Category Archives: Association News

Posts about Clary Lake Association stuff.

CLA Spring/Summer 2017 Newsletter is in the mail!

[dropcap]I[/dropcap] will be dropping off 200+ copies of our 2017 Summer 2017 Newsletter at the Whitefield post office tomorrow morning. Expect a copy in your mailbox in a couple of days! Next weekend I’ll post it in our Newsletter Archive here on the site so you can download a copy and share it with your friends. We send the newsletter to all Clary Lake shore owners regardless of whether they’re a CLA member or not. We also send it to a number of Friends of Clary Lake. If you’d like to be added to our mailing list, please email me your contact information and I’ll add you.

Gone from this newsletter is the original “tear off the bottom half of the page” membership renewal form that we’ve been using for years; it has been replaced with a handy remittance envelope. Going with a remittance envelope has the added benefit of freeing up some valuable space. You can still download a copy of the old membership renewal form, print it out and mail it in if you lose your envelope or didn’t get one, or you can sign up online via Paypal. There is no shortage of ways to become a member!

Membership Matters

The other day I had the pleasure of adding a final Clary Lake shore owner to our current year membership rolls, bringing the total Membership for the 2016/2017 year to 118. It is unusual for people to be sending in dues this late for the current year. Given that our membership year runs from Annual meeting to Annual meeting and with only 4 months left in this membership year, I decided to contact the person to ask if they intended their dues to apply to this year, or the upcoming year? Their response was heartening: they apologized for being late in renewing and said the dues were for this year, and that they’d be paying their 2017/2018 dues shortly. And they did. Well alright. I like that. Because Membership Matters.

Before going any further, I wish to thank everyone who saw fit to join the Clary Lake Association this year. To give you an idea of how amazing it is to have 118 members, consider that last year we had 81 which was the most members, ever. That’s an increase of 45% in one year. Here are our membership numbers for the past 6 years. As you can see, there has been a steady increase from year to year: Continue reading →

Spring Supper to Benefit Fergusson Family After Fire

Happy Spring, everyone!

For those of you who don’t already know, the ancestral Fergusson family home on Clary Lake caught fire last week. Luckily, nobody was hurt in the blaze, however, a large part of the home was destroyed in the fire and George’s son Colin Fergusson and his partner Sara Roy lost pretty much everything in the fire.

The Fergusson family has been living on Clary Lake for 95 years. George Fergusson is the current Secretary of the Association and plays an integral role in the Association’s management and ongoing success. His father Stuart Fergusson was one of the CLA’s founding members of the Clary Lake Association back in 1961. Colin and Sara are already making plans to rebuild and hope to be moved back into part of the house by next winter.

The Clary Lake Association Momentum Committee will be co-sponsoring a Spring Supper with (and at) the Sheepscot General Store on Townhouse Road to benefit the Fergusson Family on May 6th from 5-7PM. Admission to the supper is two-fold: $5 and a dish of some sort to share (either a side dish, a salad, a dessert, or a beverage), but don’t let the lack of a dish stop you from coming by.

Please feel free to pass this email along or advertise as you see fit.  The more, the merrier! If you have questions contact the Momentum Committee at momentum@clarylake.org. All proceeds will go to the Fergusson Family home rebuilding fund.

All the best,

Erin Grimshaw, CLA Momentum Committee Chair

Love and Loss… and Mindfulness

DSC_3851 (Medium)First, I’d like to thank everyone who has reached out to me and my family since the unfortunate house fire at the Fergusson ancestral home where my son has been living on the south shore of Clary Lake. The fire occurred last Wednesday evening, most likely starting as a chimney fire. There has been an unending stream of people arriving at my front door ever since with gifts of money, food, clothes, and offers of all sorts of assistance from places to stay to labor for cleanup and rebuilding. My son Colin and his girlfriend Sara spent 4 days staying (free of charge) at Rick and Linda Gallion’s Clary Lake Bed & Breakfast which I can assure you was a whole lot nicer than the pullout couch in my wife’s reading room. Today they moved out of the B&B and into a house in Chelsea that a friend of theirs has had on the market for a while. They’re welcome to stay there until the place sells. They’ve taken 2 of their 3 cats with them, having decided to leave Mehitabelle with Margaret and me. We’re thrilled.

The plan right now is for the family to rebuild, but there’s a lot to be done between now and then and it’s really too soon to be talking about that. Clean up has only begun, and the task is daunting. I am grateful for having been able to use this Association forum to share our experience, strength, and hope, but Clary Lake needs saving, and it is time to move on and put this unfortunate event in the rear view mirror. To that end, I am going to close with an email my wife composed and sent to her long list of friends. She just has a way with words that I lack. Continue reading →

26 February 2017: Fire On Ice Winter Festival A Great Success!

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February 2017 Fire on Ice Festival. This is about as close as I came to getting a group photo. A few people had already left, a few were yet to arrive.

The Winter “Fire on Ice” Festival put on by the CLA Momentum Committee last Saturday was a great success. The weather was good, the companionship was even better and the S’mores were perfect. By this time of the winter it seems like everyone is suffering from cabin fever to some extent, and it was wonderful to be able to get outside and enjoy the day without having to be all bundled up against the cold. All told about 2 dozen adults and 10 kids showed up for the event. Most were existing Clary Lake Association members but there were some new faces in the crowd including Stephanie Chamberlain and her partner Steve Berry, who recently bought a house in Coopers Mills. Over the course of the afternoon I took a lot of photographs which I’ve added to the Winter 2017 Photo Gallery (duplicated below). Continue reading →

24 February 2017: Prospects for Tomorrow’s Festival: MUD!

OK so it’s not THAT muddy yet but nonetheless Mud Season is here. The field was pretty soft this morning when I drove down to the lake to drop off some firewood. We don’t want anyone getting stuck or the field getting rutted up so people should plan to park on the road and walk the short distance to the lake. We’ll have a few sleds available if you have firewood or something else to haul in. In any case, rubber boots are called for. The weather forecast for tomorrow is mild temperatures in the 40’s with a chance of showers the late afternoon which doesn’t sound too bad at all! The lake is still solidly ice-covered.

I’ll update this posting if I think of anything else to add.

21 February 2017: Winter Festival Update

Road plowed across field in preparation for the February 2017 Winter Festival.

Just a quick reminder/update email about our upcoming “Winter Festival” event being put on by the CLA Momentum Committee this coming Saturday, February 25th, from 12pm-3pm on Clary Lake. “Winter Festival” might imply a bigger event than what is actually likely to happen: we’ll have a small fire burning and will provide the makings for S’mores. You are also welcome to bring your own beverages (no alcohol please) and food to eat. The event is rain or shine, so dress appropriately. Check the weather report so you’ll know what sort of conditions you’ll be facing. We’re not expecting a huge turn out but do hope some of you will be able to find the time to stop by and enjoy the afternoon, the fire, and the company.

The event will be held on the south side of the lake off Route 126. Parking will be available in the field belonging to the Fergusson family where people for years have parked and gone swimming which is located just west of the Whitefield/Jefferson town line, about 1.7 miles from the Whitefield Superette (here is a Google Location Map to help you find it). Today David Knight plowed out a road down to the lake (pictured above). The wind had already swept a good sized area clear of snow right on the lake so there’s parking available.

We had planned on making an ice-carousel but with 1′ to 2′ of snow on the lake, that plan didn’t get out of design phase. We’ll try that next year. We’ll put out some traffic cones and a sign out beside the road. Contact me if you have any questions.

Hope to see you Saturday!

Clary Lake Association Winter Festival Announcement

The CLA Momentum Committee is pleased to announce a Winter Festival event for this coming February 25th, a Saturday, from 12 PM to 3 PM. OK, so maybe “Winter Festival” is a bit grandiose for what we have planned, but that’s what we’re calling it. A notice went out to our membership by email last night announcing the event. Members of the CLA as well as friends, family, and community members alike are invited to join us for a bonfire on the lake. Many of us have been cooped up all winter and an afternoon outside in the fresh air is likely just what the doctor ordered. The event is free, and the only item we’ve put on the menu is S’mores! We will provide the materials for S’mores, you make them and eat them. You are also welcome to bring your own beverages (no alcohol please) and food to eat. The event is rain or shine, so dress appropriately. Check the weather report so you’ll know what conditions you’ll be facing. Continue reading →

01 January 2017: Happy New Year from the Clary Lake Association

The Clary Lake Association Board wishes you all a very Happy New Year and hope you find peace and prosperity in the coming year. We look forward to continuing to serve you in 2017 and remain deeply committed to doing everything in our power to bring about a final and lasting resolution of the Clary Lake water level crisis, and better serve the interests of all Clary Lake shore owners in the coming year. We will of course need your help to achieve these and other goals, and we look forward to your continued support of our organization. 2016 saw a record increase in Association membership, and unparalleled participation by our members. The coming year is going to require that much and more. We’re counting on you to help keep up the momentum!

I had toyed with the idea of sending around a “Year-End Survey” to our membership soliciting comments and suggestions for the year ahead, but I’ve decided instead to keep it simple and use our website forum to invite comments and suggestions from both members and non-members alike. Please let us know how the Clary Lake Association can better serve you- our members, and our community, this coming year. Our handy (and anonymous if you want!) Contact & Feedback form works well for this purpose, or you can contact me (or the Board) directly with your suggestions. We really do want to hear from you, whatever it is you have to say.

A good example of such a suggestion, and one which has been a personal goal of mine for some time now, is for the Clary Lake Association see to having several dry fire hydrants installed in key locations around the lake to provide year round access to water for fighting fires. These hydrants would result in a lower ISO rating for the Whitefield and Jefferson communities which would directly translate into lower fire insurance premiums. This suggestion is already on the table for discussion at our next Board meeting.

So give it some thought. We look forward to hearing from you.

26 December 2016: The Year in Review

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2016 Boat Launch Cleanup

As 2016 draws to a close it is a good time to reflect on what has (hasn’t) been accomplished this year. In many ways it has been a banner year for the Clary Lake Association: with 116 current members, our membership is at an all-time high and community involvement in and support of the Association and it’s activities has never been higher. Even during the height of the water level petition process in 2012 and 2013 we only had at most 70 members, and last year we had 82 members. Furthermore, our current membership is engaged and informed like never before and willing to step up and participate when the need arises (see picture above!).

DSC_16902016 was the 5th full year that we’ve been engaged in our battle to restore Clary Lake which fact in and of itself, is rather sobering. Who would have thought this problem would take so long to resolve? The fact that after all this time we’re still waiting for the Water Level Order to be enforced is simply hard to believe, and even harder to accept. Through it all the Clary Lake Association Board has steadfastly remained diligent, attentive, and responsive, and 2016 was no exception. We officially met 12 times this past year to conduct Association business, discuss strategy, and make decisions, not to mention the piles of emails sent and phone calls made. It has literally been a full time job for some of us, and I’m deeply grateful for the dedication and commitment of all our Board members. It’s a great group of people and I’m proud to count myself among them. That said, I feel like we have not done Continue reading →

10 December 2016: Gate Status, Lake Status

IMG_20161210_113204 (Custom)From the “For What It’s Worth” department, the Clary Lake dam owner was seen at the dam this morning. It appears the purpose of the visit was to close the gate, at least partway; it now appears to be about 1/2 open though it’s still not closed enough to back up water (see picture at left). He opened the gate all the way last Saturday apparently in a knee-jerk reaction to an alleged trespass on the dam by some duck hunters, which he reported to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department- prompting a visit from an officer. I’ve not heard any more about that incident. The gate had been completely closed since early July until he opened it last weekend.

We see good skating on Clary Lake about 1 year out of 3 (if we’re lucky) and even when we do have good skating, it usually doesn’t last that long. This year is not looking like one of the good ones but it is early yet. The picture at left is a composite photo showing simultaneous views from all three Clary WebCams taken yesterday morning- it’s actually a screenshot from my tablet IP Cam Monitor app. From the lake-level views of Cams 1 and 3 (the top two images) it looks like the lake is entirely frozen over but in fact from my second-story office window I can see that the whole north half of the lake is still wide open. Also, as you can see in the bottom image, the entire east-end of the lake is open. I estimate only about 1/4 of the lake is iced over so far, and what ice we have isn’t looking very good.

Continue reading →

Lost and Found: Are You Missing a Pie Plate?

[dropcap]There[/dropcap] has been a very nice 9″ glass Anchor Ovenware(tm) pie plate with a glass cover over at Sheepscot General, waiting for someone to come by and claim it, but nobody has. Today my wife brought it home for safe keeping. We believe it was left behind by someone who brought food to the Harvest Potluck Supper earlier this month. If it belongs to you or you know who it does belong to, give Margaret a call at 458-3143 or email her and make arrangements to pick it up.

29 November 2016: Maine VLMP Fall 2016 Newsletter now available

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The Maine Volunteer Lake Monitor Program (VLMP) has issued their Fall 2016 newsletter “the Water Column” and it’s available online from their website at the following link:

Fall 2016 Water Column Newsletter

The VLMP has always done a great job with their newsletters, and this one is no exception: with 28 pages of informative articles, reports, and pictures, it is well worth taking the time to look it over. I found the article “The 2016 Drought and it’s Effect on Maine Lakes” particularly interesting.

The Clary Lake Association is long-time supporting member of the VLMP and has been contributing water quality monitoring data to the VLMP program since 1975. You’ll find the last 5 years worth of water quality data on our Clary Lake Water Monitoring Data page.

The newsletter includes a report and pictures from this summer’s 2016 Lake Monitoring Conference which David Hodsdon and I attended. Below is the group photograph taken at the conclusion of that event:

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15 November 2016: Harvest Potluck Supper a Great Success!

harvest_flyerThe Harvest Potluck Supper held last Saturday was a great success and a lot of fun, thanks to all the people who donated food and all the people that showed up to eat it! We all owe a huge Thank You to the Momentum Committee Chair (Erin Grimshaw) and committee members (Margaret Fergusson, Mary Gingrow-Shaw) for the work they did preparing for this wonderful event.

We had over 50 people in attendance and we made over $319 dollars (after expenses)! 

Sorry for not posting this update until now, but I’ve been a little busy. Here are a few pictures I took during the supper:

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[Show as slideshow]

 

09 November 2016: Reminder, Harvest Potluck Supper this Saturday

A quick reminder, the Association’s Harvest Potluck Supper/fundraiser is this Saturday, November 12th, from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM at the Sheepscot General on Townhouse Road in Whitefield. This event is open to the general public and we hope members and non-members alike will take this opportunity to get together and share good food and good company. The cost is $7.00 for adults and $3.00 for children under 12. There will also be a raffle with details to be announced. My wife informs me that we’ve had a fantastic response to our outreach and we expect lots of food of all sorts, and a good turn out as well. Also, it is not too late to contribute to the fare, that we are still in need of a few side dishes such as salads, of whatever sort. Please contact Margaret Fergusson @ 207-458-3143; Mary Gingrow-Shaw @ 207-622-3308 with any questions or suggestions.

I’m going to send out a reminder email to all current Clary Lake Association members this evening. I realize that a number of you are no longer in Maine and will be unable to attend the Supper, but you’ll get an email just the same! Consider it a test of our Emergency Broadcast System. Please keep an eye out for it and if you don’t see it in your inbox in the next 24 hours, please check your spam folder. We’ve done extensive testing of our mail system and most mail hosts recognize our emails as Not Spam (Gmail seems to get confused on occasion). IF it ends up as spam, tell your mail program it is NOT spam!

Thanks and hope to see you at the Supper!

Harvest Potluck Supper Flier

These flyers will be going up around town this coming week. Download one!

Harvest Potluck Supper

a benefit for the

Clary Lake Association

Saturday November 12 at Sheepscot General
from 4:00 to 7:00 PM
$7.00 adults, $3.00 children

Mark your calendars! The Clary Lake Association invites you to join us, the community coming together, lakeshore owners, neighbors, friends, and family alike, for a Harvest Potluck Supper to enjoy each other’s company, good home cookin’ and to celebrate our Lake.

We are still looking for volunteers willing to contribute food: crockpot items, casseroles, salads, desserts, & beverages. People interested in contributing to this event, please contact Margaret Fergusson @ 207-458-3143, Mary Gingrow-Shaw @ 207-622-3308, or Erin Grimshaw @ 207-346-4640.

Hope to see you there! Check for updates on the Clary Lake Association website as the event draws near: https://clarylake.org/