Friends of Coggshall
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Needless to say, I was devastated to learn on Tuesday morning that Coggshall's stone house had burned down. Bob O'Connell, president of the Friends of Coggshall, emailed those of us who are active in the organization with the bad news; it wasn't until he subsequently forwarded photos of the burnt structure that it even seemed real. Everyone seemed to have a favorite story to tell, be it a childhood memory of warming up in front of the fire after a game of hockey on the lake or a more recent recollection of a wedding reception they had attended there.
It was a beautiful lodge, and it will be rebuilt. Unfortunately, it will be impossible to replicate the stonework and charm of the original structure, built in 1917. And it will no doubt take another century for the ivy to again cover the exterior walls.
Over the years, the Friends of Coggshall group has played an important role in helping to maintain the park. Recent projects with which they've been involved include ongoing landscaping efforts, installation of a new fountain, obtaining swans for the lake, annual sponsorship of the summer concert series, and purchasing a special fire response vehicle with off-road capabilities to allow the fire department to respond to forest fires in Coggshall or anywhere else in the city. One member even singlehandedly provided installation of a security system and webcam (no easy feat to run wiring through stone masonry)...if not for Unitil's failure to restore power to the park in a timely manner following the mid-December ice storm, the fire that claimed the stone house may have been prevented or at least detected at an early enough stage to limit the amount of damage.
The Friends of Coggshall resources are obviously going to be strained as the organization works to support efforts to rebuild the stone house and to restore its contents and surrounding environment.
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Coggshall Park is something that really sets Fitchburg apart from other communities, and I hope that many of you will consider helping to protect it. Thanks for reading!
[04/28/10 UPDATE: The Friends of Coggshall finally have a website, www.coggshallpark.org. Please consider checking it out for more information about the organization.)
Labels: Community
1 Comments:
Later than most, I just learned this fire was an act of arson. How sad. What motivation could anyone possibly have to raze a place of such wonderful memories?
I also see that you are on the community's board of directors. Congratulations! I hope you can help steer us toward overcoming this tragedy.
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