The Friends of the West River Trail Annual Meeting on February 12 at the Depot was a treat!
Having never been to the renovated South Londonderry Depot, I was curious to see it. I also wanted to meet more of our fellow Friends of the West River Trail from further north. Lester, Alex, Jason and I, from the Lower Section, traveled together. Upon arrival, we found a cozily lit open room with new, exposed post and beam construction. There was a display of Railroad memorabilia, a FWRT display, a table full of delectable looking h’or-doeuvres, and friendly faces. After a little socializing, a brief informal meeting was called to order by Fred Haartman, the president. Sherry Crossman reported on interesting updates from the upper section, the lower section gang added our news, and a quick election of officers ensued. At 6 PM, more people arrived for nibbling and schmoozing. At the tolling of the old train bell, our attention was directed to hear about the beautiful old RR bell and meet William Peele, who along with his wife Agnes, generously donated the bell to the FWRT Depot for safe keeping. We then took seats and watched the 7 ½ minute video of the West River Trail, presented by its creator, Tim Lawrence. This upbeat, fun journey on the trail with Tim and his Siberian Husky, shows viewers where to park at the various trail accesses and what type of conditions to expect. This video can be found on our FWRT Facebook page and You Tube. We will get it on the website ASAP!
The Annual Meeting event was fun, informative, and affirming for all. FWRT and friends are a good group of folks with a great mission and an ever improving product—the Trail! We hope to get the upper section folks down here this spring for a picnic and hike on the lower section.
NEWS from the Upper Section: a long planned pedestrian bridge over the river near the Winhall Campground will SOON be a reality! It will be built across the old RR bridge abutments within the next year or so!
Submitted by Kathleen White, Lower section steering committee
THE WEST RIVER TRAIL 