The Return of Sunset Lake and the Raceway
By Albert B. Kelly
There’s an old song with a
lyric that includes the line “you don’t know what you got til it’s gone”. While
fuzzy on the song, I got that same sense these last 4 years thinking about
Sunset Lake and our Raceway.
It was 2011, two weeks
before Hurricane Irene, when the thing gave way. Our area was getting blasted
with severe thunderstorms and heavy rain. It was an odd summer complete with an
earthquake that while weak, was strong enough to warrant demolishing an
unsteady building damaged from the rumbling and shaking.
But that particular August
was mostly about a blown out raceway wall and the draining of Sunset Lake. It
was unfortunate in one particular way; 2011 marked the bicentennial of the
Raceway. Quite amazingly, a father and son team built the thing by hand over
the course of a year.
The purpose for their
efforts was to get water from Sunset Lake, known as Tumbling Dam back in the day,
up to the Cumberland Nail and Iron Works which occupied a decent chunk of what we
know today as our City Park.
As a side note, unfortunate
as the draining of the lake was, I’m not entirely certain that the blow out
didn’t help us avoid more serious flooding first from Hurricane Irene that same
month, but also from Hurricane Sandy a little over a year later.
But that remains my own
speculation; namely that the thing that caused the lake to drain was the same thing
that allowed potential flood waters from those two hurricanes to pass on to the
Cohansey River without causing widespread flooding. If so, we’ll take our
blessings as they come.
That said, the truth remains
that sometimes we really don’t appreciate things until they’re gone. Judging
from the comments of many people I’ve spoken with over the past several
seasons, such was the case with the Raceway and more particularly Sunset Lake.
Over the past 2 years,
we’ve made several investments and upgrades to the park and one spot that will
be an area of focus going forward will be the whole amphitheater venue. To
date, we’ve redone the beach with new sand through the generosity of WHIBCO and
we’ve installed a new fishing pier also. The lake and the nature around it have
huge potential.
I missed the lake most in
late October. For me, there were few spots that matched the beautiful displays
of color from the trees surrounding the lake; golden yellows, flaming reds, and
earthy browns lit up by the autumn sun and reflecting back off the water.
Seasonal preferences
aside, it’s a great setting for receptions, concerts and other entertainments. Having
the lake as a backdrop makes it so. There’s the prospect of water-related
activity and my hope is to have a lake where residents and visitors can enjoy swimming,
fishing, and boating in the future.
Given four years of
vegetation, it may take some time for the lake’s ecosystem to find its balance.
I would have loved to have undertaken some mitigation regarding the lakebed;
but limited resources, uncertainty surrounding which measures might be best,
and the “first do no harm” principal, we’ll have to let nature run its course.
Today (June 1st at
11:00am) is the day we’ll meet at the amphitheater to celebrate the end of the
restoration and the beginning of the future for both Sunset Lake and the
Raceway. That we’ll be cutting the preverbal ribbon or “dropping the gate” as
it were- should signify to one and all that the lake-raceway system is ready for
water again
It represents a lot of
hard work on the part of City staff, various professionals, and those on the
ground pushing the dirt. It represents the combined efforts of several agencies
and departments on all levels of government to the tune of some $3.6 million.
For what it’s worth, some say the Raceway was done for about $500 by Jedidiah
Davis and sons back in 1811. Go figure.
I am grateful for the
efforts of all those who had a hand in restoring our Raceway and Sunset Lake;
I’m also appreciative of the patience and longsuffering on the part of the
community over the past several seasons while the work was being completed. I
hope our citizens and visitors enjoy Sunset Lake and the Raceway in all good
health and with a newfound appreciation of how special our City Park really is.