To the Editor:

As evidenced by a lot of “McMansions” built in the area in recent years, some rural towns and villages are in a state of transition. Now Bethel may experience similar changes. I had a conversation with Greenwood historian Blaine Mills about three and a half decades ago about changes to the community of Greenwood owing to seasonal residency. The interview is now on file at the Bethel Historical Society, I asked him, “Where do you see Locke Mills in the future? What will Greenwood be like and the pond area?”

He answered with knowledge and understanding, “Well, I don’t think I like the future. It looks to me like the future, around the ponds anyway, will be mostly wealthy out-of-state people who will own all the property around the lake, the town probably will have nothing. …There was plenty of property available when I was a kid for a beach. The town could never see far enough ahead to do it. …They had a special town meeting.

A lot of the people who already had shore frontage showed up and voted it down cause they didn’t want to pay extra taxes. They didn’t care, they had a place to get on the water themselves anyway. These are the types of people who showed up or made sure their friends showed up, and I understand the beach committee didn’t even have a chance to discuss what their plans were. Somebody made a motion that they trash the whole thing and that was it.

I know the beach committee was so mad they said they’d never do it again, they never had a chance to speak. I don’t really think they had a right to do that. I feel sorry for the kids. When I was a kid you could still swim at Littlefield’s ….”

Fortunately, the beach committee did not give up entirely. The committee decided to persevere and eventually, enough shoreline was filled in next to the road to create the Greenwood town beach.

We live in a remote corner of Bethel, over the line from Greenwood, and would like to see, not a dense complex of condominiums but a park in the space where this complex is planned at the intersection of Main Street, Parkway, and Walkers Mills Road.

Who will be making plans and decisions for everything happening in Bethel if suddenly its population is expanded by those who have no feel or affection for this historic community?

Ron and Susan Dorman

Bethel