As you can tell by the condition of the fire roads, our bill is still pending in the legislature. Although we have not succeeded in evoking the change in state statutes that we wish, some important progress has been made. The bill was considered by the Committee for Local and County Government last March. Joel Dearborn and I spent three days in Augusta testifying before the committee and trying to convince them of the need for this type of legislation. We were able to obtain the endorsement of Maine‘s Congress of Lake Associations (COLA) as we'll as the State Committee of County Commissioners. Robert Kelly, who is the chairman of that committee, as well as the Commissioner of Penobscot County, spoke in support of the bill. Tom Gordon, who is president of COLA, also spoke on behalf of the legislation, as did several other representatives from organizations such as our own.

At the outset of these meetings, the Maine Municipal Association (MMA) was strongly opposed to our bill. Thanks primarily to some quick thinking and personal lobbying by Joel Dearborn, we finally brought the MMA around to commit to "tentative" support for a revised version of the bill. Most importantly, we convinced some members of the Committee of the need for this type of legislation, such that they voted unanimously that the bill be tabled until fall so that the MMA could work in conjunction with the Branch Pond Association to develop a revised version satisfactory to both parties. Moreover, the chairman of the Committee for Local and County Government volunteered to co-sponsor the bill with us when it comes up for review next fall. Joel Dearborn is currently in the process of working out a revision of the legislation with MMA.

Basically, we don’t yet have the legislation we want, but we are a lot closer. In my judgment, the support of the Maine Municipal Association is crucial if this bill is ever to become law. Undoubtedly, I will be asking all of you to write /our state representatives this fall when we receive what I hope will be -final consideration of this issue.

The yearly meeting of the Branch Pond Association will be at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 26. The meeting will be held in the Council Chambers of the Ellsworth City Hall. Issues to be discussed Include (a) information on the status of our road legislation that is currently undergoing revision in Augusta, (b) formation of a committee to monitor sewage and waste disposal by property owners on the lake, (c) registration procedures for the second Branch Pond Regatta, and (d) establishment of dues and election of officers for- 1986-1987. Please try to attend.

Last year’s regatta was a success, with twelve competitors and many spectators. Thus, we will try to duplicate the event again this summer by holding the second Annual Branch Pond Regatta on the weekend of August 2. As before, handicapping and qualification will transpire on Saturday and the race itself will be held on Sunday. Any class sailboat may enter. A $5 registration fee will be levied to cover expenses -for trophies and the cocktail hour, which this year will be hosted by Paul and Dorothy Wight (Branchview Drive). Registration forms can be obtained -from Don Hayes (667-4716). Volunteers are needed to set the course, serve as buoy tenders, and man safety boats. Please contact Don Hayes if you are willing to help with this event.

It is with regret that I inform you that Gordon Dunn has resigned as Vice President of the BPA. He and Paula sold their home on the lake last January. As you know, Gordon was a strong supporter of the Association, making invaluable contributions on both the Road and Sludge Committees. He will be missed, both as a fellow worker and as a. neighbor. We wish the best of luck to all of the Dunns (Gordon, Paula, Kim, Paige, and Chip) and hope to see them visiting the lake often.

Last year's fight to block licensing of the 11-acre septage disposal site on streams that run directly into the Pond proved costly. In tact, the BPA has been bankrupt (or nearly so) since October. The following families made special contributions to the Association so that we could pay our bills and continue to operate at a minimal level during the year: Noni McGeorge & family (The Boulders), Dave & Joyce Hardy (Phillip's Beach Road), Bill & Margaret Mouradian (Sargent Driye), Patti & Jack SIombeck (Branchview), Charles & Elizabeth Martell (Branchview), Paul & Dorothy Wight (Branchview), Gordon & Thelma Shaw (Branchview), Peter & Gloria DeAngelis (Branchview), Vince & Gibson Griffin (Branchview), Dick & Ginny Bourne (Phillip’s Beach Road), Dick & Cleo Olson (Whitcomb Road), Sally & Ken Knobel (Phillip’s Beach Road), Ellsworth & Doris Bourque (Wall's Farm Road), Luther Amos (Wall's Farm Road), Fred & Anita Schult (Branchview), Harvard & Helen Reynolds (Branchview), Doug & Ana Brown (Sargent Drive), Linda & Nicholas Collins (Branchview), John & Pauline Kaiser (Cove Road), Beverly &: Ronald Soucie (Whitcomb Road), Gregory Sage(Branchview), Jean & Bruce Hamilton ( Branchview), Anne & Don Hayes (Phillip's Beach Road). This additional monetary support was essential and greatly appreciated.

During the past summer (1985), Robert E. Stauffer, visiting professor of geology at the University of Maine at Orono, sampled Branch Lake and many of the other deeper lakes in the area for a wide range of physical and chemical characteristics. The lakes that were chosen had been sampled by G. E. Cooper in 1942, thus providing an opportunity to assess the impact of acidic precipitation on these lakes.

Dr. Stauffer measured both surface and bottom waters of Branch Lake and found a surface pH of 6.9 and a bottom pH of 5.8-5.9. The pH scale ranges from 0 to 14.0, with a pH of 7.0 being neutral. Measurements below 7.0 are considered acidic and those above 7.0, basic or alkaline. The scale is logarithmic. In other words, a change of pH in one unit, from 7.0 to 6.0 represents a ten-fold increase in acidity.

The pH of a lake is dependent on many factors. These include the pH of the local precipitation, the time of year, the amount of photosynthesis occurring in the take, and the ability of local soils to buffer or counteract the input of acids.

The significance of the measurements recorded this past summer is that they are virtually identical to Cooper’s 1942 measurements. In addition, Dr. Stauffer measured the alkalinity of Branch Lake water. This is a measure of the ability of the lake to counteract acidic input. Lakes can withstand large inputs of acid without showing a significant lowering of pH, if they have a high buttering capacity. This is related, in part, to the nature of the soils surrounding the take. As more and more acids are introduced, the buffering capacity of a lake can decrease and it becomes more vulnerable to acidification. Cooper did not measure the alkalinity of Branch Lake in 1942, but it can be inferred from other data he obtained. On the basis of this information, Dr. Stauffer felt that the ability of Branch Lake to buffer acidic input remains essentially the same as in 1942.

In summary, the comparison of the 1942 and the 1985 data provides evidence that the pH status of the lake has remained stable during the last 40 years. This is reassuring, but should not be cause for complacence. It's only through continued vigilance that we can hope to maintain the beautiful purity of our lake.

As Alan Burn ham mentions in his memoirs (below), the waters of Branch Pond have always been considered to be "dear as a hound's tooth." But are they drinkable? Thanks to Ellsworth and Doris Bourque, information on this issue is now available. Last August, the Bourques sent a sample of water from the lake to the Department of Human Services for testing. The sample was taken off the Wall’s Farm Road, about 400 feet from shore. This location is directly in front of the area the City has used to dump its sludge from the sewage treatment plant. The water was tested for its level of total solids, as well as arsenic, mercury, cadmium, chromium, lead, zinc, and sodium.

Although levels of the above substances were found to be negligible, Cheryl Fountaine (Human Services Water Quality Specialist) judged the water sample to be "...unsatisfactory for drinking due to the presence of coliform bacteria. Coliform bacteria are naturally present in most surface waters and water containing coliform bacteria should not be used for drinking purposes unless disinfected first." None of the parameters tested indicated concentrations emanating from a leachate source (e.g., septic system or sludge site). The coliform group of bacteria include organisms stemming from decaying organic matter (e.g., hay, leaves, wood). The presence of more than 1 coliform bacteria group per 100 ml of the sample indicates that the water should not be used for drinking unless boiled for 5 minutes. The sample tested contained 18 coliform groups per 100 ml.

I wonder if the Branch Pond Association couldn't play a positive role in seeing that cottages, homes, and camps on the lake have discharge systems that are adequate in size, quality, and function to ensure noncontamination of the water. Perhaps the BPA could establish some kind of ongoing program to ascertain whether existent discharge systems are -functioning correctly. Moreover, if owners so desired, perhaps the BPA (through dues) could help them update systems that are riot in compliance. The goal would be to prevent any future contamination of the water. We are all on the lake because of its beauty and for the enjoyment that it produces. Can we protect what we have by going one more step?

I encountered a listing in the Boston Globe advertising 800 acres of waterfront for sale on lower Branch Pond. Is the Branch Pond Association, or perhaps another type of legally formed corporation, ready to think really big on this issue? Could we locate 50 BPA families willing to invest $12,500 each, or 25 families willing to invest $25,000 each, to purchase this land? The basic goal of such a group would be to protect the waters and general character of Branch Pond. As investors would undoubtedly want a return on their money, an ecologically sound program could be formulated to selectively tender and sell large lots at a slow pace and at a high price to satisfy taxes and provide a modest return on the investment. Is this possible? Is there interest in such an undertaking? The land is obviously going to appreciate in the future. And it will sell eventually. Such a purchase by our group could insure proper development.

When I first came to the Pond with some Harvard classmates in 1935, I bought one acre -from the Phillips Estate. At that time, we were the only people on the narrows between Phillips Landing and the Copeland's property named The Bounders (lower lake). To help us get started building, Lyndon Philips loaned us the use of the old Robinson Camp at Phillips Landing. It was a long, narrow, one storied shingled building, which we were told had originally been brought over there on the ice. He also loaned us his canoe-boat, while Ed Phillips helped us get started with water pipe.

Ed was the landing proprietor who told me that he undertook, at the turn of the century, to guide Edward Mears to the good hunting and fishing spots on the Pond. Mears, of Philadephia, was the original owner of the central island at the north end of the Pond. At that time, it was known as Mears Island. Later, it was sold to Ms. Carolyn Gower-Brown of Skowhegan. The island was then subsequently renamed as Teachers Island, as she was a teacher. Then she sold it to Walter Turyn and his wife Betty. Turyn was, at that time, principal of two public schools in Huntington, Long Island.

Mears had a partner on the island named Jacques and they had some very distinguished guests, including Philadelphia's romantic-novelist, Dr. Silas Weir Mitchell. They were also joined on occasion by Senator Hale, whose camp once stood just north and east of Judge Peter's place (lower lake), now owned by Mr. Fenn. There were two camps on Teachers Island and in the larger log house may still be seen brown paper cut outs profiling the fish caught - each one signed by the man who caught it. At the north end of the island there used to be two, large, doubled-ended power boats (probably powered by (naphtha) set on a steel marine railway. They were used as service boats and for fishing.

Just east of Hanson's Landing stood a great, towering, wooden ice house, with its long ramp up -from the water. It belonged to a Mr. Maddocks. Later it was torn down and Maddocks started a tourist camp and trailer court, which a few years ago was greatly enlarged and improved by the Graves family. All I remember about the Cove area east of Hanson’s Landing is that a Mr., David DeWitt had one camp there. He was the one who persuaded his daughter and her- husband, Albert Hurd, to move up from Massachusetts to Hurd's Corner, at Nicolin Road and Highway 1-A. There he built the main house and a row of tourist court cottages. Some of these were later razed to make way for the Ovseychick's mobile home park, while two others were moved to the lake on the Whitcomb Road.

Our camp lies on a point of land in the Upper Pond facing north, parallel to the narrows, and just northeast of Twenty-five Acre Island. In skirting the shoreline of our point, my mother came across the dead stumps of several large trees. Pulling apart one, she -found the weather-beaten stump to be charred. Upon inquiry, she was told that our point and the surrounding area had burnt off in 1909, which was the year that the "Government Man," as he was referred to, surveyed the Pond for the government. He had an elegant little canoe-boat, with an inboard Fay engine, which I almost bought until he told me it was oiled by "gravity -flow." You simple poured oil in the top and it ran out the bottom.

As I mentioned previously, Lyndon Phillips loaned us his boat in 1935. For the next ten years we rowed all of our building material 0.9 mile from Phillip's Landing to the point that eventually contained our- cottage, "Branchwood." With the assistance of Webb Higgins, who lived on Route 1-A, we cleared by hand the dense growth of alders and built the rock-pile foundation on which to set our sills. We learned so much from this man who, despite his age, was so spry and resourceful. When we tried to lay one of our 4" X 6" sills between two foundation piles, a huge boulder intervened to prevent it. Webb simply said to us, "If you boys can't lift it, drop it!" And that is exactly what he did, by digging a hole off to one side and toppling the boulder into it.

When it came to buying lumber for the first portion of our four room camp, we received ready encouragement from Leon Brown, whose lumber yard was in Ellsworth Falls. No question was made of payment, and with seemingly unlimited credit, we were later told that, despite our old Model-T Ford, it had to do with our having Pennsylvania license plates. It was only when I went to school in New York City that I felt like an outsider. Living now in Connecticut, I guess I am England "respectable" once more. Nevertheless, although we are approaching our fiftieth anniversary on the Pond (1985), we always will be considered "summer- people."

As to our utilities, we were told in 1935 that the water was "clear as a hound's tooth" so we piped our drinking water from the narrows side, and continue to do so today. Our lighting and stove were both kerosene fueled. We recently converted our stove and ice box to gas and still light with kerosene. Unlike Graham Lake, Branch Pond was, we were told, as deep as the nearby mountains are high – perhaps a slight exaggeration when one reads from a sounding map a maximum depth of 90 feet.

The lower pond appears, at first glance, to be deserted and we have always enjoyed the intimate size and privacy of Pickerel Cove, which lies .just south of our point. Actually, most of lower pond belonged, in 1935, to Stuart B. Copeland, whose great log house and private estate, "The Boulders," rivals the Adirondack camps and those on the St. Regis Lakes. With its long connecting bridge, private semicircular beach, and large boat house. It is an ideal place for entertaining. Mr. And Mrs. Copeland were charming hosts. Many years ago, we attended a square dance given in the little playroom cabin below the main lodge, facing on the beautiful little cove. With its high cliffs, conifers, and little islands, it has always reminded me of a Japanese print.

I often fancy, when going by the site o his old camp, that Senator Hale's ghost must took down benignly on those of us who enjoy the waters which he once found so relaxing. My only plea is that, despite the "Government Man" and certain commercial enterprises which favor the designation of "lake," that this body of water remain, as it was always known locally, "Branch Pond" - the place where they cut the ice.

Vinal Tainter is offering weekly garbage pickup for certain areas of Branch Pond this summer. He is most interested in servicing customers on the east side of the lake (i.e., Fire Roads 11 and 12). His rates are $2 per week, with advanced payment required. Mr. Tainter can be contacted at 667-5216.