In the News
On
Saturday, October 2nd, 2004, The Trustees of
Reservations, the nation’s oldest regional land trust, awarded the citizens of Rochester the Conservationists of the Year
Award. The award is given each
year to a person or people who have made the greatest impact on the
conservation work of The Trustees. Rochester was recognized for its
role in helping preserve Eastover Farm.
SEMASS
and Rochester Golf
Course To Receive Awards from Land Trust
The Rochester Land Trust has created the Business
Partner of the Year Award to recognize those businesses that have
contributed to the preservation of Rochester's
rural character. This is the first year
of the award, and we have selected two recipients for their outstanding
contributions in 2004. These honors will
be presented at our Annual Meeting on March 30, 2005.
The first award will be given to American Ref-Fuel of SEMASS. SEMASS made
a $10,000 leadership contribution towards the Rounseville
property project in 2004, and has agreed to do so again in 2005.
The second award will go to the Rochester
Golf Course. The RGC by its very existence is preserving one aspect of Rochester's
rural character. Owned and operated by the Tallman family, it has been a quiet,
yet vital part of the Rochester
landscape for years. Substantial contributions in time, facilities and funds
have had a positive and steady impact on the work of the Land Trust.
Rochester Land Trust To Raffle Original
Eastover Farm Painting
Buy a Chance to Win this original Arthur Moniz painting “Moon Shadows/Eastover Farm” for $10 at Bev Loves Books and the Mayflower Bank at Plumb Corner in
Rochester, or at Harriet’s Outback and Plymouth Savings Bank in Marion. See the framed original at the Arthur Moniz Gallery across from the Whaling Museum in New Bedford. Only 300
tickets will be sold. The final drawing will be
held at our Annual Meeting on March 30, 2005.
Save these Dates
Wednesday March
30th, 2005
Come
join us for a potluck supper at our Annual Meeting in the Congregational Church
Hall in Rochester center at 6:00
PM. We will be celebrating the Conservationists
of the Year Award, presenting the Business of the Year Awards, and electing our
officers and board members.
Sunday April 24, 2005
Please
join us for a walk at the Assawompset Complex,
detailed in the following Special Places article. Meet at the North Rochester Church at 1
PM.
Laurene
Gerrior: Assawompset
Complex
My special place in Rochester was first used by the Native Americans.
For
thousands of years they roamed there, taking what
the land offered, thanking their great spirit for the bounty. Since they left
few written records, I can only imagine what they thought. But since they chose
to honor their royal sachems by burying them with a sunset view for eternity at
this beautiful place, I assume they considered it very special.
Later, in 1855 and again in 1856, a visitor
came to this place and wrote about it. Reading the words Henry David Thoreau
wrote about his trips through North Rochester, focusing on the land now called the Assawompset Ponds Complex gives me goose bumps. His sparse
style cataloged the facts about what he saw. I'd like to think his visits here
influenced his later
environmental writings. Here are a few excerpts from his
journal:
"Passed
over a narrow neck between the two Quitticus ponds,
after first visiting Great Quitticus on the right of
the road and gathering clamshells there. These shells labeled will be good mementos
of the ponds. It was a great wild pond with large islands in it. … Saw a loon
on Little or West Quitticus from the road, an old bird with a black
bill. The bayonet or rainbow rush was common along the shore there. … in an old
orchard near the Quitticus Ponds, heard and at last
saw my tweezer-bird, which is extremely restless,
flitting from bough to bough and apple tree to apple tree. These were making the woods ring and are very
common hereabouts. … Two men spoke of loons eggs on a rocky isle in Little Quitticus. I saw Lobelia dortmanna
in bloom in the last.”
Today, we are so incredibly lucky to be
able to walk the same paths that he and countless Native Americans trod. Thanks
to a quirk of fate and local governments, the view that they observed is
exactly the same we see today! The cities of New Bedford and Taunton, through eminent domain, took the lands
surrounding these ponds to create a protected watershed. In doing so, they
erased all signs of human habitation, thus returning this land to its pristine
state. Since then it has been protected and until recently off limits to
passive recreation.
Now that most of it is open to walking,
cross country skiing, snowshoeing and horseback riding, what is down any of the
open lanes of the Ponds Complex? These
are fire roads, many built over old cart paths. They enter off Neck Road, Route 105 and North Avenue towards the water. Beech groves with their
ephemeral Beech Drops are encountered. A few small streams are crossed with
Marsh Marigolds and ferns of all types visible. Mayflowers and orchids abound
in the pine groves. Bird songs and some animals signs are evident, for although
hunting is allowed in season, the lack of humans in these forests create a
sanctuary for many creatures. The geology is rocky and the terrain varies from
flat to quite steep. The total package is one of pristine wilderness.
Finally, a glimpse of water through the
trees is the payoff for the enjoyable trek. From most vantage points there is
nothing but uninhabited shoreline in every direction. This is the view of
Thoreau or the myriad generations of Native Americans. One almost expects a log
canoe to round the corner of one of the islands. Perhaps an eagle or osprey
will soar overhead. If you're really lucky, one may dive in and catch a fish
then fly to a tree or one of the nests along the shore. If it is spring or fall
you might hear the call of a loon, for many stop by here on their annual
migrations. Looking down into the clear water, fresh water mussels may be
visible or turtles might be sunning on the rocks. Everywhere you look; there is
something uplifting to see. Nothing flashy or awe inspiring, but just peaceful
and
refreshing to the mind and soul.
But there are a few rules of use before
traveling there. The administrators of the Complex and Rochester Police ask
that visitors park off the public roads but not block the fire roads. Look for
the red posts that identify the paths. At each gate, a sign will inform you if
that particular path is open to the public. (Some paths are closed because they
lead to areas, such as working sand pits, which might be dangerous). Paths in
Middleboro, Lakeville and Freetown are also open. A map of the Complex may be
purchased at the Lakeville Town Hall that shows the paths and areas of the
Complex open for fishing with a valid license.
I have been walking these trails since the early
60s. No matter where in the world I have traveled, returning here always
refreshes my soul. I feel a real connection to those who have traveled these
paths before. I hope you take the time to experience this special place in Rochester.
Do
you have a Special Place in Rochester? Would you tell us about it? Send your contribution to RLT, PO Box 337, Rochester MA 02770, fax it to: 508/763-2640 or e-mail to:
sbptrsn@comcast.net
Join
the Rochester Land Trust! Cut here and send it in!
********************************************
Rochester Land Trust 2005
PO Box 337 Membership
Invitation
Rochester, MA 02770
Life
Member $1000
YES,
I want to protect Friend
of Rochester $250
Rochester’s rural character Supporting
Member $100
and
natural beauty. Business
Member $ 25
Family
Member $ 15
Name
______________________________________ Individual
Member $ 10
Address
____________________________________
___________________________ ____________ e-mail _________________________
zip phone
_________________________
Rochester Land
Trust NONPROFIT
ORG
Post Office Box 337 STANDARD
A
206 High Street ROCHESTER,
MA
Rochester, MA
02770 Permit
No. 12
Rochester
Land
Trust Board of Directors 2004-2005
President: Susan Adams Vice
President: Russ Keeler
Treasurer: Michael Costa Clerk: Susan Peterson
Erin
Bryant Richard
Cutler Laurene Gerrior Norene Hartley
Daniel Kennedy Robert Lawrence Gil Lafrance
Rod McCollester MarySarah
Riggs Maureen Sperry Herb Wood