Wednesday, March 31

Story of the pond.


The story of the pond is part what I was told years ago and what I remember from my childhood.
The pond was a swampy area. The water flows into this area from the brooks above that start at the base of Mount Ephraim. My father used a bulldozer to create a fire pond and recreation area. There is a fire hydrant next to the pine tree you see and the local fire department comes and makes sure that it is still in working order every year. There was only one time that it had to be used for a house fire in the neighborhood.
The pond was a gathering place in the summers for the whole neighborhood. Which when I was a very young child included most of my father's siblings families. We would spend many hours splashing in the water and catching frogs. The slide was an addition that my father added later on. Next to the slide used to be a dock. There was also a very large weeping willow tree that we would swing off of and drop into the water. There was a raft that was anchored in the middle of the pond and there were many games that we created to fill our spare time.
The pond is not used much today and cattails have started to fill-in the the inlet area. Left unchecked nature will reclaim this area some day.

1 comment:

Stevie D said...

For historical accuracy, Dad didn't use a bulldozer to make the pond. The pond was created in 1947 out of the swamp/marsh that was there. The work was done professionally by possibly who else but Gurneys. So was only about 15 at the time.