Woodstock
Sustainable Woodstock, the nonprofit organization behind the new riverside park, organized Saturday’s “duck derby” to raise money and encourage people to visit the 2.3-acre space. The group charged $5 to sponsor a single duck and $20 to sponsor five.
“I think it may be the first time I’ve ever won anything,” said David McGowan, who scored a free night at the Woodstock Inn after one of his ducks, No. 439, floated across the finish line first.
The bathtub toy began its day in a bucket on the Elm Street bridge, about a half-mile upriver. Shortly after 10 a.m., volunteers dumped No. 439 — and hundreds of its buddies — into the river below, where they all began their slow descent. Additional volunteers stationed in the water propelled stalled ducks forward with hockey sticks.
“There was a test run and the ducks were much faster then,” noted Mary MacVey, who drew inspiration for the event from a similar one held each July in Reading, Vt.
She planned Saturday’s festivities alongside other members of Sustainable Woodstock’s East End Action Group.
Tom Weschler and Mary Hawkins joined fellow attendees in cheering the ducks as they approached the finish line.
“That’s it, we’re going to go across together, hand in hand,” Weschler called, as two birds appeared to adhere to each other just before crossing the finish line. He jokingly lamented his own duck’s loss, declaring, “219 was supposed to be a guaranteed winner.”
The couple voiced enthusiasm for the park project, with Hawkins noting the potential it held for connecting “this end of town with downtown.”
Previously, the plot housed a railroad depot and a garage, and most recently it served as Woodstock’s wintertime snow dump. In 2011, Tropical Storm Irene swept a portion of the bank away, which led some to consider how the town might make better use of the property.
“We thought the easiest way to revitalize this area was to get rid of the snow dump,” said Sally Miller, executive director of Sustainable Woodstock.
MacVey expects the dump’s relocation will make it easier to maintain and improve the park.
“We’ve had lots of workdays here. We have a workday every spring for cleanup,” she said. “Going forward it will be much less significantly challenging.”
Joby Thompson attributed the park’s creation to the unpaid efforts of community members.
“We’ve been working at this for eight years now,” she said. “It’s all volunteer. We do all the mowing and planting.”
The project has also received boosts from the state of Vermont in the form of a pair of ecosystem restoration grants and a community development block grant, and the village, which put in an adjacent park and ride.
“I guess you could call it a public-private partnership,” MacVey said.
For Sabrina Brown, the park is of major recreational value.
“It’s the only real public access to the river in Woodstock,” she said.
Sustainable Woodstock intends to add further elements to the park over the next few years. First on the list is an irrigation system.
“Last summer the lawn was really browned out by August,” MacVey said. The group’s three-phase, five-year plan also calls for the introduction of paths, picnic tables, apple trees, blueberry bushes and a stone patio.
“Planners will obtain local and state permits as the buildout continues,” MacVey wrote in a follow-up message.
In the meantime, the group “absolutely” intends to hold another duck derby next year.
Gabe Brison-Trezise can be reached at g.brisontrezise@gmail.com.