Today we went around to talk to the neighbors !
It was a lot of fun - makes me think we should have set this up as an event
years ago!
First, we went to the King's Forest Development
off Broadview Rd. These are the houses that you can see off to the right when
driving down the camp driveway. The neighborhood was really quiet: some
houses have driveways unplowed, unshoveled, un-tread marked, unfootprinted. We
figured those to be the snowbirds who have migrated to warmer climes for the
winter.
For most of the houses, we just looped our fliers
near ( but not in) the mailboxes. For houses with
yards actually adjoining camp property, we knocked on doors , introduced
ourselves, gave them a heads up and an opportunity to help. It was all very friendly and we got lots of interest. I think
the neighbors were just glad to get some information.
We ran into a geographic puzzle: the
northmost cul-de-sac was on the same latitude with Gund Hall and and the pack
out building. Yet we know that houses are visible from the road by Coach House
and along Last Chance Loop Trail. I had left my map at home and was standing
ont the corner of the entrance trying to puzzle it out from memory when Lucy
suggested we get back in the car and ride farther north on Broadview looking
for any streets that could possibly connect. Excellent plan. The nearest
left turn we could make was onto Newton, and off that was a small street with
the name of King's Creek. This turned out to be also be a
development, altho a small one. With verrrrrrrrry fancy houses. Most of
these people turned out to be home, and they definetely wanted to talk with
us! We even got invited inside for house tours, hot chocolate, and
more extensive conversations! These neighbors want to know when our next
meeting is. They are all about supprting the effort to keep the area rural!
Since we don't really have any meetings planned,
we told them about the camp history presentation at RHS on Feb 9. I don't plan
to spend a lot of time on the current situation, but I'll be happy to answer
questions afterwards.
I was fairly irritated that the developer seems to
have named our creek to support his fiefdom. "King's Creek," my foot! That
is NOT the official name of the creek. Kathleen Bradly had once suggested that
we come up with a name, and when we get our camp back, I think we should.
Perhaps when the creek passes under the fence it should undergo a sex change and
be known as "Queen's Creek". From here I set off on an imaginary naming trip:
Maybe it could be called "Queen of the Forest Creek" , or QoF - for short.
that could be appropriate, because to "quaff" is to drink. Except I don't want
kids thinking they could drink the water. It replenishes the forest tho. A
good name. Or maybe since this is about the girls it could be called Princess
Creek - but does that sound too prissy? Maybe we should see if Princess Kate
wants to buy the camp since she is now a girl guide volunteer- or does England
have coed "scouts " ? Not sure. At this point in my daydreaming, I was
driving slow and I came back to reality to notice a police van right behind me.
He pulled alongside and asked if he could help ---- in a tone that suggested I
better not be planning any mischief. So I told him that yes, he could help ---
and launched into my spiel about the camps. After a lenthy chat, he drove off
with a stack of our fliers to take back to the Richfield police station.
We continued up Newton Rd, drove through Rising
Valley park, came out on Oviatt. We distributed fliers there & in
Secluded Highlands development off Oviatt -- but we didn't knock on any doors
because they won't be as immediatly affected by a possible sale of
camp.
Mission complete, we de-briefed at
McD's. Generally things are looking good. There are so many untapped
resources. If the council office could accept some of these offers of help,
we could all be the so much better for it. I would love if the money raised
could go toward repairs & improvements instead of legal fees. Speaking of
which - the total donated so far is $19, 900.00
