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Friends of Upton State Forest NewsletterEllen Arnold, nds@friendsofuptonstateforest.orgLike us on Facebook!Volume 10 Number 2Spring 2015In the Beginning, Part 2-2005By Ellen ArnoldPresident’s MessageBy Bill TaylorUnfortunately the effort to preserveHopkinton’s 203 Pond Street property inits entirety failed. The vote at the March3rd Special Town Meeting to purchasethe portion of the property slated fordevelopment for 2 million did not reachthe required 2/3 majority. The vote was152 for and 113 against. While we aredisappointed in the outcome, we arepleased that the open space developmentwill preserve 32 acres and include acorridor for a trail that will connect LakeWhitehall State Park and its abuttingopen spaces to Upton State Forest and itsadjacent open spaces.We were also pleased to have beenable to work closely with the membersof the groups that made up the WhitehallWoods Alliance: Sudbury ValleyTrustees, Hopkinton Area Land Trust,Friends of Whitehall, Bay State TrailRiders Association and New EnglandMountain Biking Association. TheAlliance is a wonderful example oforganizations coming together for acommon goal.We want to thank the Department ofConservation and Recreation for theirsupport with a commitment of 250,000,all of those that made the over 75,000in pledges, and everyone who helpedpublicize and support the effort. I thinkwe can all be proud of what we tried toaccomplish.BillBill Johnston, Ellen Arnold, Betty Rochevisit the CCC Statue in FreetownThe first years for Friends of UptonState Forest were a blur of activity onmany fronts. Our challenge was to gothrough the steps to turn our advocacyinto a legitimate, non-profit, 501(c) (3)organization, while engaging ourmembers, and finding and reaching outto anyone who could help us.We spent the first summer meetingoften to elect officers, write bylaws andarticles of organization, start the501 (c) (3) paperwork, and put into placethe framework that would lead us intothe future. The officers were PresidentEllen Arnold, Vice-President BillJohnston, Secretary Chris Scott,Corresponding Secretary Joan Shanahan,and Treasurer Betty Roche. Before theyear was out, Bill was elected VP of theAmericas for the InternationalAssociation of Birds of Prey, so KarenOber agreed to become Vice Presidentand Bill stayed with us as a member atlarge. Louis Despres was our secondmember at large. (Continued on page 2)Happy 100th Birthday toUpton State Forest 1915-2015Story on page 41

supervisor, introduced the speakers: StateSenator Edward M. Augustus, Jr., State Rep.George Peterson, Mass Wildlife Director,Wayne F. McCallum, Donna Stimpson andmyself. Sharon Hoey of DCR sang theNational Anthem, and Ranger JeanneGilleny-DeCenzo was Color Guard. SmokyBear made an appearance, and then weturned the mic over to CCC alumni inattendance. It was the first time I met JosephPetrowski, the larger than life, CCC crewleader that helped build Dean Pond dam.When he took the mic, he let everyone thereknow exactly what he thought about the sadcondition of the buildings!I knew that day that Preservation Masswas going to include our nomination ontheir list, and I was bursting to share thenews, but they wanted to release it first! InNovember, Val Stegemoen, Barbara Burke,and I attended the Preservation Mass awardceremony in Boston. The following springthe South barn debris was cleaned up!During 2005, we learned that what wethought was part of the forest was a privateinholding. John Pelczarski introduced us toDavid McGowan in DCR’s Land ProtectionOffice and we contacted Mike Penko ofMetacomet Land Trust. Bill Johnston,David, Mike and I worked out a strategywith Metacomet’s support. We arranged ameeting to include DCR representatives,state legislators from Upton and Hopkinton,and local open space representatives fromboth towns, including Friends of Whitehall.Out of that meeting we raised 4500 for afirst appraisal of the property. DCR hassince acquired some of that property.Someone from DCR told me that if wemade it through the first year, the nextbenchmark for success would be to still bearound in three years. Here we are ten yearslater with much to do, but much done! Theloyalty and support of our membership, andthe partnerships we have formed through theyears have made it possible.In the Beginning (continued)Things as simple as getting a post officebox and insurance were complicated by lackof a treasury. In September, we began takingmemberships at our first official meeting.The speaker that night was Bill Davis ofMass Wildlife who talked about wildlife inCentral Massachusetts.During that summer, we contacted otherFriends groups for ideas and advice. BillJohnston, Betty Roche, and I attended ameeting of the Friends of Freetown andvisited the CCC statue there. Friends ofWhitehall and Bay State Trails RidersAssociation were very supportive, and tothis day we still have many members incommon in both groups. The equestrianmagazine, Horsemen’s Yankee Pedlar, andthe Worcester Telegram & Gazette did greatarticles about our efforts.Our first local partners were UptonHistorical Commission and Upton HistoricalSociety. The South Barn at Upton, whichcollapsed in 2003, was still a pile on theground. That needed to be cleaned up, andwe wanted to bring attention to the conditionof the remaining historic buildings. BillJohnston and I approached the Commissionasking them to sponsor a nomination of theentire CCC Camp to the Preservation Mass2005 List of Ten Most Endangered HistoricResources in Massachusetts. They agreed,and the Society allowed me to use theircomputer, files, and pictures to prepare thenomination. Frank and Alice Evans, alongwith Russ and I, made a trip to Pittsfield,where Donna Stimpson, of the Departmentof Conservation and Recreation (DCR)provided information from their Archives.Working with the DCR CCC ProgramCommittee we planned an event celebratingthe 70th anniversary of the CCC Camp bydedicating the wayside panel now in front ofthe Headquarters Building. Over 70 peoplecame on a rainy, October weekday for theprogram. John Pelczarski, our park2

Jerry at the Expo!Membership ReportOur January meeting was well attendedwith six new members joining that night.We are pleased to welcome Mark and LisaVerrochi of Hopkinton, Mike and AngelaLupacini & family, Joyce Sandvick, andDave Carlson all of Upton. Agnita Knottreports that our 2015 memberships are ontrack with 94 new and renewed. With thenumber of new members since September 1,we have already reached our 10% increasegoal for 2015!If you have not renewed your membershipfor 2015, please try to do it by April 1 tosave us the postage of sending a reminder.Your membership dues support all of ouradministrative expenses, newsletter, website, insurance and post office box. We haveattached a membership form with thisnewsletter. If you have already renewed,please share it and invite someone else tojoin.In addition to the satisfaction ofsupporting the Friends and giving back tothe park we all love, your membership has acouple of other perks. Members do not payto attend any of our programs and they get a10% discount on our logo apparel.On Saturday, March 7, Jerry Zaslow setup a booth for FUSF at the BlackstoneValley Chamber of Commerce Expo. He hasrecently restocked our merchandise withsizes we were missing. If you are interestedin purchasing anything, email us atnews@friendsofuptonstateforest.org and wecan connect you with Jerry.Upton State Forest DisplayIn recognition of the National HistoricRegister listing for the CCC resources atUpton State Forest, Bill Taylor and EllenArnold are setting up a display at UptonHistorical Society. They will have it done byApril 15, and hope you stop by to see it. TheSociety is located on the second floor of theUpton Library building. Their hours areTuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, 10am toNoon. Thursday evening 6:30pm to 8pm andSaturday 9:30am to 11:30am. For more infoabout the Society go tohttp://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/ mauhs/location hours.html.Earth Day 2006Friends of Whitehall UpdateFriends of Whitehall (FOW) report thatthe DCR has filed a notice of intent with theHopkinton Conservation Commission to doinvasive weed treatment at Lake Whitehall,which is something the group has advocatedfor. The group holds an annual clean-up dayaround the lake.L. Marston photoAt the 2006 BSTRA Earth Day Clean-upwe filled the back of this pickup truck in lessthan a half mile on Westborough Rd.3

planted 35,000 seedlings in 1915 andbrushed 10 acres in 1919, presumablyfor fire control. Mr. Gaskill, who died in1923, or his family, could have boughtthe land back for the cost of doing thoseimprovements up to 1925. They did not,and the land was added to the landbought in 1934-35 to create Upton StateForest. In 1929 the state also thinned theplantings. Since one of the purposes ofthe 1908 Reforestation Act was toprovide demonstration forests for privatelandowners to learn from, which is partof the forest’s mission today, it seemsappropriate to recognize the purchase ofthe Gaskill property as the birth ofUpton State Forest, so happy 100thbirthday Upton State Forest!Happy Birthday toUpton State Forest!By: Bill TaylorCourtesy of Upton Historical SocietyPhoto typical of the Upton landscape inthe early 20th century.As the Friends celebrate our 10thanniversary in 2015, it turns out that2015 may also be the 100th anniversaryof Upton State Forest. Most of the forestwas purchased in 1934 and 1935 topreserve and improve the state’s forestresources, to ensure that outdoorrecreational opportunities were availableto nearby residents, and to provide aplace for the CCC to work. As such, theforest’s birthday could be sometime in1934 or 1935. However, whileresearching the history of the forest, Ilearned that 63 acres of what is now theforest were acquired on March 29, 1915,which would make this year its 100thbirthday. This land was acquired subjectto the Forest Restoration Act of 1908,which provided the state forester fundsto purchase or accept gifts of land for“experiment and illustration in forestmanagement.” The sellers or donors hadthe option to repurchase the land for theoriginal purchase price and/or the cost ofany improvements within ten years ofthe purchase/donation date. D. W.Gaskill, a lumberman from Blackstone,donated the land in 1915. The statePhoto courtesy of Beatrice Wood,daughter of Ben WoodThis is the portable sawmill that wasoperated by Ben Wood. Much of theland in the northern section of UptonState Forest was purchased from Mr.Wood. He logged it first, and then sold itas “sprout land”. Mr. Gaskill wasreported to have a similar portable mill.Highlighted WebsiteHere is a link to maps for UptonOpen Space trails, some of whichconnect to Upton State Forest.http://www.uptonma.gov/Pages/UptonMA BComm/conservation/townland/index4