By Laura Bullock
I moved to Bedford in 1993 – the same year that I discovered our town’s beautiful Fawn Lake. Several times a week I walked to and around the lake with my dog. When the kids were little they loved running along the path, trying to skip stones on the water and catch frogs. As they got older we would take them fishing in the summer and ice skating and sledding in the winter.
In 2006 I was blessed to have the opportunity to move into the old Hayden Manse. I delved into the history of the Hayden Family and the formation and use of the lake in the 1800s. 110 Italians were hired to increase the size of the spring fed pond to the 11-acre size it is today.
Bostonians vacationed at the spa and hotel and received relief from what ailed them by taking Dr. Hayden’s Medicinal Viburnum Compound (developed at his Pharmacy which is now the Sweetwater Condos). Bedford’s Historical Society did some research and found Dr. Hayden’s granddaughter, Marna, still alive and well in Pennsylvania. We got in touch and soon she arrived with a carload of her family history. She regaled us with stories involving the lake, how her grandmother tried to convince her grandfather not to add water lilies to the lake, to the fact that the Bruins sometimes used the ice for the skating practice.
At the lake, I have witnessed wood ducks fledging from their nest, literally taking a leap of faith from high in the treetops to their mom calling from the lake below. Beavers felling trees at a record pace, leaving tree trunks leaning on the shoreline down into the water’s depths. They became the perfect summer perch for ducks, geese, and blue heron, as well as snapping turtles of all sizes lined up single file along the trunks, sunning themselves. Geese would present their newly-hatched families each Mother’s Day along the boat launch area. Swans would come soaring in every spring, leave for the summer then return each fall with their offspring. Each spring the snapping turtles take their predestined route up to neighboring homes to lay their eggs. Every morning a local family would walk out onto the peninsula and fish for what I believe was their daily supper, seeing that there were perch and bass aplenty to be found. Each winter – sometimes over 100 people at a time – could be found skating on the pond. Kids would gather their friends and (voluntarily!) shovel the snow to form skating rink. Bonfires would be built, parents would set up their chairs, marshmallows would be toasted, and on a clear night with the full moon shining down it would be magical!
Over the years the water lilies and other aquatic growth have begun to take over. Each fall the growth dies off, and over the decades this dead growth has piled up on the bottom of the lake. This, in turn, has drastically decreased the depth of the lake from 8 feet to just under a foot or so in many areas, which has led to reduced oxygen levels in the water. Several years ago there was a fish kill where nearly every one of the 7 species of fish died from lack of oxygen. The overgrowth of the lily pads has turned the surface of the lake to a green muck that is so thick you just might be able to walk across it. The geese and swans have stopped coming, so no more springtime babies. Boating is nearly impossible as the oars get mired in the muck. Skating is often too difficult as the tops of the thousands of water lily stems poke through the ice. Last summer the bullfrogs were hard to find and rarely heard. The blue heron swooped by much less frequently.
The lake is dying. Within a decade or so it will be a swamp. It has reached the tipping point and is no longer able to survive.
Where else can you take your family, no matter the age, and go enjoy some good old fashioned fun – and for free no less? No electronics, no need to pay for parking, no planned events with schedules and directions to follow.
Walk around the lake. Search for frogs or the latest tree the beavers have taken down. Fish. Skate. Make a bonfire on the ice. Picnic. Meditate. Canoe. Fly a kite. Meet up with a friend or better yet make a new one. Count the bluebirds. Walk the dog. Paint. Read a book. Take a nap. Watch your children delight in seeing day-old ducklings and goslings learning to swim and feed like their parents. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Easter Sunday morning sunrise service.
Please don’t let Fawn Lake die.
This amazing resource can be around for generations to come with all our help. The Fawn Lake Committee has put in several years of time and effort to research every viable option to save the lake. After endless hours of due diligence, the permitting is done and the plan is in place to save this incredible piece of our history.
Now, all we need is for you to come to Annual Town Meeting on March 25th, 7 pm, show your support and vote to save Fawn Lake.
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