STEPPING BACK IN TIME TO SWEETNESS

There is a saying “If you are lucky enough to live by the water, then you are lucky enough.” Many residents of Rock Pond in Georgetown are among those folks who are lucky enough and they are in the process of saving their sweet little beach from being taken by the town for back taxes.
Decades ago funds were left in trust by a private party to maintain the Rock Pond Beach for the enjoyment of those who had deeded rights to the beach. What has happened to those funds is yet to be discovered, but the story behind the movement to save a special place in the sun is as American as it is heartwarming.
For years the little beach was the focal point of summer where families and friends gathered to relax and enjoy the beauty of Rock Pond. It was so adored by the community that beach chair and blanket space was at a premium and one had to get there early to stake out a spot. The beach was kept clean and a shed was built to store equipment such as rakes and floats that cordoned off the swimming area. The neighbors knew and cared about each other and the Rock Pond community was “lucky enough”.
As happens with the passing of time, children grow up and move away from sweet little beaches. Parents grow older and their needs are often better met in other locations. The dynamic of whole communities can change to the point where neighbors no longer know each other and the only gatherings that take place on sweet little beaches are those of geese and ducks.
The beautiful Rock Pond Beach was left to ruin for years and it was becoming a junk yard filled with trash. There is a sadness associated with the ruination of something beautiful and timeless. Busy with their separate lives, Rock Pond residents continued to drive past the sad little beach every day as it became more of an eyesore than the gem it always was. The task of cleaning up the beach seemed overwhelming anyway and where would one begin if one did? One did.
Kris and Nicole Owens have four children and they live across the way from the beach. Kris began riding his lawn mower over to the beach to mow the grass. He and Nicole then began to clean up the beach by raking up trash and glass particles that would hurt their children. When asked what made Kris begin such an undertaking Nicole said “Oh, he just generally does things that feel right.”
Close neighbors and friends joined them with rakes and trash bags. They made a path to the old shed and rummaged through forgotten floats and equipment. Soon they had the swimming area cordoned off and as more neighbors began to take notice, the old dock began to see kayaks and canoes. One day several weeks ago as Kris was raking, a passerby stopped to ask why he was “bothering to clean up the beach” that was being “taken by the town for back taxes to be sold off as buildable lots.” Kris did not know the man and has not seen him since, but for those who do not believe in “coincidence”, this chance encounter certainly was “meant to be”.
Kris went to Town Hall and found that in deed, the town was preparing to take back the
beach that would be turned over for development. Quickly a committee was formed and fliers went out to nearly two hundred homes that have deeded rights to the beach. Most residents were not even aware of those rights, but many were pleasantly surprised to learn of the additional value to their properties.
The town is now working with the Rock Pond Beach Association who have collected funds sufficient to stave off the taking for the time being. What has happened at Rock Pond, however, goes beyond taxes and taking, raking and cleaning. Neighbors are gathering with friends and families. Children are learning a sense of community as they see neighbors, once strangers, now waving on the way by to each other. What began with one mower and one rake is not so far removed from the barn buildings of centuries ago. People needed each other to develop as part of a whole rather than to merely exist in isolation. There is as much laughter as there is splashing now around Rock Pond and it is absolutely intoxicating.
Perhaps being part of something so uplifting during such difficult times will be a driving force behind many “Rock Pond” movements throughout the country. The Rock Pond neighbors have become “lucky enough” again.