TURNER – Thanks to Pete Pilsbury and Dick Bray, as well as a host of other volunteers, Bear Pond now has a dam for the ages.

That’s important because the dam is vital to maintaining the water quality and quantity of a pond that is 35 feet at its deepest and heavily used. The town beach is there, along with at least 220 seasonal camps and cottages and fishermen angling for bass.

Limiting the flow of water from that pond and its sister Little Bear Pond is essential to sustain the water level. To that end a dam was built years ago that has held up over time with a lot of help every three or four years from Bray and Pilsbury. The essentially wooden structure needed constant refurbishing, and the task was getting difficult for a couple of chaps well into retirement age.

They decided it was time for a major rebuilding of the dam, using metal and concrete and other materials that would not need constant maintenance.

Money was needed for materials. The Bear Pond Improvement Association, of which Bray is a past president, has been around for 50 years and its volunteers keep tabs on the pond. Current and longtime association President Mary Wallace about a dozen years ago started putting $5 of each of the members’ $25 annual dues toward a dam rebuilding fund. In 2004, she initiated a special fund drive with contributions ranging from $25 to $2,000. Altogether she had about $6,000, enough for the volunteers to go to work.

There are 130 members, or property owners, of the association, and many have special talents, training, skills, or connections.

Engineers Burt Landry and Jim Driscoll designed the new steel gates that are key to the proper functioning of the dam, and Tommy Constantino of Auburn Metal Fabrications built them to the design.

Dave Nash made an evaluation of the dam five years ago on which work was done then, and another two years ago, on which the most recent work was based.

Bill Weeks donated a big truck full of equipment and tools for the dam rehab job.

The dam gates were opened on Sept. 13 to lower the water in preparation for work to begin.

On Friday and Saturday, Sept. 29 and 30, more than 30 volunteers joined Pilsbury and Bray for the final task of installing the big, heavy gates.

Sand bags were carried to the outlet through the Camp Berea property with permission from owner Wayne Farrington. The bags, obtained through the office of Turner Town Manager James Catlin, held back the flow of water to keep the area for installing the gates dry, as much electrical work was necessary.

There were a bevy of heavy and light duty trucks on the narrow, curvy road by the dam, and traffic control for two days was facilitated by the town and county as the work progressed.

Total cost: About $9,500, all for materials. Not a penny for the rest, all volunteer.

“That pond is one beautiful, tremendous resource,” says Pilsbury “and that dam is going to help preserve it.”

Bray adds, “Bear is one of only 15 ponds in the state maintaining water quality; that dam is going to help us keep doing it.”