Yours, Mine, Ours?

 

Historical photo of the White Creek Pool

     Exciting news!

     I've found something on Facebook actually worth following. That would be the posts of old photos by local historical societies and civic groups. Whitehall, Granville, Hartford and Hoosick Falls have recently caught my attention. There may be others. Take, for example, a photo of the White Creek Pool on the Hoosick Falls NY Past & Present page with thoughtful text by Rick Ferrannini and a ton of nostalgic comments.

     In Washington County you have a smorgasbord of White Creeks to chose from. One gathers in the Rupert Vermont area and flows thru Salem before joining Black Creek and eventually the Battenkill. Another originates up in Black Hole Hollow, skirts the Village of Cambridge and merges with the Owl Kill. Finally, there is the inferiority complexed Little White Creek, another drainage of the Taconics that crosses the southeastern corner of Washington County before emptying into the Walloomsac, which in turn adds its waters to the Hoosic River a short distance downstream.

This White Creek is in back of the Evergreen Cemetery in Salem

A different White Creek from the bridge leading to the Cambridge Community Forest

Little White Creek

The word 'limpid' was created to describe this beautiful stream

     I've canoed in some of these streams and swam too. Even swam when I was supposed to be canoeing! I'ld like to explore each from source to sea, then do a post comparing them. Maybe someday. So many White Creeks, so little time. But for now let's focus on the one with the White Creek Pool swimming hole. The pool was on private property and that seems to have been its downfall as it is no longer open and judging from the comments, it is sorely missed.

     The loss of such a beloved community gathering spot is a window on our relationship with place, our ideas about what's public and what's private. Most people expressed a wistful sense of sadness, a feeling that a treasured part of life had been taken away. Jennifer Fisk summed it up with "Those were the days my friends and we thought they would never end but here we are." A few suggested that somehow the pool should come under public ownership and be open to all again. Others bristled at that option claiming it was private property and the owner could do what he wants with it. Since when do we expect Americans to agree on anything?

     Washington County is notorious for being peppered with  'NO TRESPASSING' signs and we've even had cases of innocent people being shot for mistakenly pulling into the wrong driveway. But just as often the WELCOME sign is out. Rexleigh and White Creek may be closed but people still swim at Pooks and the Georgi and I have fond memories of cooling off in the river after hot days in the hayfield. A bunch of us guys would pull over along Skellie Road and jump in with Ernie often walking down to join us.

Pooks

Georgi serenity

      The D&H rail trail is another interesting case. It's open in Vermont but closed on the New York side of the border, thus denying the Village of Salem the economic benefits that other communities are reaping from bike tourism. Snowmobiles seem to fare better than walkers, bikers or equestrians with a county wide trail system that crosses private lands. And we all take car/truck travel so much for granted that no one questions the hundreds of miles of roads that have been carved out of private property. 

The D&H railbed comes into Salem in back of Stewarts.

It could be bringing cyclists into town for food and drink 

but the rail trail stops at the NY/VT border

The rail trail is used by snowmobiles in the winter

     The idea of 'the commons', of things we all own together has been with us since the beginning. Native Americans didn't seem to have private property but even they had reserved hunting areas that were understood to be for the use of a certain tribe or family. Most reasonable people feel that clean air and water are something we all have a right to but I have huffed and puffed up a hill on my bike while having to suck in smoke from smoldering plastic in someones burn barrel. Does private property give you the right to poison the air someone else breathes, the water that they drink? And what of our system of National Parks? Probably Elon Musk has enough money to buy all of them and turn them into private getaways. Does anyone doubt that the current administration would consider selling them if it could get a cut?

Saratoga Battlefield National Park

(web image)

Idiots were here, ruining it for the rest of us

     Trash, rude behavior and legal liability are all given as reasons for closing off access. Believe me, I understand. I deal with ATVers that turn the clear trout stream on my farm into a mud bog, that leave their drunken party debris in my woods, that ride haphazard across my hayfields. You have to wonder who raised these kids to have so little consideration, kids with a vocabulary limited to 'F' this and 'F' that. But are we ready to surrender our enjoyment of the world to a few miscreants? If I POSTED my farm how does that affect people who walk their dogs, ride horses, birdwatch or X-C ski? All those who respectfully enjoy my property, people who I'm happy to see? The right to own property is cherished in this country. As it should be. But the right to enjoy natural beauty should belong to all of us, not just to those with the money to buy it. I want to live in a world where kids can have summer fun in a swimming hole, just like their parents and grandparents did before them. Is that too much to ask?