Sure, Christmas was nice — but it’s already a fading memory. The gifts have all been opened, returned, broken or forgotten. The bills will soon come due.
And then there’s that big, beautiful tree, still hung with tinsel and ornaments. Pretty soon, it too will have to go.
But where?
As usual, the Boy Scouts ride to the rescue.
This Saturday (January 7), Boy Scout Troop 39 will pick up your tree. In keeping with the Scout’s focus on the environment, it will be chipped into mulch and used by the Town of Westport.
To register for this much-needed service, click here. The tree should be placed by your mailbox by 6:30 Saturday morning.
Tape an envelope with a check (“Boy Scout Troop 39″ ) to your front door. Cash is fine too — hey, Scouts are trustworthy, right?
The suggested donation is $15 per tree, though I’m sure the Scouts would not refuse higher amounts.
After all, the money helps fund Troop 39’s activities, including food drives, community service projects and high adventure backpacking trips.
The Boy Scouts are well known for helping little old ladies across streets. In Westport, we thank them for helping little old ladies — and strapping young men — dispose of big old Christmas trees.
I like the new header photo.
Dan,
what’s the story behind this little house on the island? It has me wondering for years…
I don’t know much, other than that it was a great party destination for teenagers back in the ’70s. Anyone?
Dan,
The photo shows the cottage that I’ve heard called “The Hummock House.” It is the small shack sitting on a hummock (a rounded knoll, or in this case, a rocky sand and mudflat) in the middle of the Sherwood Mill Pond. Old stories say that it was once a part of the gristmill that sat at the foot of the pond (where the tide gates are today). When the mill was destroyed by fire in 1891, an unburned portion (perhaps part of the barrel and cask-maker’s shed) was floated out to the hummock. Once there, it served as a guardhouse for the shellfish beds in the pond. Despite the fact that there is no electricity or plumbing, it has been occupied over the years, on and off, by a resident who obviously lived very simply and preferred privacy. A few years ago, the cottage was put on the market, along with 6 watery acres surrounding it, for 1.5 million dollars. It came with an option to buy the clamming and oystering rights to an additional 30 acres. I don’t know whether it sold.
Thanks so much for posting this! A great group of kids, doing a great service and raising some money for their programs at the same time. Win-win!