THE GRYPHON, NOVEMBER 2, 1977-PAGE 7
Brighter Outlook
For City Lake
By ANGELA LLOYD
Besides being a place to fish,
to feed the ducks, or to relax,
the City Lake has been the site
of interesting incidents. City
Lake is the site of the annual
July 4th celebration, which
includes a fireworks display. It
is also the site of various other
events during the year.
Mrs. Fairy Bandy, who was
head of the Recreation Depart
ment for 30 years, supervised
the planting of the tree which is
on an island in the middle of the
lake. This tree is covered with
lights at Christmas every year.
The tree, a Slowgrower, could
not be found in any nurseries in
Rocky Mount, so it was obtain
ed from a nursery in Goldsboro.
The tree, now 35 years old, was
three feet tall when it was
planted. The tree is now over
15 feet tall. Mrs. Bandy remem
bers telling the supervisor who
planted thf> tree. "When I epl to
b(‘ an old liidy. jinri that Irc'c
gels real oig, oe sure lo tell
them that Mrs. Bandy planted
it.”
The ducks at City Lake
originally came from the ducks
that parents gave to their
children at Easter. The children
would then bring the ducks to
the lake when the ducks could
no longer be kept. These resi
dents of City Lake have been
involved in strange incidents
also. These ducks have been
known to swallow fish hooks.
One duck was accidentally
pierced with an arrow, and
continued to live. Complaints
were made concerning this
duck, who was swimming
around with an arrow in its
breast. The duck, who finally
had the arrow removed by a
veterinarian, continued to
thrive.
When City Lake freezes ov
er, the ice should be at least six
feet thick before anyone at
tempts to walk or skate on it.
One boy decided to drive his car
over the ice after the lake had
frozen over. Arthur Nelson bet
a friend that he could drive his
car onto the ice without the ice
breaking. When the car was
driven onto the ice, the ice
didn’t break, so Arthur won the
bet.
The City Lake has enjoyed a
39 year history with little more
being planned for it. In fact, it
and Battle Park are the only
“passive parks" in Rocky
Mount. So, as for the future of
the lake, little has been pre
scribed.
According to “Taking Stock
of Rocky Mount,” “no recom
mendations are made for chang
es to this pleasant asset of the
city.” The first long-range plan
for recreation in Rocky Mount
was made and financed in 1958.
The services of Charles Graves
Planning Company of Atlanta,
Ga., were secured and many
worthwhile needs were discov
ered. However, most of these
needs were for more “active
parks” rather than for City
Lake. City Lake, therefore, was
left in its originally intended
state. And, just for the record.
Charles Graves Planning Com
pany was the best in the
business at the time.
The Jaycee’s have done a lot
of work on the outlay of City
Lake. They also have worked
on other parks in various
capacities. To quote “Taking
Stock of Rocky Mount” again,
“In the event that the power
plant is eventually demolished,
the park should be extended to
the banks of the Tar River.”
According to Mr. Peter Varney,
at the City Manager’s office,
“the railroad on the back spur
of the lake was taken up last
summer for scrap.” In regards
to a message to the young
people of Senior High, Mrs.
Fairy Bandy closed by saying,
“the lake belongs to them (the
youth of Rocky Mount) and
they ought to try to take care of
it, as far as trash and rubbish
goes.”
Photo by B. Hutchisson
Odd Things Pass
Photo by B. Hutchisson
Photo by B. Hutchisson
ROCKY MOUNT
NEW CAR a truck DEALERS
ASSOCIATION
ROCKY MOUNT, NORTH CAROLINA 27801
RAY BANDY DODGE CO.
DON BULLUCK CHEVROLET CO.
BONE INTERNATIONAL
FLAKE B. CHIPLEY,INC.
CREST FORD, INC.
DAVENPORT MOTOR CO.
FARRIS MOTORS. INC.
PERRY VOLKSWAGEN, INC.
HOWELL BUICK INC.
O. B. SMITH OLDSMOBILE, INC.
DON’S DATSUN, INC.
ROCKY MOUNT TOYOTA, INC.