Photo By John HoffI've mentioned the "Jordan Pond" in a few posts, so I thought it would be a good idea to publish a photo. Some weeks ago, I heard an interesting story about the origins of this body of water, also sometimes called "Lake Jordan." The word is...
...the pond isn't a naturally-occurring body of water. At one time, Logan Ave. N. went through the area which is now the pond, with houses on either side. (Indeed, every few years, the driver of a stolen car will try to recreate the Logan Ave. N. of that bygone era, which only results in driving straight into the water)
So, anyway, some years ago when the pond was being created the city's plan was to simply have a fenced-off holding pond for rainwater runoff, without any amenities. The only plan was for a big, wet hole. With a chain link fence.
However, neighborhood resident Dennis Wagner made it his unpaid personal mission to assure a more scenic body of water. He went to every other holding pond in the city and took pictures, and then he confronted city officials on their plans for a pond surrounded by a chain link fence. By these efforts, Wagner moved city officials to expand and improve their plans. The result is the Jordan Pond has become a beautiful amenity and folks who live around it never want to leave.
The efforts of Wagner were apparently never written about in the press nor given public credit. I say it's time to correct this imbalance in the force. Denny Wagner...you're our hero. YOU DESERVE A BIG PAT ON THE BACK!!!!
4 comments:
And if you pat Dennis on his back, he won't hit you. In fact, he'll be very appreciative. Great going, Dennis. Pat,pat,pat.
...the pond isn't a naturally-occurring body of water. At one time, Logan Ave. N. went through the area which is now the pond, with houses on either side. (Indeed, every few years, the driver of a stolen car will try to recreate the Logan Ave. N. of that bygone era, which only results in driving straight into the water)
If I am not mistaken, that area was indeed originally a pond and was filled-in for housing around the turn of the century. It turned-out to be a not very smart move however as many houses in the immediate area experienced basement flooding on a regular basis.
If you're not mistaken...
That is a valuable and substantive piece of info. Thank you so much!
Well Johnnie, thanks for the Kudos but they really aren't mine. The key architect of this was Christie Bailey, who by the way lives the lakes but still owns a house on Knox. As best I can recall she got some neighbors to get involved, you know the "typical suspects". Any who, the original plan was for a depression, that would be dry most of the year, and as mentioned just more or less wild. Deb went around taking photos of other depressions, that were actually ponds with decorative wrought Iron fences, some with bridges. For the old farts out there, this was when Joe Biernat was our council member. Deb went to a couple of meetings with Christie, as usual I provided the technical back ground. As things tightened up we went to one of the final meetings, when I looked at the topographical map I made a comment that based on the map, they did not need to take out the 2 southern most houses on the block, the 2 that now act as sentinels to the pond when approaching from Logan going north. This observation, saved the 2 properties and ~ $250,000 which meant we had a little leverage. The end result of the Bailey charge was that we got a wet pond, and a walk way. I was but a mere player in this success story.
Rgds
DLW
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