Sharon Town Beach...1958.......2009

On my way back from the transfer station, I took the long way to work and came down Long Pond, Mudgetown, and on to Mudge Pond. But as I came to the beach, the gates were open, I had some time, so I swung in and took a look around. Not quite the place my pictures will show. The one above shows a couple of tractors, with the Ford on the right getting pulled out of the drink, now somewhere between the parking lot and the picnic area I'd say. In that picture you see some of the men who really built our public beach. Josh Lovell is on the tractor on the left, my dad and Ken Seeley are standing talking and supervising, Ray Lovell is leaning on the Ford's fender, and in the checked shirt on the left is Maurice McCann. The other man to the right has his name torn from the back of the photo, so I can't give him credit.

Obviously not the same day as the tractor pulling, but still, that first summer. My dad, and Lance Pruyn are seen here assembling the merry-go-round with your's truly being the supervisor! The merry-go-round and the slides have gone with time and insurance companies, but the swing set still remains! (was I a cute kid or what?)

Out by the entrance is a nice new planting and a memorial marker dedicated to Anne Gudernatch, honoring her for her working on the original beach committee and I know she served on the town beach committee for many, many years. A nice tribute to an extremely dedicated individual. One of the best things about Sharon is it is still small enough where volunteers still work together for the good of the town,ie., the ambulance squad, fire company, rec commission, the Lion's Club just to name a few. The day that we hire everything done will be a sad day.

So, the beach has been here for 51 years this summer by my calculation, and while it may not necessarily be the beach I remember, it still appears to be a real nice town facility. New bathrooms, new docks and playground equipment have been added recently by the looks, and the beach goes farther to the north than I remembered, but these are all good things. I need to visit again in the summer when its officially open for business. We just need a little sun and warm weather to get us thinking about those days of summer.