NEWS FROM THE BEACH:

 

On May 12, the Town of Sutton Planning Board approved the division of our lakeshore/ Rt. 114  property into two segments.  This was the approval which was needed in order to divide the property into the Wright’s Beach portion, which will continue to be maintained as BLPA property, and the portion from the end of the fence to the culvert, which we anticipate will become the property of the new Blaisdell Lake Dock Owners Association.  Congratulations are in order to Bruce Ellsworth, who has steered this change through various hearings, surveys and procedures in order to meet this important goal.  Betsy Fowler has maintained a vital role in organizing the new BLDOA association.  Next, the groups must legally transfer ownership of the newly-divided section to the BLDOA, and this will be done as soon as possible.

 

BEACH RULES:

  • Members will be mailed a membership card upon payment of the annual dues.  This card will permit use of the beach and the boat launch.
  • Boat launching will be free for all dues paying members.
  • Beach privileges will be free for all dues paying voting members
  • Non-member boat launch fee will be $10.00for motorized craft and $5 for non-motorized craft. A season pass is available for all for $50.
  • There will not be a lifeguard at the beach. 
  • Swimming will be permitted in the roped-off swim area only.
  • Beach hours are from 6:00 am to 7:00 pm.
  • Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult.
  • There will be no rest room or trash dump facilities.  Trash must be taken out by the person who brought it in.
  • Fishing and boat mooring at or near the beach is not permitted.
  • Alcohol, glass containers, and animals are not permitted on the beach. Towels shall not be draped over the fence.
  • Fishing is not allowed from the beach.
  • Renters will be permitted to use the beach with the home owner’s membership card but must pay for boat launching.

 

AT THE LAKE THIS SUMMER:

IT’S DOG HOUSE WEEKEND AGAIN THIS YEAR!!  The Olson family will once again bring the Dog House back from the mists of Blaisdell Lake so that we can all enjoy those special-sauce burgers and fond memories.  Save the dates:  Friday, July 31, Saturday August 1, and Sunday, August 2.

 

Flare night will be held at 9:00 pm on Friday, July 3 and the Boat parade at 4:00  pm on Saturday, July 4.

 

The 2009 Annual Meeting of the Association will be held on Saturday, July 25 at Camp Wabasso.  The Board will meet at 9:00 and the full membership at 10:00.  It’s important that all BLPA members attend the Annual Meeting.

 

Other summer activities in the Sutton-Bradford area include:

  • Fourth of July parade at South Sutton Common 11:00
  • Fourth of July fair at Stevens Park, Main Street, Bradford, with food and activities for all ages, barbecued chicken dinner.
  • 5K Bradford Road Race, July 4.  Starts at Bradford Town Hall at 9:00.  Call Bob Wright to register.
  • Swim lessons for children, last 2 weeks in July at Lake Massesecum.  Call Kate at Bradford Area Community Center to register.
  • Farmers’ Market every Thursday afternoon starting June 4 in front of the Bradford Area Community Center, Main Street, Bradford
  • Sutton Historical Society hosts Old Home Day activities August 15 and 16:  August 15, Vaudeville Show at Fox Chase 8:00, house tour at 7:00; August 16, A Gathering Service at  11:00 at historic South Sutton Meeting House, followed by barbecue and games on the common.  Also “Voices From the Past” as current residents get in costume and character to portray past residents.  South Sutton cemetery 1:00.

 

THEY REMEMBERED BLAISDELL LAKE:

 

Some of our long-time members remembered early days around Blaisdell Lake in interviews for They Remember Sutton, Volume II, a publication available from the Sutton Historical Society. Pud Ellsworth is a founder of BLPA, and Don Wright (who donated the beach to us) and Jack Hearne, who is no longer with us, were long-time active and influential members.

 

Pud Ellsworth…”Back in 1930, I was courting Louise when I came up here summers.  And we used to take the boat, the old rowboat that they had, and row up the lake and we always looked at the point which is called Spruce Point and wished some day that we could own it.  We were married in 1935 and the following year her uncle was in real estate business and he asked us one day if we would like to buy Spruce Point.  And, of course, we were elated and hardly didn’t ever expect to own it, but Randolph Blodgett owned the land and he wanted to sell it.

 

Jack Hearne…”The center of activity really for us was the lake because we all learned to swim down here at our beach, and we had a row boat and we had a canoe, and we built a raft.  So we spent an awful lot of time down there…we couldn’t go out in a boat or canoe until we could swim across the lake, or over to the point where Ellsworth now has a cottage….Bass Point was just wild country…(everything else) just all open field.  From our property here we could see Fox Chase Pond.  You could see Mt. Kearsarge from practically every direction.”     

 

Donald Wright…” Another experience I had was sawing ice on the lake.  My neighbor, Harry Watkins, used to fill his ice house on Blaisdell every year.  This one year he decided to hire me, so I had my grandfather’s ice saw…a big tall thing.  So I went to work for him...while we were out there cutting ice, I cut 400 cakes a day…then when they came down with the skid I would help.  It used to have a pick on it and a hook underneath.  What you’d do is spear the ice and get it bobbing, and then catch it and bring it up onto the shore with this 8-foot long handle.  It was a little bit of a trick but you’d learn how to do it and you’d bob the ice up, and up it comes.”

 HELP WANTED

Tim Beale is doing a great job of maintaining the BLPA Adopt-A-Highway program.  This program maintains the beauty of the Blaisdell lake area by picking up trash along our stretch of Rte. 114, which stretches from Fox Chase to the Autocraft building.  Clean-up days are held in late May, mid-August and late October, and more helpers are needed.  Please contact Tim at 938-2117 or Fishingislife@tds.net to let him know when you can help.

 

THE PRESIDENT’S CORNER

Mary Ann Wright, our Blaisdell Lake News editor, has done a wonderful job of summarizing a very busy off-season and giving you a tantalizing picture of the fun that lies ahead for us all at the lake during the upcoming summer, so read on!  I won’t get into any of that except to urge you all to attend the 60th BLPA annual meeting on July 25th at Camp Wabasso.  This is your association and the annual meeting offers you a great opportunity to contribute to its well-being and influence its direction. 

 

Our annual meetings have long been held at the Camp Wabasso and this column presents the chance to tell you a little about our fine Blaisdell Lake neighbors and to ask for some help on their behalf.

 

Christine “Miss Chris” Smith started her summer camp for girls back in 1921 and named it after the snowshoe rabbit that Native Americans in the area had called “Wabasso”.  Campers arrived by train from as far away as New Jersey and New York and their number quickly grew from 7 to 125.  Camp Wabasso was know as a horseback riding camp from then until 1957 when the Girl Scout council covering greater Boston (now Eastern Massachusetts) purchased the camp as its summer camping site.  In 1988, the building now known as Christa’s House was dedicated to honor Christa McAulifffe, the NH astronaut who lost her life in the Challenger disaster.  Christa had often come to Wabasso as a young

girl scout and her uniform is in the small museum in the front of the building. 

Today, by the way, the camp is used year round.  Troops camp there in the fall and spring, and in the winter they snowshoe and cross-country ski while staying in the Lodge or Christa’s House.  We see them in the summer as they enjoy swimming, boating, hiking, theatre, and horseback riding.  They make lifelong friends, as did Miss Chris’s campers so long before them.

 

The camp staff can use our help with its summer activities and wonders if you have any of these items to spare and/or if you would consider saving recyclables and giving them to Wabasso:

          - Fabric with which girls can make costumes (not scraps)

          - Clean, mismatched socks

          - Cardboard rolls (from paper towels, toilet paper)

          - 2-liter soda bottles

            - Egg cartons

          - Shoe boxes

This is just a partial list, but if you should you have anything on it to help these good neighbors, call the Camp (in-season) at 938-2240 for drop-off instructions or stop by the camp grounds and speak to Bruce, the Property Manager. 

 

You can also learn more about the camp and its other needs by checking out its very interesting website: www.girlscoutseasternmass.com (from which I learned a whole lot).

See you on the lake!   Dave Young

 

REMINDERS

BOATING REGULATIONS REQUIRE:

  • Anyone operating a boatwith 25 HP or more needs to have a boating certificate with the operator
  • Everyone on board any craft must have a PFD
  • Boats must stay 150 yards from shore when above wake speed
  • Ski craft must stay 300 yards from shore
  • It is illegal to drop skiers off on land or to ski after dark
  • There must be an adult observer on board for every person being towed.  Only two persons can be towed at a time.
  • All boaters should have a copy of the NH Safe Boating Booklet, available on-line from the state.

 

PLEASE CONTACT SHARON KENRICK TODAY IF YOU HAVEN’T YET SIGNED UP FOR WEED-WATCHING AT THE BEACH

 

PLEASE SEND IN YOUR DUES PAYMENT OF $62.00 IF YOU HAVEN’T ALREADY DONE SO.

 

 

HAVE A GREAT SUMMER ON BEAUTIFUL BLAISDELL LAKE!!