An iconic part of Round Pond was lost during the recent storm. There are not many of us, as kids and perhaps also as adults, that did not jump, leap, and flip off that dock, including a friend of mine that did the exact same thing in the early ’40s. It was difficult to be at the landing during the very high tide along with the hurricane like winds and seeing it being lifted up twice by the storm.
So many have been wondering what year the dock was built. I have looked back in the Round Pond Village Improvement history and found some interesting information. The shorefront property at the town landing was sold by Jenny Nichols to Sam Hiscock for $500 in 1919. Mr. Hiscock then sold it to the Village Improvement Society on Oct. 17, 1929 for $1,000, just 12 days before the “crash” that led into the Great Depression.
We know that the dock was there in 1940 so that leads us to believe that it had to have been built between 1929 and 1940. Of course in the Civil War era and beyond, there were very long piers that allowed for steam ships to dock. There were huge buildings on the piers that can be seen in some of the historical pictures taken of Round Pond. J.E. Nichols, who owned King Ro at the time, had one of the largest. Those were dismantled as the steam ships no longer came into Round Pond in later years.
Round Pond Marine has demolished and taken away the unusable and damaged dock and will start rebuilding immediately so that it will be available to the local fisherman by spring, not to mention the leaping kids.
There is to be a Valentine’s Day Sweetheart bake sale on Sunday, Feb. 11, from noon to 2 p.m. at the firehouse to benefit the Helping Hands. There you can get valentine-themed treats for you and your valentine.
The Friday night King Ro to-go meal this week will be lasagna with garlic knots and vanilla panna cotta with fresh berries. Call 529-5380 for more information.
Quote of the week: “How did we survive? Our mothers wiped our faces with spit on a hanky not antibacterial wipes.”
