects from MIT that have since spread to over 900 locations in nearly 100 countries. Each Fab Lab must meet strict requirements, but each lab is unique in that it can go beyond those requirements. The Confluence Fab Lab is hosted by Lewis and Clark Community College at the Historic N. O. Nelson Campus. A partial list of available work spaces and equipment/resources includes the following:

• Metalworking – metal lathes, milling machines, plasma metal cutter, welding

• Woodworking/Plastics – lathes, drill press, planers, table saw, bandsaw, joiner

• Electronics – soldering, oscilloscopes, breadboards, voltage meters, third hands

• Finishing/Painting– sand blasting, paint booth with hood, vinyl-sign cutter, laser engraver

• Computer Design – computer drafting and design, 3-D scanner, projector

• Assembly – two large workbenches, hand tools, vises, clamps

• Two desktop 3-D printers as well as two industrial 3-D printers.

• A full range of hand tools are available for checkout.

Friends of Leclaire is now recognized as a Neighborhood Association in Edwardsville’s new ENERGI program, Edwardsville Neighborhood Enhancement, Recognition and Grant Initiative. The recognition makes the organization eligible for annual

Mike and Cindy Reinhardt serve on the Friends of Leclaire Board of Trustees, but also organize a quarterly used book fair for St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. The combined interests recently
led to an interesting find. 

Friends of Leclaire is excited to announce that we are now an officially recognized Neighborhood Association with the City of Edwardsville. 

The Edwardsville Children’s Museum (ECM), at 722 Holyoake Road, has plans for a “Nature Classroom” on the museum grounds. The new classroom at the former 

On Dec. 12, 1990, the last meeting of the Leclaire Centennial Committee was held at the home of Chairman Karen Hangsleben at 930 Holyoake Road.

In 2015 the Friends of Leclaire were once again very active.  The 24th Leclaire Parkfest, the annual celebration of our history and neighborhood, was held on another beautiful autumn day.