THE GOOSE COMMUNITY AT SUNSET BAY

From 1943 to 1945 Mary Jane Hart operated The Sunset Inn, a restaurant where, according to a salvaged menu, she cooked, baked and performed odd jobs. Hart and her two young children lived in a small cottage behind the diner. Hart marketed her patios as the best place to watch the sun set over White Rock Lake, and the spot is still a strong contender today.

Sunsets aside, the most magical things at Sunset Inn’s Sunset Bay are the noisy, friendly, practically domesticated birds who live there.

Neighborhood humans Charles Fussell and Annette Abbott, among others, care for the waterfowl — a mix of Canada, African, Chinese, Toulouse, Pilgrim and Emden geese, an ethereally gorgeous mute swan named Katy and (sometimes) pelicans.

Fussell, a plumber by day, drives his pickup truck most evenings to Sunset Bay and distributes some 200 pounds of food. He also frequently rescues geese from dealers and relocates them to the bay. Most of them acclimate quickly, he has said.

“They immediately take to the lake and become a part of the community. It’s such a good life for them, plus, the people at the lake enjoy them,” he says. “[The geese] almost have the sensibilities of a dog in the way that they gravitate toward and relate with people.”

THINGS YOU HAVEN’T NOTICED AT WHITE ROCK LAKE

The Ccc Worker

In the 1930s, the field near Winfrey Point housed dozens of wooden yellow barracks, a mess hall and the hundreds of young men who served the Civilian Conservation Corps, a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 as part of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal. Later on, those barracks housed German prisoners of war. Outside Sunset Inn, which is just north of Winfrey Point, a statue honors CCC Company 2896, which built Sunset Inn, Winfrey Point, the pavilions at Flag Pole Hill, and White Rock Lake entrance signs and bridges, to name a few things. “Using shovel, trowel, hammer and spade they moved earth, planted trees, crafted stone and built structures that remain a lasting legacy of service to their community and nation,” reads the plaque.

The Dirt Trails At The Old Fish Hatchery

Those days when the trails are too crowded and you feel like going off the beaten path, look for the entrance to the Old Fish Hatchery, which is less traveled, near the filter building on the southwest side of the lake. This “environmentally sensitive area” (according to a sign out front) offers a quiet network of dirt trails and a protected wildlife habitat. It is a favorite spot of bird-watchers, wanderers and, apparently, architects of amazing teepee huts.

BEN’S BENCH

The Mayor of White Rock Lake — that was what lake-goers nicknamed Benjamin Arkowitz, according to a Dallas Morning News article from the 1990s. He told the paper he liked to test out all the benches, fill his water bottle at every fountain, and talk to anyone who would listen. More than 120 people showed up at his funeral at Temple Emanu-El in 2000, after he died of cancer. The war veteran and New York City native reportedly lost more than 70 pounds (“and gained a ton of friends”) once he started his daily jaunts around the lake. One of his favorite benches, near Dalgreen and W. Lawther, now is branded “Ben’s Bench” in gold letters. “In Memory of Benjamin Arkowitz Mayor of White Rock Lake.”

Plaza Solana

Across a bay from the old boathouse is a partly shaded plaza, fenced in stonework similar to that used by the CCC workers in the ’30s and featuring sunny mosaic signage by artist Sonia King. The overlook includes two free binocular telescopes, one at wheelchair level. The plaza was dedicated in 2004, donated by Hampton Hodges.

He and his first wife, Buffy, moved to the neighborhood after falling in love with White Rock Lake, according to a 2001 Advocate article. Buffy died a few years later of ovarian cancer, and he began exploring ways to contribute something meaningful to White Rock Lake in her honor.

Colorful tiles near the base of the plaza spell out “Hamp and Buffy.”

Dec. 3, 1995 — Mayor Ron Kirk proclaimed the day For the Love of White Rock Lake Day. The formal proclamation sits east of the old boathouse. The text reads more like a poem than a municipal document, featuring lines such as, “WHEREAS, White Rock Lake offers the souls of young and old alike the emotional refreshment of curving shoreline, green spaces, cool thickets, gentle breezes, bridal paths, diamond reflections of sun on water, pastel dawns and blazing sunsets, all against the striking silhouette of our downtown skyline … ” and “WHEREAS, White Rock Lake lays claim to the lore of the Lady of the Lake …”

DON OSTROFF’S FOUNTAIN

The family and friends of Don Ostroff dedicated a fountain and seating area on the east White Rock Lake Trail, not far from the old boathouse. Ostroff was a prolific endurance athlete who competed in more than 20 marathons and numerous triathlons. In 2007, he was running at White Rock Lake when he suffered an aortic dissection, which ended his life. He was 58.

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Things You

Noticed At White Rock Lake

Landscape of the future: Dallas United Crew plans to build a $4 million, 9,000-square-foot boathouse on the east side of the lake between the White Rock Boat Club and the Corinthian Sailing Club. Based on a 2012 agreement, the City of Dallas would own the building and earn 10 percent of the rowing club’s revenue. Josh Theodore, a principal at the architectural firm Page, designed the future boathouse; his plans have already received critical acclaim. Visit advocatemag.com for more renderings and project updates.