Hi Neighbors!

It’s been a long winter no matter where you live. Falmouth had more snow than most “townies” can remember. Now the only pile left is in the Mill Road parking lot that was used as a “snow farm” to get the snow off of Main Street. All will be well!

Your Board meets monthly throughout the year and over the winter we put plans in place for an active Association season.

Membership Drive:  Terry Saunders will be sending out a letter to all residents in the geographical area of the Old Stone Dock to recruit new members and ask you to renew your current membership. We tried “rolling year” dues, but it became unwieldy very fast. Your $25 renewal will get everyone back in sync, and help the Association prepare the programs and activities to promote and protect our neighborhood. Please encourage your neighbors to join, too.

May 30, Saturday morning: Beach Clean-up day at the bathhouse.

Terry and Steve Saunders will have trash bags for the work teams and OSDA logo tee shirts and hats for sale. Lois Girard will be hosting a hot dog collation at noon for the workers.

If you can’t work, stop by and say Hi.

Bathhouse flowers:  Rebecca Bevilacqua is providing the flowers for the bathhouse this year in memory of her mother who passed away last year. Thanks Rebecca!

Bathhouse Bulletin Board:  Many thanks to member Larry Rowland who stepped up to build a beautiful bulletin board just outside the door to the bathhouse. Beach Director Don Hoffer was very happy to get it, and he will share it so that OSDA can post notices there, too. OSDA Treasurer Bob Lehtinen built inside shelves for Don to hold the many plaques that have been won by life guards over the years. The OSDA also donated the signs that indicate who is in which offices.

Beachside benches:  The two benches that were destroyed by a vehicle at the end of Shore Street were rebuilt and reset into their original position. DPW wanted to move them closer to the bathhouse, but several of us pointed out the sentimental attachment that so many have to that location so they replaced them there. One was donated by member Nancy Gross from Fresh River Lane in her mother’s name. We’re glad it’s back, Nancy!

July 12, Sunday, Triathlon support:  The Panigutti Brothers have again asked the OSDA to provide traffic control for their third annual triathlon event. We are at street intersections from 5:30am until about 10am. They give the Association $1,000 for our service, and for the second year they will make the OSDA Scholarship Program their charity of choice.

August 2, Sunday: Annual Meeting / Summer Social

We’ll be back at the Beach Breeze Inn for our annual meeting thanks to VP Don Filiault’s hospitality! We will have more information as we get closer, but count a 4:00pm start with the annual meeting, followed by a 5:00pm buffet and social gathering. We expect a number of town leaders to be there as our guests.

The Great September Gale of 1815

Nothing special, just a note that it was 200 years ago that the original 1801 stone dock was destroyed by hurricane force winds not seen again until 1938. OSDA will celebrate the bicentennial rebuilding of the current stone dock with some festivities in 2017. Stay tuned.

OSDA History: Bill Swift

Speaking of history, Bill and Joan Swift hosted a delightful hour-long presentation of Bill’s recollections of growing up in his childhood home on Pin Oak Way. Mr Al Irish from King Street also added his memories and adventures. The gathering was small enough to fit in the Swifts’ family room, but I have attached an account of their presentation that you might enjoy. It might appear in the Enterprise this Friday. We’ll see.

I guess that’s it for now. There is much more planned. Paul Smith is looking to host a Tidal Surge presentation in the Fall, and we continue to work on beautification projects including efforts to clean up Fresh River (a perennial task for Carol Taylor). I’ll keep you posted. Thank you for all your support!

kmd