Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Saving Forest Lake: The Reluctant Warrior of Forest Lake

Saving Forest Lake



In 1935 New Hampshire created Forest Lake State Park. One of the original 10 state parks. On land donated by the Newell family, New Hampshire created a "little slice of heaven" for working families from the area.  In the ensuing years, it would become a refuge for working-class families in the North Country. 396 acres of woods and trails and a beautiful North Country lake where - on hot summer days - the families of working folks could escape from the heat of a hot summer day. Many of them would pack a lunch or a picnic and rest, swim and play until mom or dad could join them after a hard day's work in one of the local mills. It was - and still is- a gem in the crown of New Hampshire’s state park system. 

Jon Swan
Six months ago a Vermont company announced plans to create a landfill in the Forest Lake area and a firestorm of opposition was ignited. The people of Dalton, Whitefield, Bethlehem and nearby Littleton, led by a reluctant warrior named Jon Swan. Jon had come to the North Country from Texas by way of Iraq - where he was stationed after signing up at 38 following the 9-11 attacks. After two years in Iraq, Jon returned to upstate New York and finally settled with his wife in Dalton, NH where he believed he had found his "spot on the porch" to quote Carlos Castaneda.
  
When I heard about this David and Goliath fight to protect one of the gems of the North Country I made arrangements to visit Jon at Forest Lake State Park. Now we'll get back to Jon and the fight for Forest Lake in a few moments but I want to provide just a little background.

Boof surveys Mt Lafayette and Mt. Garfield
As I stood on the shores of Forest Lake recently and looked south to Mt Lafayette and Garfield and the Twins thinking about guiding trips on those very peaks in my own younger days, I was overwhelmed with a feeling of nostalgia and remembered that my friend Gary Ghioto, whom I had met back in the days when he was a journalist for the Boston Globe, had grown up in this area as well. I recalled his stories about working at the park as a young man and during summers while he was in college. Today he is a professor of Journalism at the University of Northern Texas' Frank and Susan Mayborn School of Journalism.  So I called him up for a little background-color

Forest Lake State Park is a 397-acre (161 ha) state park in Dalton, New Hampshire. The park is free to use, open year-round, and offers a 200-foot sandy beach on the shore of Forest Lake.[1] Activities in the park include swimming, picnicking, mountain biking, fishing, and boating.[2][3] (Wikipedia)


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Forest Lake Petition


Forest Lake State Park, one of the ten original state parks, was created in 1935. The park spans 397 acres and its 200-foot sandy beach lies on the shore of ...
You've visited this page 2 times. Last visit: 10/12/19
Forest Lake State Park (10 miles) 397 forest Lake Road, Dalton, NH 03598 603-837-9150. Pets: NOT permitted. Recreation: Swimming, fishing, kayaking, ...
Photo courtesy of Ellen Edersheim Forest Lake State Park, one of the ten original state parks, was created in 1935. The park spans 397 acres and its 200-foot ...
Forest Lake State Park is a 397-acre (161 ha) state park in Dalton, New Hampshire. The park is free to use, open year-round, and offers a 200-foot sandy beach ...
Forest Lake State Park, one of the ten original state parks, was created in 1935. The park spans 397 acres and its 200-foot sandy beach lies on...






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