Alan Crawford

This past week, I was chatting with a friend about fishing, and the conversation drifted over to Chadwick Lake. Not only was this a favorite swimming spot of mine before it became a town reservoir, it was a great spot to fish, and still is.

During the winter months Chadwick Lake was the place to go for ice skating in my youth. Bundled up, keeping warm from the chill, a thermos of hot chocolate, and the comradery of your friends was a great way to spend an afternoon or evening on the ice. I have to admit, I did have an issue with gravity and spent a fair amount of time on my butt. Stephanie Lore provide a great depiction of skating back then. Thanks, Stephanie!

Many summer evenings, we’d head down to the Stillwaggon’s home and park in the rear driveway. Back then, behind the house, heading down to the lake, it was all fields, slowly being overgrown with brush and trees. There was a dock where we kept a wood rowboat, painted gray with yellow trim. Dad made anchors out of large coffee cans which he filled with concrete, placing an eye bolt in the top to secure a rope line to it. Remember, Chadwick Lake is man-made and not all that deep.

We’d grab some snacks and lemonade to chow down on while we rowed about, seeking a good hole in which we could hook some catfish. We’d always grab some pan fish, like sunfish, too. They’re great pan fried after being dipped in egg and flour! There were bass, blue gills, perch, and trout. The Bethlehem Rod & Gun Club began stocking it with trout back then, too.

I was lucky to have been given some great photos by a friend, Joanne Stillwaggon, of the early days depicting the fields of Chadwick Lake, before it became overgrown. If you squint you may be able to see the dock where everyone moored their rowboats on the right side.

They set many firsts in our community. For example,Elbert was the first pilot to touch down on the lake with a sea plane. He was also very active with the Boy Scouts. Don lived to 100 and was always an active member of the Cronomer Valley Fire Department. Serving our community was a commitment to this family.

We now have a beautiful trail around the lake, but I miss those mowed fields where you could see the farmhouses around the lake. There’s a wonderful skating area set up in the winter, but I’ll never forget being out on the real ice, cracking the whip with a group of friends as we glided across the surface.

Times change, progress creates new opportunities, and we move on. Some days I day dream about what it would be like to stroll down the trail on the west side of the lake, find the dock and our old rowboat, and head out for a relaxing afternoon.