Kennebunk Portside cont'd
ROTARY PARK AT BEACHWOOD
“I happened upon a path that that vanished into a wood on the edge of town.”
For Bill Bryson, that began A Walk in the Woods, a journey of physical, mental, and spiritual discovery along the Appalachian Trail. His time in the woods gained him a profound respect for wilderness and nature, and an understanding of the colossal scale of the world. He found patience and fortitude, and returned slender and physically fit. But he admitted that one doesn’t have to walk up miles of mountains or experience days of hardship to achieve this. A simple walk in the woods from time to time will do the trick.
Kennebunk Portside Rotary’s President Kirk Butterfield , with Rotarians Bob Wester, Dave Jourdan, Harvey Flashen.
On Monday, October 23, a ribbon cutting ceremony was held for a new trail into the woods created by the Kennebunk Portside Rotary club. The 20-year old charitable organization has adopted Beachwood Park and over the years has worked to maintain and beautify the facility. The town of Kennebunkport has renamed it “Rotary Park at Beachwood” in honor of our club’s service to the community. Last May, our club submitted a grant proposal to Rotary District 7780 to add a bathroom facility and hiking trail connecting the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust (KCT) trail system and adding a Rotary Loop trail. The $3,400 grant was approved, and with $4,500 of Club funds and many hours of volunteer labor the project was completed this fall.
Project Lead David Jourdan
The bathroom includes a low-maintenance incinerator toilet. You may notice the building which was re-purposed from former life as the parking kiosk at Dock Square!
The trail includes a 1/2 mile connector into the KCT system and a 1/2 mile loop winding through rock outcroppings and with beautiful views of marshlands at the head of Tyler Brook. The trail includes 12 boardwalks of varying lengths including a 50-foot bridge crossing the brook. Over 200 feet altogether! The stone footings for the bridge were salvaged from the embankments of the old Mathew Lanigan bridge that connected Dock Square to Lower Village, and was replaced last year. All of the materials (except the stones) were hand carried to the worksites and built in place.
At the ribbon cutting ceremony, project coordinator Dave Jourdan said, “I would like to thank everyone who helped make this possible: The folks at District 7780 for the grant funding; Town Manager Laurie Smith and the town Selectmen for approval to use Town lands and support of the project; Mike Claus and his crew who installed the bathroom and set the bridge stones; Carole Cook of Parks & Rec who helped us scout & clear the trails and supported approvals & permitting; Bethany Jourdan and Spectrum Signs for the beautiful signage; and most of all, the hard working volunteers of the Kennebunk Portside Rotary, Kennebunk Rotary, and the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust who hauled, cut, dug, drilled, and sweated through many summer work sessions.”
After the ceremony, Dave and Harvey Flashen lead the group on a two-mile walk down the new trail and around Rotary Loop and back. We look forward to thousands of hikers of all ages enjoying the new Rotary trail and park facilities over many years to come.