The waning days of summer heat and humidity have made our small summer camp on an even smaller pond a perfect place to end the workday. Recent events also suggest it is a place to reflect on leadership and community ties.
Over the years we have watched young children grow to adulthood, camps bought and sold, and the beaver lodge fall into disrepair only to reappear, larger-than-life, the following summer in a new location, often nearest to camp owners who believe that the best beaver is a trapped one. While my husband and I have witnessed our share of changes over the years we’ve been in seasonal residence, the one constant is a gentleman I’ll call Bucky Badshorts and his muscleman jet ski.
The pond is so small I can stand on the shore and converse in a normal tone of voice to our neighbor on the opposite shore. So when Bucky revs up his jet ski and zooms to the opposite end of the pond at lightning speed, kayakers, canoeists, and swimmers alike head for cover. For the 17 years I’ve been in residence, camp owners have tolerated the annoyance and potential public safety hazard in an effort to get along, but this summer one year-round owner declared battle. Tired of listening to the rest of us complain and concerned that one of her grandchildren would get hurt by Bucky’s erratic navigation, she took matters into her own hands.
Leadership comes in all shapes and sizes, but Sharon’s small stature and hard-life demeanor belie determination and skill. An otherwise quiet woman who lives in a modest camp with her husband, she quickly secured the 50-plus needed signatures from legal residents (most camp owners are not legal residents) to petition Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to place a horsepower limit on boaters using the pond. She then went door-to-door, personally asking each camp owner to support the petition by attending the upcoming public hearing. We all dutifully complied.
Not surprisingly, the hearing produced its share of drama. Some stories about Bucky and his jet ski were based on fact, others not, but the majority in the room echoed Sharon’s concerns, relating interesting if not compelling near-death experiences.
A few in the audience sided with Bucky. One father expressed concern that if horsepower limits were placed on boats, his son, a returning Iraq war vet, would be denied the fundamental freedom to use his speedboat. Someone responded that it would be ironic if he returned from war only to be killed by an out-of-control jet ski.
At the end of the hearing, the opposing sides put aside differences and engaged in friendly conversation about families, jobs, and the shorter days that signal the end of summer.
For me, the IF&W’s decision is almost secondary, even though it would be nice to enjoy the peace and quiet. The good news is the pond community remains intact, and we know we have our next association president who has been living right under our noses all along.