Old Stone Dock Association Holds Annual Meeting, Sunday 08-02-15 Article written by Kevin Doyle and printed in the Falmouth Enterprise 08-14-15 The Old Stone Dock Association held its Annual Meeting at the Beach Breeze Inn last Sunday. With 150 members and guests in attendance, the gathering doubles as a Summer Social. Barnstable County Sheriff Jim Cummings provided the tents that covered the lawn at the inn owned by members Don and Joyce Filiault. He was glad to do it – especially since his son, Falmouth Police Sergeant Jim Cummings, is the Community Liaison Officer for the neighborhood. The mission of the Association is focused on advocacy and maintenance of the Surf Drive Beach and Bathhouse. Beach Superintendent Don Hoffer expressed great appreciation for the contributions of the members. This year’s flowers for the bathhouse were donated by Director Rebecca Bevilacqua in memory of her mother Jacqueline Moore. Treasurer Bob Lehtinen lent his expertise to mount the many plaques that have been won by Falmouth lifeguards over the years. Larry Rowland designed, fabricated, and donated the bulletin board mounted outside the door of the bathhouse. Mr. Hoffer was also grateful for the “Silent Policemen” the Association provides to help beachgoers cross Surf Drive. Members also conduct an annual Beach Clean-up Day at the end of May that brings out many volunteers to support the grooming efforts of Assistant Beach Superintendent Bruce Magardo. Thanks were extended to the many individuals who carry small bags with them on their walks to pick up litter as they go. The primary communication link for the Association is through emails and access to their website, oldstonedock.com. Director Terry Saunders was praised for her tireless efforts to keep the site fresh and current. Mrs. Saunders recently worked with Morningstar Design on Locust Street, also an Association member, to re-build the site to current standards. The website is open and available to anyone interested in the history and activities around the Old Stone Dock. A highlight for the year was a presentation made by Bill Swift, a descendent of the original Proprietors of the town, when he discussed his youth growing up on Mill Road. Long-time resident Al Irish joined in for recollections from the 1930’s and 40’s. Many folks recalled when the Falmouth Enterprise carried the story in April. Plans are being made for FCTV to broadcast it in the future. Thanks were extended to the many town leaders who have lent support to the activities of the Association. Selectwoman Pat Flynn and Town Manager Julian Suso have consistently endorsed beach and bathhouse beautification initiatives. Mr. Suso was also forgiving when the Association inadvertently parked cars along Main Street for the Triathlon a year ago. “This year things went a lot better,” said Mr. Suso. “And when the merchants are happy, I’m happy.” Lance and Tony Panigutti, the organizers for the Without Limits Triathlon were thanked for their significant contribution to the Old Stone Dock Scholarship program. This year’s recipients were Neil Koontz, grandson of Col and [...]

On Monday, 05/25/15 Colonel Kevin M. Doyle of the US Marine Corps Reserve (retired) gave the Keynote Address at the Falmouth Memorial Day Celebration. The day’s events started at 9:45 a.m. with several groups including veterans, scouts, fire and police department employees and the Brian Boru Pipe Band walking from the Village Green to Memorial Lane in front of the Falmouth Library on Main Street.   Ahmed Mustafa, Chairman of the Falmouth Veterans Council was the Master of Ceremonies and Andy Dufresne provided the opening remarks. Falmouth High School senior Jessica Edgar sang America the Beautiful. Congratulations to Kevin who did a wonderful job on a beautiful day.

Kevin Doyle, OSD President thanked member Rebecca Bevilacqua who donated funds for the purchase of the flowers in the window boxes in memory of her mother and past member Jackie Moore of Mariners Lane who passed away in 2014. The flowers were purchased from Terry Soares of Soares Nursery and Landscape. On Saturday, May 30, 2015 Old Stone Dock Association members gathered at the Ellen T. Mitchell Bathhouse on Surf Drive Beach at 10:00 a.m. for the Annual Old Stone Dock Beach / Street Cleanup. A membership promotion and registration table was set up with brochures and logo wear items for sale.  The table was manned by OSD Beach Cleanup 2015 Chairwoman and Board of Director Terry Saunders, Bob McCormick, Immediate Past President and Jim Crossen, Past President.  These members spoke to residents as they came to the Beach Administration Building to purchase their beach stickers about the mission and good deeds of the OSDA.  Beverages, snacks and watermelon was provided to members and those who stopped to chat. The cleanup crew consisted of:  Rebeca Bevilacqua, Paul Bouche, Kevin Doyle, Mary Lou Gately, Paul Gately, Mike Herlihy, Betty Jewell, Tom Jewell, Pat Keck, Bob Lehtinen, Madeleine Marken, Adele McConaghy, Carol Mills, Greg Mills, Gabrielle Milne, Joel Peterson, Sue Peterson, Steve Saunders, Van Smick, Paul Smith, Jay Thayer, Polly Thayer and Rich Worob.   Dozens of bags of trash were collected along Surf Drive starting at the corner of Shore going down to the elevated houses on the beach.  Several members spent more than an hour cleaning up the beach parking lot at Mill Road.  Special thanks were given to Beach Superintendent Don Hoffer, Assistant Beach Superintendent Bruce Mogardo and Beach Committee Chairman Jason Chorches for their support and encouragement. Last fall member Larry Rowland made and installed the new bulletin board at the Bathhouse that is used by the both the Beach Superintendent and the OSDA. Family membership is $25 annually.  Children and Grandchildren of members may apply for an Old Stone Dock Scholarship.  You can find more information about the Old Stone Dock Association and their scholarship program at www.oldstonedock.com and contact them at info@oldstonedock.com.                

Available to children and grandchildren of Old Stone Dock Association (OSDA) members who will be a freshman at a 2 year or 4 year accredited college in September. Please complete and return by June 10th to the address listed on the application for consideration. Recipients will be notified by mid-July and presentations will be made at the OSDA Annual Meeting. The quantity and amount of scholarships provided annually will be determined by the Board of Directors. Contact us if you have any questions. Download the Application

Hi Neighbors! It's been a long winter no matter where you live. Falmouth had more snow than most "townies" can remember. Now the only pile left is in the Mill Road parking lot that was used as a "snow farm" to get the snow off of Main Street. All will be well! Your Board meets monthly throughout the year and over the winter we put plans in place for an active Association season. Membership Drive:  Terry Saunders will be sending out a letter to all residents in the geographical area of the Old Stone Dock to recruit new members and ask you to renew your current membership. We tried "rolling year" dues, but it became unwieldy very fast. Your $25 renewal will get everyone back in sync, and help the Association prepare the programs and activities to promote and protect our neighborhood. Please encourage your neighbors to join, too. May 30, Saturday morning: Beach Clean-up day at the bathhouse. Terry and Steve Saunders will have trash bags for the work teams and OSDA logo tee shirts and hats for sale. Lois Girard will be hosting a hot dog collation at noon for the workers. If you can't work, stop by and say Hi. Bathhouse flowers:  Rebecca Bevilacqua is providing the flowers for the bathhouse this year in memory of her mother who passed away last year. Thanks Rebecca! Bathhouse Bulletin Board:  Many thanks to member Larry Rowland who stepped up to build a beautiful bulletin board just outside the door to the bathhouse. Beach Director Don Hoffer was very happy to get it, and he will share it so that OSDA can post notices there, too. OSDA Treasurer Bob Lehtinen built inside shelves for Don to hold the many plaques that have been won by life guards over the years. The OSDA also donated the signs that indicate who is in which offices. Beachside benches:  The two benches that were destroyed by a vehicle at the end of Shore Street were rebuilt and reset into their original position. DPW wanted to move them closer to the bathhouse, but several of us pointed out the sentimental attachment that so many have to that location so they replaced them there. One was donated by member Nancy Gross from Fresh River Lane in her mother's name. We're glad it's back, Nancy! July 12, Sunday, Triathlon support:  The Panigutti Brothers have again asked the OSDA to provide traffic control for their third annual triathlon event. We are at street intersections from 5:30am until about 10am. They give the Association $1,000 for our service, and for the second year they will make the OSDA Scholarship Program their charity of choice. August 2, Sunday: Annual Meeting / Summer Social We'll be back at the Beach Breeze Inn for our annual meeting thanks to VP Don Filiault's hospitality! We will have more information as we get closer, but count a 4:00pm start with the annual meeting, followed by a 5:00pm buffet and social gathering. We expect a number of town leaders to be there [...]

Hosts Bill & Joan Swift with OSD President Kevin Doyle What could be better than hearing about neighborhood history from someone who experienced it?   It's hearing from two gentlemen, both Falmouth residents for more than 80 years, and both telling stories from their childhood. Mr. Bill Swift and Mr. Alfred Irish entertained members of the Old Stone Dock Board of Directors last Saturday morning, 04/18/15 with an hour's worth of memories from their youth and recollections of stories that were passed on to them many decades ago. The article was in the Falmouth Enterprise on 04/24/15. Many thanks to hosts Bill Swift & Joan Swift along with OSDA President, Kevin Doyle. The full article below: What could be better than hearing about neighborhood history from someone who experienced it? It's hearing from two gentlemen, both Falmouth residents for more than 80 years, and both telling stories from their childhood. Mr. Bill Swift and Mr. Alfred Irish entertained members of the Old Stone Dock Board of Directors last Saturday morning, 04/18/15 with an hour's worth of memories from their youth and recollections of stories that were passed on to them many decades ago. Speakers Al Irish and Bill Swift with OSDA President Kevin Doyle Mr. Swift opened the presentation with remarkable footage from the water's edge at Surf Drive Beach. Rarely seen remnants of the wooden pipes that brought ocean water to the evaporation pools of the historic salt works are visible only when the sand has shifted just right and the tide is low enough. Saltworks were a major component of Falmouth's economy in the days before refrigeration. Salt was used to cure meat around the time of the Civil War.  The most efficient way to produce salt was to evaporate ocean water. Large 10 - foot square, shallow vats were filled with salt water and exposed to sunlight. Roofs closed across the bin when it rained to keep the salt water from diluting. Long, square, wooden pipes were built to extend from the vat into the ocean. Falmouth's south shore was lined with saltworks. Windmills pulled the water from the shore up to the vats. Bill showed several historic photos of the small windmills. Bill and Joan Swift were walking the beach several years ago when they saw three wooden pipes in a row exposed by a recent storm. His video clip astonished the audience. Bill started his narrative with the Mariners' Memorial at the intersection of Mill Road and Locust Street. The large stone was left by the retreat ing glacier some 10,000 years ago. It was dropped on Elm Road on top of another rock and could be rocked back and forth on top of it. It was called “Tilting Rock” until it was moved to its current location and fitted with a memorial plaque in 1907. As a child, Bill and his friends enjoyed sleeping in the Old Burial Ground at the head of Mill Road. He lived on Pin Oak Road with his [...]

Towards the end of April all members and households in OSD neighborhood will receive a letter describing the past years accomplishments, upcoming events and a membership application for renewals and new members. We encourage all residents in and around the OSD area to become a member and support the efforts of the association.

The newly-formed Falmouth Preservation Alliance made its first neighborhood association presentation to the Old Stone Dock Association (OSDA) on December 9th. It was a fitting way to begin since the first neighborhood they selected was also the site of the first settlement in Falmouth. Prior to the Proprietors' arrival, the Wampanoag’s often used the area for their encampments because of the many natural features that offered a salt pond, a freshwater pond, and access to the ocean. The Alliance's three areas of focus are historic structures, cultural resources, and heritage landscapes. The OSDA neighborhood abounds in every category. The Alliance came to the OSDA to talk about their mission and identify OSDA concerns for historical sites that are or might become endangered. The neighbors present had no hesitation in naming their priorities. Chief among them, naturally, is the Old Stone Dock itself. The original dock was built in 1801 and destroyed by a hurricane in 1815. The present Old Stone Dock was built in 1817 and functioned as a commercial wharf until it was destroyed by the Hurricane of 1938. The remnants of the dock define the boundary of the “Kiddie Pool” at Surf Drive Beach. The OSDA discussed plans to partner with the Alliance to create a community-wide celebration for the bicentennial of the Old Stone Dock in 2017. Other features of mutual interest were the preservation of the long stone walls that line Mill Road, and the Old Burial Ground at the intersection of Mill Road and Locust Street that holds the remains of some of Falmouth's original settlers. Three bronze tablets identify cultural sites. One is located at the Old Stone Dock site, another is at the Fresh River Inlet, sometimes referred to as “Falmouth Rock.” It lists the names of the original Proprietors who landed in Falmouth in 1661 and chose to settle on this site. The third tablet is on a large glacial rock in the triangle of land at the head of Mill Road, opposite the Old Burial Ground. It marks the Mariners Memorial, dedicated to the seafarers of Falmouth in 1907. The OSDA has worked with Rocky Gomes, the Director of Parks and Recreation, to groom the site for better visibility of the cultural landmark. In discussing historical structures, the OSDA stated their policy of neutrality on personal property. Any structures they support would have to be public property. It is clear that the Ellen T. Mitchell Bath House is not historic, however, the site of the current structure is the site of a Victorian-era “bathing casino” that was destroyed in 1938. It was agreed that the site could be appropriate for a marker of recognition. Falmouth's cultural resources include the many estuaries and ponds that line Vineyard Sound. The current Fresh River was previously called Herring Run for its active fish population. Years of sediment build up and overgrowth between the ocean and Sider's Pond will need to be addressed to preserve this dominant link to our commercial heritage. Some OSDA members [...]

Samantha Keck Winner of the Maison Villatte Patisserie Gift Basket along with OSD Members Pat Keck & Rich Worob. The Old Stone Dock Association held their 11th Annual ‘After-the-Parade Christmas Party’ at ShoreWay Acres Inn, 59 Shore Street, Falmouth on Sunday, December 7, 2014 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. We had about 100 members, guests and local officials in attendance. It was a wonderful day and we are thankful for those that made the day a success. Everyone enjoyed the Music of Charlie Jamieson, Face Painting by Kathy Hall and Gingerbread House making compliments of ShoreWay Acres. Special thanks to our host Dorie Ketterer of ShoreWay Acres. All of the guests were amazed at the generosity of the Falmouth Village Businesses that donated gift certificates or gifts for our event to me or Committee Member, Pat Keck. Below is a listing of businesses that participated and those that won the gift. During the presentation members were reminded to shop local and be sure to thank all the businesses that donated when they frequent your restaurant / shop. A personalized thank you note was sent to each business. Thanks to all and Happy Holidays to you and your family. Terry Saunders Board of Director & Holiday Party Committee Member