http://compasspaper.com/a-great-place-to-walk-right-in-town-p1851-116.htm
A Great Place to Walk Right in Town
Jan Lambert imagines for a moment that she is a ski jumper 50 years ago, about to take off from Hilliard Hill. Hikers can view the remains of the impressive ski jump in Hartness Park in Springfield. Photo by Brenda Bealieu.Jan Lambert
• Thu, Oct 28, 2010
Town of Springfield and Volunteers Restore Hartness Park
The story of Hartness Park in Springfield, VT, is a success story that is a tribute to what involved citizens and town officials can accomplish for the common good when they work together.
This 85 acre woodland, donated by Governor James Hartness in 1934, is secluded yet almost in the center of town. It’s a place where you can take your dog, your kids, or just yourself, get away from traffic and onto pleasant woodsy trails, and still have time to do your shopping.
I strolled for an hour there last week, in the midst of fall foliage beauty. At the trailhead on Rt. 143, I picked up one of the brochures provided by the Springfield Parks and Recreation Department. The map in the brochure is excellent, and I soon discovered that with this map it is next to impossible to get lost, because there is a numbered marker at every trail junction that is plainly featured on the map.
Within a few minutes I found myself in a very quiet woods. Bright yellow fallen birch leaves crackling underfoot and some crows calling were about the only noise here. The open hemlock glade with a small brook, abundant ferns and moss, set against some white quartz outcroppings, created a beautiful forest ambience.
Someone had taken good care of the trails by clearing away fallen trees (of which there were an abundance last winter everywhere last winter!). There was no evidence of littering, and the whole aspect was of a very well-cared-for jewel of a park.
But it wasn’t always like this. I remember sampling the trails here several years ago, and I was not impressed. The paths were eroded and muddy and obviously heavily used by four-wheel drive vehicles. Sure enough, here came a pickup truck loaded with teenaged joyriders, lurching by me and leaving ugly deep ruts in their wake. How ironic that a moment before I had been admiring some ephemeral spring wildflowers that were thankfully, several yards away from the muddy mayhem. Later in my walk that day I encountered a junked stove and other trash in the center of the park.
But that all changed about five years ago, according to Andy Bladyka, who heads up the three-member Springfield Parks and Rec. With the support of a citizens group called Springfield Trails and Greenways, and the Public Works Department, Bladyka arranged for steel gates to be erected at all the entrances, effectively blocking out the trucks.
Volunteers set to work cleaning out debris that had been illegally dumped for years. And now park attracts scout groups, retired citizens, and high school students, all offering to volunteer to keep the park clean.
Bladyka informed me that the numbered trail markers were the effort of an Eagle Scout, who also helped the citizens’ group publish the maps and erect trail kiosks at each of four entrances.
The trail brochure informed me that there used to be a ski area in the park which featured a 40 meter ski jump that was used by youthful athletes in the 1960s. Sure enough, without much trouble I was able to locate the top of a very steep slope heading down over a very scary looking jump.
The ski jump was called Hilliard Hill, named after John Hilliard, who was a teacher and ski team coach at Springfield High School. In its heyday the Springfield team became state champions, and youth competitions were held for several years at Hilliard Hill in the 60s.
Sadly, John Hilliard passed away just a few weeks ago, so many details of the park’s history may have been lost. However, Don Whitney, a contemporary of Hilliard’s, is still going strong in Springfield. Whitney had a lot to do with fixing up Hartness Park, as he has made all the trail signs in his woodworking shop.
I asked Whitney if he knew why the ski area had been abandoned and allowed to grow back into forest. He wasn’t sure, but guessed it might have been due to increasing concerns for liability for such a dangerous sport.
In any event, I heartily recommend this park for an interesting walk. If you have kids, I think they will love discovering the numbered markers on the trails, and even making pretend that they are going over the ski jump, which I enjoyed doing myself! (see photo)
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