Beginnings Founders’ Park“ by Roger Breisch
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I have read with interest the plans being investigated to remove the Fox River dam and retain the Depot Pond. I wish to share an idea I have considered ever since the 2003 referendum in which the community resolved to save the north dam. All things evolve; permanence is a word generally unheard of in the natural course of history. Let’s be clear, with the exception of the main channel of the Fox River, the waterways that have formed the center of Batavia have changed and evolved greatly over the years. The area we now know as the Depot Pond was formed from a man-made second channel of the Fox River, built to support the power needs of our early factories. Prior to digging a second channel, that land was likely forested and pristine. While it seems the Depot Pond we know today has always been part of Batavia, it wasn’t until the 1960s and 70s—little more than 50 years ago—that Houston St. was extended to Island Ave. to form the body of water that appears to end at that roadway. In 1957, when John Falter painted the famous Saturday Evening Post cover, prior to Houston St., he was able to document that event because the second channel, which flowed through the entirety of our downtown at that time, was shallow and would freeze more easily than the main channel of the Fox. The current idea is to salvage a body of water that was not natural to begin with and will be extremely expensive to birth and maintain. Suppose for a moment, we decide to allow impermanence to run its course, and admit this unnatural, man-made structure, is no longer the optimum use of that geography in our community. If the dam is removed and we allow land to reemerge where the Depot Pond currently exists, what might become of it? In all the years I have been active in Batavia, community organizations (MainStreet, the chamber, park district, etc.) frequently found large, community events were either impossible, had to be squeezed into challengingly small spaces, or moved out of the downtown. What if we were to re-imagine a new community park—Founders’ Park, perhaps—to honor the men and women who engineered the heart of our community so many decades ago. An ice rink could be built in the winter to allow us to recall the days of skating on the river—with better and more predictable ice surfaces, and without the need to monitor ice depth to prevent tragedy! The Peg Bond Center and stage are perfect for small, intimate gatherings, concerts, and 6 kaneneighbors.com
shows, but what if we were to imagine a large bandshell at the north end of the new park facing south that would allow spectacular community events—perhaps even a scaled-down, but magnificent 4th of July concert and fireworks? How might the Windmill City Festival be completely re-imagined? Might there even be room on this huge park for the long wished-for rec center? Coincidentally, as documented in John Gustafson’s Historic Batavia, Batavia once had such a park near downtown—Laurelwood, the area surrounding the boathouse. That park, it is said, could entertain tens of thousands of guests. It ceased to exist after a fire destroyed several structures. What extraordinary community events have we missed in the interim because we do not have a suitable space to accommodate them? No doubt, the community would mourn the loss of the Depot Pond for a period of time. However, new, magnificent memories will emerge in the lives of our neighbors: community gatherings beyond what we can even imagine today, skating all winter long without having to wait for Mother Nature to leave us a few days of difficult skating surfaces, perhaps even spectacular concerts and fireworks in our downtown where they have always belonged. I have little doubt that if Batavians were to discover a piece of land with almost unlimited potential, what would occur in that expanse over the next 50 years would be truly astounding.
Roger E. Breisch is a resident of Batavia and Speaker/Provocateur View his TEDxQuincy remarks on his website: REBreisch.com His latest book, Questions That Matter, is available at Amazon.com
