Editorials
The Editorial section of the PLIA web site that provides commentary, opinions, insights, stories and events from a group of guest columnists who have a connection to the lake. Choose a columnist from the menu on the left. [The views and opinions of columnists are not necessarily shared or endorsed by the PLIA or its members.]
| August 2006 - Digby McFibben |
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| Written by Digby McFibben | |
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Back in my day going to a camp on the lake meant going to work. Not like the work you did during the week but, like the work you did on the weekends. There were roads to maintain, cellars to dig out, walls to construct, and camps to build. You got up early on Saturday morning and started working on your long, and endless, list of camp projects. By afternoon you were tired, so you kicked back, cracked open a beer, cast your fishing line out into the lake and relaxed. Sunday morning you slept a little later but, other than that, Sunday was just like Saturday. Starting around the 1920’s the common working man discovered he had something he never had before: leisure time, automobiles, and the ability to travel long distances on his own. States like New Hampshire which were losing their industrial and logging industries called out to the working man to spend their free time (and money) up in the beautiful wilderness of NH. The working man heeded the call and began to populate the previously undeveloped lake shores of the state. Cheap cars, cheap gas, cheap land, and free time contributed to surrounding NH lakes with camps. Lake life was a workman’s vacation. Like most things in a workingman’s life, it wasn’t easy either. You carved out a patch of land for yourself and whatever you didn’t do, didn’t get done. But, it was a slice of heaven, it was yours, and nobody could take it away from you. Somewhere along the line the population of our small state began to grow. The value of land started to increase, and the value of lake shore property really started to increase. The working man figured he didn’t have to sell if he didn’t want to, he was going to retire right here on his beautiful lake. Well, that was true until the taxes started to increase as fast as property values increased. Suddenly, the choice was taken away. The only way you could afford to keep your camp was to sell it. As you cruise around our lake bring a pair of binoculars and try to spot the workingman’s camps. There are still some left but, they are an endangered species. As you look at your tax bills this year imagine what that would look like on a workingman’s pay. It would look like the end of an era. I’ve got a headache, I’m taking a nap. Digby McFibben |
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