PAGE 6--THE GRYPHON, NOVEMBER 2, 1977
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I
Photo by B. Hutchisson
Photo by B. Hutchisson
City Lake Brings
Story And Beauty
By DAN THORP
Even though WPA stands for
“Works Progress Administra
tion,” many people during the
Depression referred to it as
“We Poke Along.” A true child
of the Depression, the City
Lake was dug out by hand. The
project had a dual purpose of
giving gainful work to the
unemployed and providing the
city with an emergency reser
voir.
In order to provide men with
something to do and give them
enough money to suppiort their
family to some degree, the
WPA was formed. “People
were certified by the Welfare
Department as needing work
and given jobs out there,” said
Mrs. Fairy Bandy, Rocky
Mount Recreational Director
for 30 years. The lake served
well as a place of employment
and as an emergency reservoir.
However, in later years, as
Rocky Mount began to grow, a
larger reservoir was dug. Mr.
Bennett was Mayor of Rocky
Mount at the time of the City
Lake construction. Due to all
the excitementof the new Lake,
Mrs. Bennett and her Garden
Club decided to join in on the
bustling new community act by
planting shrubbery around the
driveway. Mrs. Fairy Bandy
planted the Christmas tree on
the center island.
The site size, in acres, of the
entire lake was built to a 19.06
acre plan and was dug 11 acres
under water. The lake remains
the original size today. “The
land on which the lake is now
built was swamp land, as best
as I can remember," said L. H.
Burnette, an employee of the
recreation department. “The
city also already owned the
land. Some project had to be
done to support families, so
what better way to turn swamp
land into something useful than
to build a lake on it?” In 1937
when the Recreation Depart
ment was first established,
Mrs. Fairy Bandy, the director,
and a department secretary
were the only employees.
According to the book “Tak
ing Stock of Rocky Mount,” “for
a long time fishing wasn’t
allowed at the City Lake.
Sometimes in the early 40’s
copper sulphate was put in the
lake to kill the algae. To the
surprise of many people, poor
distribution of this copper sul
phate killed thousands of fish in
the lake. Found dead floating
on the lake, fish by the truck
loads were hauled away and
buried. Wildlife officials sur
veyed the situation and ag^reed
that since the lake was heavily
overstocked, no real harm had
been done.” City Lake fishing is
now open to the public, and at
intervals is restocked by the
Widlife Commission. It has
been recently stocked with
5,500 bass for area fishermen.
According to the “Staged De
velopment Plan” written by the
Rocky Mount Recreational De
partment, “The fountain in the
center of the lake with ducks in
the water provide the visitor
entering the City with a pleas
ant view. The City Lake and
surrounding park is an area of
quiet, peace, and beauty for ail
Rocky Mount citizens."
MEBANE
Shoe Company
Downtown
^VIC.T^i^^ujic Cofflpaj\y
Serving Music Education For Over a Quarter of a Century
Downtown and Tarrytown
Pianos by Wurlitzer, Yamaha, Organs by Wurlitzer, and
Yamaha. Band Instruments—Selmer,
Bundy and King
Guitars by Gibson, Yamaha, Ovation and Fender
Amps by Acoustic, Ampeg and Fender
Photo by B. Hutchisson
/
TARRYTOWN MALL
Rocky Mount, North Carolina 27801
(919) 443-6741