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Meet Your Neighbors
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Judy Coleman
I grew up in Needham, Massachusetts, and went to Bates College, where I
met Phil, my husband of 55 years and counting. I worked and took courses
while Phil worked on his masters. During the Vietnam War, Phil joined the Navy, and while he was in training in Newport, Rhode Island, I went back to Bates and got my degree in English literature. Then he got stationed in Hawaii, so we camped across the country. Our first son was born in Hawaii. We finally settled in Standish, Maine, with our two sons. When they were in school I went to USM to study piano performance and piano pedagogy, music history, and theory. I later taught piano lessons and played for performance groups in Portland.
In 1992 we looked for a small cabin on a lake near our home, and chose our present spot on Sand Pond. We love it here and have been able to be here a lot, even during working years, and even some in the winter to cross country ski for a day. The original camp was very small, basically a covered tent platform. We re-built in 2005. It is still small, but at least the bathroom is inside!
We have been watching the loons for 30 years. In our working years, we
were at the pond for long weekends, mid-May to mid-October. Now in
retirement we are here more, but still go to our Standish home for a couple days each week for drinking ater, laundry, and the vegetable garden. I have kept a journal here, with random notes about the loons. Often the pair at our end would bring their newly hatched chick into our cove for its first days before heading out to deeper water. What a joy!
When Amy March organized a loon committee, of course I wanted to be involved. Our number one purpose has been to educate people about loon behavior, and important human behavior for co-existing with these magnificent birds. Top of the list is keeping far away from loon nests and loons with chicks. I have warned people to keep back when they were trying to corral a loon with a chick to get a close picture. I have stopped and spoken to jet skiers who were zooming by, too close to the loon family . This may have given me a bit of a reputation, but we all have to do our part to protect these wonderful birds.
We feel very fortunate to be a part of this semi-wilderness of Maine, and
to enjoy the wildlife and wonderful people on Hancock and Sand Ponds.
met Phil, my husband of 55 years and counting. I worked and took courses
while Phil worked on his masters. During the Vietnam War, Phil joined the Navy, and while he was in training in Newport, Rhode Island, I went back to Bates and got my degree in English literature. Then he got stationed in Hawaii, so we camped across the country. Our first son was born in Hawaii. We finally settled in Standish, Maine, with our two sons. When they were in school I went to USM to study piano performance and piano pedagogy, music history, and theory. I later taught piano lessons and played for performance groups in Portland.
In 1992 we looked for a small cabin on a lake near our home, and chose our present spot on Sand Pond. We love it here and have been able to be here a lot, even during working years, and even some in the winter to cross country ski for a day. The original camp was very small, basically a covered tent platform. We re-built in 2005. It is still small, but at least the bathroom is inside!
We have been watching the loons for 30 years. In our working years, we
were at the pond for long weekends, mid-May to mid-October. Now in
retirement we are here more, but still go to our Standish home for a couple days each week for drinking ater, laundry, and the vegetable garden. I have kept a journal here, with random notes about the loons. Often the pair at our end would bring their newly hatched chick into our cove for its first days before heading out to deeper water. What a joy!
When Amy March organized a loon committee, of course I wanted to be involved. Our number one purpose has been to educate people about loon behavior, and important human behavior for co-existing with these magnificent birds. Top of the list is keeping far away from loon nests and loons with chicks. I have warned people to keep back when they were trying to corral a loon with a chick to get a close picture. I have stopped and spoken to jet skiers who were zooming by, too close to the loon family . This may have given me a bit of a reputation, but we all have to do our part to protect these wonderful birds.
We feel very fortunate to be a part of this semi-wilderness of Maine, and
to enjoy the wildlife and wonderful people on Hancock and Sand Ponds.
Joe Nagy
I was raised and educated in Connecticut, but as soon as I graduated from college I headed north. My first job in 1972 was as a reporter for the weekly newspaper in Berlin, New Hampshire, a paper mill town in the White Mountains. My love of the outdoors began there, hiking, camping, kayaking and canoeing in the summer, and skiing in the winter.
My introduction to Maine came in 1977, when I took a job as editor of the weekly Skowhegan Reporter, in Somerset County. It was the home of Margaret Chase Smith, and as a young woman she had worked at the paper. I got to interview her in her retirement.
I took a break from journalism to work as a VISTA volunteer in a non-profit community development project in Starks, Maine, for one year. I stayed with the organization for four more years, working in rural communities in the United States and in Hong Kong.
It was in Hong Kong that I reconnected with journalism, working as an editor for 14 years with the English-language newsmagazine Asiaweek. There I married my wife Myung-Hee, from South Korea, and there our son was born.
We moved to the United States in 1997 and settled in my hometown, Fairfield, to be near my aging mother. At that time I switched careers and for the next 20 years taught journalism, academic writing, and English literature at a local university.
My wife and I both love the outdoors, and have close friends in Maine, so we began searching for a lakeside second home there. After a year-long search, in 2008 we were thrilled to discover the Rev. Harrington’s “round house” on the east shore of Hancock Pond. Actually it is has sixteen sides, and lots of windows. It was built by one of the early residents of Hancock Pond, the Reverend Donald Harrington, who was senior minister of the Community Church in New York City, a Unitarian Universalist congregation.
Rev. Harrington, who died in 2005, was one of the early leaders in the U.S. civil rights movement. He championed racial integration and opened his congregation to Jewish, Hindu, and Buddhist faith traditions. In addition, he was deeply involved in New York state politics, serving as chairman of the state Liberal Party for 26 years. In 1966 he unsuccessfully ran for Lieutenant Governor with Franklin Delano Roosevelt Jr.
In retirement, my hobbies include renovating the outlying studio where Rev. Harrington wrote his sermons, and competing in an annual two-person bass tournament with my best friend from college.
My introduction to Maine came in 1977, when I took a job as editor of the weekly Skowhegan Reporter, in Somerset County. It was the home of Margaret Chase Smith, and as a young woman she had worked at the paper. I got to interview her in her retirement.
I took a break from journalism to work as a VISTA volunteer in a non-profit community development project in Starks, Maine, for one year. I stayed with the organization for four more years, working in rural communities in the United States and in Hong Kong.
It was in Hong Kong that I reconnected with journalism, working as an editor for 14 years with the English-language newsmagazine Asiaweek. There I married my wife Myung-Hee, from South Korea, and there our son was born.
We moved to the United States in 1997 and settled in my hometown, Fairfield, to be near my aging mother. At that time I switched careers and for the next 20 years taught journalism, academic writing, and English literature at a local university.
My wife and I both love the outdoors, and have close friends in Maine, so we began searching for a lakeside second home there. After a year-long search, in 2008 we were thrilled to discover the Rev. Harrington’s “round house” on the east shore of Hancock Pond. Actually it is has sixteen sides, and lots of windows. It was built by one of the early residents of Hancock Pond, the Reverend Donald Harrington, who was senior minister of the Community Church in New York City, a Unitarian Universalist congregation.
Rev. Harrington, who died in 2005, was one of the early leaders in the U.S. civil rights movement. He championed racial integration and opened his congregation to Jewish, Hindu, and Buddhist faith traditions. In addition, he was deeply involved in New York state politics, serving as chairman of the state Liberal Party for 26 years. In 1966 he unsuccessfully ran for Lieutenant Governor with Franklin Delano Roosevelt Jr.
In retirement, my hobbies include renovating the outlying studio where Rev. Harrington wrote his sermons, and competing in an annual two-person bass tournament with my best friend from college.
Amy March
Anyone who has met Amy March knows that she gets things done. As chair of the HSPA Loon Committee, she has built up a mailing list of some 46 people. Members volunteer for the annual loon count, look after the loon raft, and put up warning signs around nest areas.
Amy comes by her leadership skills naturally. Her father was a career diplomat in the foreign service of the State Department, and she grew up all over Asia. She lived in Hong Kong and India, among other countries, and went to high school in Nepal.
Her uncle, Ken Forman, bought a camp on Sand Pond in 1963. He worked for Save the Children. He and his wife retired to Sand Pond in 1987. Ken was a founding member of the Lakes Environmental Association. He was very concerned about the preservation of our natural resources, and hearing him speak passionately about the health of the ponds summer after summer encouraged Amy to get involved.
Amy started coming to the camp in the 1970s, arriving for the summers. For 30 years, she was a teacher in New York City, the last several years of which she supervised Pre-K programs in the South Bronx, and directed a family literacy program for immigrants.
She inherited the camp from her aunt and uncle, and in 2012, she moved into it as her year-round home. After living in rental apartments in New York City, this was her first house. Neighbors took bets that first year on whether she’d last out the Maine winter. Happily for us, she did, and continues to thrive and love being here.
In her retirement, Amy initiated the Loon Committee out of concern for the loon population. She recruited members, initially through the Hancock and Sand Ponds Association, but she also opened it up to interested people who do not have property on the ponds. The committee educates people about loons, and members talk with friends and neighbors, and information is spread. She’s discovered that the loon population is doing fine, but new people who come to the ponds need to be made aware of the danger of lead fishing tackle, and cautioned to avoid disturbing nesting sites, especially by dogs and motor boats.
In addition to her work with the HSPA, Amy is president of the Denmark Public Library Board and represents the Library on the Denmark Broadband Committee. She also serves as a volunteer navigator for the Affordable Care Act, helping people enroll in health insurance.
Amy comes by her leadership skills naturally. Her father was a career diplomat in the foreign service of the State Department, and she grew up all over Asia. She lived in Hong Kong and India, among other countries, and went to high school in Nepal.
Her uncle, Ken Forman, bought a camp on Sand Pond in 1963. He worked for Save the Children. He and his wife retired to Sand Pond in 1987. Ken was a founding member of the Lakes Environmental Association. He was very concerned about the preservation of our natural resources, and hearing him speak passionately about the health of the ponds summer after summer encouraged Amy to get involved.
Amy started coming to the camp in the 1970s, arriving for the summers. For 30 years, she was a teacher in New York City, the last several years of which she supervised Pre-K programs in the South Bronx, and directed a family literacy program for immigrants.
She inherited the camp from her aunt and uncle, and in 2012, she moved into it as her year-round home. After living in rental apartments in New York City, this was her first house. Neighbors took bets that first year on whether she’d last out the Maine winter. Happily for us, she did, and continues to thrive and love being here.
In her retirement, Amy initiated the Loon Committee out of concern for the loon population. She recruited members, initially through the Hancock and Sand Ponds Association, but she also opened it up to interested people who do not have property on the ponds. The committee educates people about loons, and members talk with friends and neighbors, and information is spread. She’s discovered that the loon population is doing fine, but new people who come to the ponds need to be made aware of the danger of lead fishing tackle, and cautioned to avoid disturbing nesting sites, especially by dogs and motor boats.
In addition to her work with the HSPA, Amy is president of the Denmark Public Library Board and represents the Library on the Denmark Broadband Committee. She also serves as a volunteer navigator for the Affordable Care Act, helping people enroll in health insurance.
Andrew McClean
When Andrew McClean volunteered last spring to take over as chair of the Buoy Committee, he wanted to give something back for all the summers he and his family have spent on Hancock Pond. “We’ve been using the lake our entire lives and it seemed like something simple we could do,” said McClean.
The job of the Buoy Committee is far from simple. McClean supervised installing 34 navigational buoys, connected to cinder-block anchors by chains, to exact GPS locations provided by the Navigational Aids Program of the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands. He later removed them in the fall.
McClean and his two older brothers grew up on Hancock Pond. His mom first bought a camp on Shore Road as a vacation home when she was a 25-year-old bank examiner living with her parents. Four years ago, Andrew’s parents sold that camp and purchased their current house on Wabunaki Road. “I’ve been coming up to the pond since before I was born,” said McClean.
Nowadays McClean is used to navigating bigger waters. After graduating from Montana State University in 2008 with a degree in land resource and management, he was hoping to find a job in the Forest Service or in land management, but jobs were scare, so he took another tack. He signed up for a semester abroad with the Sea Education Association, which is affiliated with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. He spent half the semester on shore at their campus Falmouth, Massachusetts, and the second half on the ocean, sailing from Hawaii to Tahiti.
To qualify for a captain’s license, he then completed 120 days at sea, working on a tour boat in Alaska and in Camden, Maine, on the windjammer fleet, sailing traditional schooners and ketches. This qualified him for a 100-ton U.S. Coast Guard master’s license, which allows him to captain boats up to 130 feet.
He now lives in South Portland, and has his own yacht management business. He looks after boats ranging from a 40-ft power boat to a 70-ft. sail boat. In the summer he plans trips for clients, mostly up and down the Maine coast, selecting the routes, provisioning the food, and serving on board as navigator. “My primary goal is making sure we don’t hit any rocks,” he said with a smile.
When he is not working, he spends 10 days in the summer, and a week in fall and spring, on Hancock Pond.
The job of the Buoy Committee is far from simple. McClean supervised installing 34 navigational buoys, connected to cinder-block anchors by chains, to exact GPS locations provided by the Navigational Aids Program of the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands. He later removed them in the fall.
McClean and his two older brothers grew up on Hancock Pond. His mom first bought a camp on Shore Road as a vacation home when she was a 25-year-old bank examiner living with her parents. Four years ago, Andrew’s parents sold that camp and purchased their current house on Wabunaki Road. “I’ve been coming up to the pond since before I was born,” said McClean.
Nowadays McClean is used to navigating bigger waters. After graduating from Montana State University in 2008 with a degree in land resource and management, he was hoping to find a job in the Forest Service or in land management, but jobs were scare, so he took another tack. He signed up for a semester abroad with the Sea Education Association, which is affiliated with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. He spent half the semester on shore at their campus Falmouth, Massachusetts, and the second half on the ocean, sailing from Hawaii to Tahiti.
To qualify for a captain’s license, he then completed 120 days at sea, working on a tour boat in Alaska and in Camden, Maine, on the windjammer fleet, sailing traditional schooners and ketches. This qualified him for a 100-ton U.S. Coast Guard master’s license, which allows him to captain boats up to 130 feet.
He now lives in South Portland, and has his own yacht management business. He looks after boats ranging from a 40-ft power boat to a 70-ft. sail boat. In the summer he plans trips for clients, mostly up and down the Maine coast, selecting the routes, provisioning the food, and serving on board as navigator. “My primary goal is making sure we don’t hit any rocks,” he said with a smile.
When he is not working, he spends 10 days in the summer, and a week in fall and spring, on Hancock Pond.
Michael & Genie Silver
Genie and Michael Silver purchased their property on Hancock Pond in 1988, and built their home on Kingfisher Way in 1991, when there were only a few camps on the road. Until recently the Silvers, who live just outside Philadelphia, have come up to Hancock Pond throughout the year, cross-country skiing in the winter, but for the last five years they are summer residents only.
This summer their property was approved for the LakeSmart Award, given by Maine Lakes for lakeside property that meets environmental standards that reduce runoff and protect water quality (see accompanying article).
Genie has a long history at the ponds. She has been coming to Denmark since 1959, where she spent “a very happy seven summers” at Camp Walden on Sand Pond, until her junior year of high school.
She has participated in the annual Maine Audubon Society Loon Count on Hancock Pond, and has written many articles for the Hancock and Sand Ponds newsletter, including a four-part oral history of Camp Walden, interviewing the longtime director and owner of the Camp, Helen Herz Cohen (see excerpt on page xx). “She was a remarkable woman and mentor,” says Genie. “She seemed to know what was going on with all of us and wasn’t afraid to call us out or encourage us in ways that helped us become better people.”
Genie is a retired professor who taught Women’s History and Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, Bryn Mawr College, and Villanova. Her husband Michael is a child and adult psychiatrist who still practices full time. They married in 1972 in Baltimore, where Genie grew up. At the time, Michael was at Johns Hopkins Medical School, and Genie was getting her Masters in Social Work at the University of Maryland.
Genie’s concern for peace and justice issues started in the 10th grade when she began tutoring inner-city youth every Saturday in Baltimore. She worked as a social worker in Baltimore before getting her doctorate in American History at the University of Pennsylvania.
When she was 23 she joined the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), which was founded in 1915 by Jane Addams, the American social worker, peace activist, and Nobel Peace Prize winner. In 1977, Genie was chair of the International Committee of WILPF, and testified before the House Armed Services Committee against deployment of a new breed of nuclear-armed missiles in Europe. The missiles were finally removed when the U.S. and Soviet Union ratified the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 1988.
While Genie continues to work with WILPF promoting peace and justice, Michael says he works on resolving conflicts at the individual and family level. Together they make a positive difference in the world.
This summer their property was approved for the LakeSmart Award, given by Maine Lakes for lakeside property that meets environmental standards that reduce runoff and protect water quality (see accompanying article).
Genie has a long history at the ponds. She has been coming to Denmark since 1959, where she spent “a very happy seven summers” at Camp Walden on Sand Pond, until her junior year of high school.
She has participated in the annual Maine Audubon Society Loon Count on Hancock Pond, and has written many articles for the Hancock and Sand Ponds newsletter, including a four-part oral history of Camp Walden, interviewing the longtime director and owner of the Camp, Helen Herz Cohen (see excerpt on page xx). “She was a remarkable woman and mentor,” says Genie. “She seemed to know what was going on with all of us and wasn’t afraid to call us out or encourage us in ways that helped us become better people.”
Genie is a retired professor who taught Women’s History and Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, Bryn Mawr College, and Villanova. Her husband Michael is a child and adult psychiatrist who still practices full time. They married in 1972 in Baltimore, where Genie grew up. At the time, Michael was at Johns Hopkins Medical School, and Genie was getting her Masters in Social Work at the University of Maryland.
Genie’s concern for peace and justice issues started in the 10th grade when she began tutoring inner-city youth every Saturday in Baltimore. She worked as a social worker in Baltimore before getting her doctorate in American History at the University of Pennsylvania.
When she was 23 she joined the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), which was founded in 1915 by Jane Addams, the American social worker, peace activist, and Nobel Peace Prize winner. In 1977, Genie was chair of the International Committee of WILPF, and testified before the House Armed Services Committee against deployment of a new breed of nuclear-armed missiles in Europe. The missiles were finally removed when the U.S. and Soviet Union ratified the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 1988.
While Genie continues to work with WILPF promoting peace and justice, Michael says he works on resolving conflicts at the individual and family level. Together they make a positive difference in the world.
Ben Peierls
Ben Peierls has been coming to Sand Pond since he was a young boy, and is currently serving as the Treasurer for the Hancock and Sand Ponds Association. Here he tells us a bit about himself in his own words.
"My connection to Sand Pond began in the 1970s, when my family rented the Shaplin camp on the west shore of the pond for several weeks each summer. It was close to my mom's twin sister's house in Denmark, which we had visited since I was a toddler. I have fond memories of swimming lessons in Moose Pond, canoe trips down the Saco River, swimming and boating in Sand Pond, and family canoe excursions around both Hancock and Sand Ponds. In the 1990s, my parents bought some property on the east shore of Sand Pond, and in 1996 they built their own camp and named it “Mainestay”. This is the camp that my brother, Tim, and I share ownership of today.
“Along the way, I attended Cornell University, worked on lake and river research, and did graduate work in marine sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It hasn't been all work and study though. I have enjoyed performing with numerous musical groups, ranging from choirs and a capella singing groups to brass ensembles and an eclectic nerd rock band. Other hobbies include Ultimate Frisbee, recreational sailing, and photography.
“In 2016, the Lakes Environmental Association (LEA) advertised for the position of Research Director at its new Maine Lake Science Center facility. My wife and I had been living and working in eastern North Carolina for over two decades, and I was ready for a change, especially one that would let me study and help protect the waters that were such an important part of my childhood and adult life. I applied, was hired, and started my position in January, 2017.
“Now, in my third year at LEA, I am busier than ever, trying to grow the research activities, while maintaining our mission to protect and preserve the water quality of lakes in the region. Feeling that I should be more connected to the Sand and Hancock Ponds community, I attended my first HSPA meeting last year. Somehow, through an errant raising of my hand, I am now Treasurer for the Association! My wife, Kar, and pets, Basil (Great Dane), and Mr. Whiskers (cat), joined me in Maine for most of 2018, and we recently moved from our camp to a home in North Bridgton. We are sure to be back on the pond as often as we can, and look forward to seeing familiar faces, and meeting new ones."
"My connection to Sand Pond began in the 1970s, when my family rented the Shaplin camp on the west shore of the pond for several weeks each summer. It was close to my mom's twin sister's house in Denmark, which we had visited since I was a toddler. I have fond memories of swimming lessons in Moose Pond, canoe trips down the Saco River, swimming and boating in Sand Pond, and family canoe excursions around both Hancock and Sand Ponds. In the 1990s, my parents bought some property on the east shore of Sand Pond, and in 1996 they built their own camp and named it “Mainestay”. This is the camp that my brother, Tim, and I share ownership of today.
“Along the way, I attended Cornell University, worked on lake and river research, and did graduate work in marine sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It hasn't been all work and study though. I have enjoyed performing with numerous musical groups, ranging from choirs and a capella singing groups to brass ensembles and an eclectic nerd rock band. Other hobbies include Ultimate Frisbee, recreational sailing, and photography.
“In 2016, the Lakes Environmental Association (LEA) advertised for the position of Research Director at its new Maine Lake Science Center facility. My wife and I had been living and working in eastern North Carolina for over two decades, and I was ready for a change, especially one that would let me study and help protect the waters that were such an important part of my childhood and adult life. I applied, was hired, and started my position in January, 2017.
“Now, in my third year at LEA, I am busier than ever, trying to grow the research activities, while maintaining our mission to protect and preserve the water quality of lakes in the region. Feeling that I should be more connected to the Sand and Hancock Ponds community, I attended my first HSPA meeting last year. Somehow, through an errant raising of my hand, I am now Treasurer for the Association! My wife, Kar, and pets, Basil (Great Dane), and Mr. Whiskers (cat), joined me in Maine for most of 2018, and we recently moved from our camp to a home in North Bridgton. We are sure to be back on the pond as often as we can, and look forward to seeing familiar faces, and meeting new ones."
Jesse Dubin
Jesse Dubin is originally from the NYC suburbs, and has always loved the outdoors and plants. After earning a B.S. in Forestry from SUNY College of Forestry, he joined the Peace Corps in Chile. He taught Forest Pathology, did extension forestry, and went to Colorado State University and U.C., Davis, for graduate study. After completing his Post Doctorate in Chile, he came to U. of Maine, Orono, as Asst. Professor of Plant Pathology. He went overseas again in 1975 with the International Maize & Wheat Improvement Center in Mexico to work on food production in developing countries. His specialty was fungal diseases of small grains, principally wheat. During this period, he lived in Mexico, Ecuador, England, and Nepal and worked in South America, South Asia, and Africa. He retired in 1999.
Jesse recalls his history on Sand Pond:
“In 1977, I bought the camp on Sand Pond with the help of a college roommate who worked at the S.D. Warren paper mill in Westbrook. We came for one month a year until retirement and then came to Sand Pond for the whole summer.
“I always had an interest in conservation and the environment and joined LEA in mid-1980s. When milfoil became an issue, I helped Sonny Friedman survey Hancock and Sand Pond in 2003, and then worked with JoAnne Harbourt and Mike Gately to the present. I gave short classes in the identification of native and invasive aquatic plants and did boat inspections. Bridie McGreavy from LEA found out that l did a bit of mycology and asked me to give a walk/talk on edible mushrooms. So you may see me in my red kayak or snorkeling for invasive plants at the boat landing and dugway in Hancock and along the shoreline in Sand Pond. I might be walking the roads/woods looking for edibles or other mushrooms at Holt, Hancock, or Sand Ponds.
“We feel fortunate to have found our niche on Sand Pond. But things have changed since the 1970s. The road dues went from $20 to $150, and there are more and bigger vehicles, boats, cottages, and more people. The lake level changed with the new dam. Thus the pressure on the quality of the ponds and its environs has greatly increased and it shows. It all highlights the need to work together with organizations like the LEA, HSPA, Loon Echo, and our road associations to minimize the degradation of the ponds and the surrounding environment for the benefit of all. Our kids will thank us.”
Jesse recalls his history on Sand Pond:
“In 1977, I bought the camp on Sand Pond with the help of a college roommate who worked at the S.D. Warren paper mill in Westbrook. We came for one month a year until retirement and then came to Sand Pond for the whole summer.
“I always had an interest in conservation and the environment and joined LEA in mid-1980s. When milfoil became an issue, I helped Sonny Friedman survey Hancock and Sand Pond in 2003, and then worked with JoAnne Harbourt and Mike Gately to the present. I gave short classes in the identification of native and invasive aquatic plants and did boat inspections. Bridie McGreavy from LEA found out that l did a bit of mycology and asked me to give a walk/talk on edible mushrooms. So you may see me in my red kayak or snorkeling for invasive plants at the boat landing and dugway in Hancock and along the shoreline in Sand Pond. I might be walking the roads/woods looking for edibles or other mushrooms at Holt, Hancock, or Sand Ponds.
“We feel fortunate to have found our niche on Sand Pond. But things have changed since the 1970s. The road dues went from $20 to $150, and there are more and bigger vehicles, boats, cottages, and more people. The lake level changed with the new dam. Thus the pressure on the quality of the ponds and its environs has greatly increased and it shows. It all highlights the need to work together with organizations like the LEA, HSPA, Loon Echo, and our road associations to minimize the degradation of the ponds and the surrounding environment for the benefit of all. Our kids will thank us.”
Mike (right), Sonja, Jake and Joe Gately
For more than ten years, Mike Gately has run our milfoil program, now renamed the Invasive Species Committee.
In April 2023, he will celebrate 30 years with State Farm Insurance as a Claim Manager supervising homeowner claims in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. His wife Sonja works for Lucas Tree Experts as their Accounting Manager.
Mike recalls how his family came to Hancock Pond:
“We purchased our camp in December of 2010 from Gordon Stuart and are only the second family to own the camp in its nearly 100 year history. The Bridgton and Saco River Railroad ran through the middle of the property when it was built by Gordon's parents in 1930. We met Gordon at Prides Corner Church in Westbrook in 2001 after moving back to Maine from New Hampshire. I remember Gordon asking if we would be interested in renting his camp on Hancock Pond and we jumped at the chance knowing our two boys would love to spend summer vacations at a lake. I grew up in CT and spent all of my summers on Little Sebago Lake with my grandparents, aunts/uncles and cousins. Sonja's family spent summer vacations on Indian Lake in Whiting, ME and we both wanted that same experience for our boys. Our son Joe was just three and Jake was just over a year when we first rented Gordon's camp. In 2010 after we purchased the camp our boys were able to spend their entire summers on Hancock Pond and have made life long memories of their own.
“From May to October we are at the lake almost every weekend and enjoy our summer vacations on the pond. In recent years with advances in technology I have enjoyed working from camp as much as possible. Nothing better than ending a stressful day with a swim in the lake and sunset boat ride. We are fortunate to live in Westbrook which is only 40 minutes from the lake and enjoy snowmobiling and ice fishing during the winter months at camp.”
Asked why he serves on the Invasive Species Committee:
“I have always felt it was important to give back any chance the opportunity comes about. Shortly after purchasing the camp, my neighbor Jerry Holt, who was then President of the Pond Association, asked if I would be willing to work on milfoil prevention for the association. I didn't know much about milfoil or invasive species at the time, but felt compelled to assist in any way I could to help preserve the ponds for the future. It has been a wonderful experience getting to know some great people around the pond who are also very committed to preserving the water quality we all enjoy.”
Photo: Mike and Sonja, with sons Jake and Joe
In April 2023, he will celebrate 30 years with State Farm Insurance as a Claim Manager supervising homeowner claims in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. His wife Sonja works for Lucas Tree Experts as their Accounting Manager.
Mike recalls how his family came to Hancock Pond:
“We purchased our camp in December of 2010 from Gordon Stuart and are only the second family to own the camp in its nearly 100 year history. The Bridgton and Saco River Railroad ran through the middle of the property when it was built by Gordon's parents in 1930. We met Gordon at Prides Corner Church in Westbrook in 2001 after moving back to Maine from New Hampshire. I remember Gordon asking if we would be interested in renting his camp on Hancock Pond and we jumped at the chance knowing our two boys would love to spend summer vacations at a lake. I grew up in CT and spent all of my summers on Little Sebago Lake with my grandparents, aunts/uncles and cousins. Sonja's family spent summer vacations on Indian Lake in Whiting, ME and we both wanted that same experience for our boys. Our son Joe was just three and Jake was just over a year when we first rented Gordon's camp. In 2010 after we purchased the camp our boys were able to spend their entire summers on Hancock Pond and have made life long memories of their own.
“From May to October we are at the lake almost every weekend and enjoy our summer vacations on the pond. In recent years with advances in technology I have enjoyed working from camp as much as possible. Nothing better than ending a stressful day with a swim in the lake and sunset boat ride. We are fortunate to live in Westbrook which is only 40 minutes from the lake and enjoy snowmobiling and ice fishing during the winter months at camp.”
Asked why he serves on the Invasive Species Committee:
“I have always felt it was important to give back any chance the opportunity comes about. Shortly after purchasing the camp, my neighbor Jerry Holt, who was then President of the Pond Association, asked if I would be willing to work on milfoil prevention for the association. I didn't know much about milfoil or invasive species at the time, but felt compelled to assist in any way I could to help preserve the ponds for the future. It has been a wonderful experience getting to know some great people around the pond who are also very committed to preserving the water quality we all enjoy.”
Photo: Mike and Sonja, with sons Jake and Joe
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