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Bare Cove Park Committee

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Committees: Bare Cove Park Committee

2011 Annual Report

The Bare Cove Park Committee typically meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 7:00pm at Town Hall. Dates and times are published in the on-line Events Calendar, at Town Hall, and in The Hingham Journal. Hingham's website also has information about the Park, including a printable map and dog etiquette, regulation of activity, a photo gallery, Committee members, and history. The public is welcome to attend.

Winter came early and hard, and it was a long one. A mid-January blizzard brought down many tree limbs in the Park. On a cold February morning, on a day when snow wasn't falling, Ranger Scott McMillan and volunteers helped Boy Scout Colin McPhillips rebuild two of the osprey platforms in the marsh to complete his Eagle Scout project.

The Hingham Naval Ammunition Depot Memorabilia Display at the Dock House was open to visitors one Sunday each month from May through September, and Ranger Scott was also available for some special guests. In the spring, former Committee Chairman Brooks Robbins brought a
group of veterans on a van tour of the Park with a stop at the Depot display. Local members of a Mass. DPH Keep Moving Program Walking Group enjoyed the Park and the Dock House on a bright September morning. On October 15th, personnel from the US Naval Reserve Center in Quincy provided the Color Guard to help celebrate both the Navy's and the Park's birthdays.

The Park was one of the 2 venues in Massachusetts to host the Weight Watchers Walk-It Day Challenge on May 22nd. Over 500 people took a 3-mile walk along the Back River Path to the Rt. 3A bridge and back as part of this nationwide event.

Our fourth End of Summer Classic Road Race on August 25th was again a successful and fun event; net proceeds of $7,002.00 were donated to The Friends of Bare Cove Park cash account maintained by the Town for the Committee. Over 550 runners had registered, but 110 had to forgo the race to batten down hatches as Hurricane Irene roared up the East Coast. The Committee would like to thank the sponsors, organizers, and the volunteers who helped to make the race a success, including residents of the Back River Townhomes and the Friends of Hingham High Track.

Though Irene had become a Tropical Storm by the time she reached Hingham, the high winds and heavy rain brought down branches and trees all around town. The DPW used a section of Bare Cove Park as a staging area for storm debris. Residents who hadn't been here for years, some because there are so many dogs, were pleasantly surprised at how beautiful this Park is, especially as they drove by the Triangle Garden, a labor of love for Volunteer Gardener Barbara Nicosia since 2000. Later in September, The Scituate Animal Shelter held their first annual Happy Tails Walk fundraiser along Bare Cove Path.

The Park's vintage truck was put out to pasture and its replacement went into service in November. Along with cutting the grass and plowing the snow from the roads and trails, Ranger Scott keeps the Park safe and enjoyable by removing invasive vegetation and, sometimes with help from the DPW, potentially dangerous dead trees and branches.

In 2011, more people who do not control their dogs and do not pick-up after them were visiting Bare Cove Park. In July, the Committee began using funds from the Road Race to have ACO Leslie Badger come here more often – above and beyond her regular work hours – to help keep the Park safe and clean for everyone. We plan to post new signs, with clear standards for canine conduct and stiff fines, in January 2012.

Committee: Patti Coyle (Chair), Chuck Harvey (Vice-Chair), Brian O'Leary (Sec'y), Ted Matthews (Treas), Tom Burbank, Peter Cotter, Eric LeClair, Jim O'Hare, Joe Roper