Depot Road Park opens to the public

Bob Porter's brainchild celebrates Rotary's 100th anniversary

Under a picture perfect sky the Depot Road Park officially opened Tuesday morning with a ribbon cutting ceremony, a few brief speeches, and perhaps the highlight of the day, the arrival of a pair of horses; with little encouragement they drank from the old Payson Tucker watering trough, which flowed water for the first time in more decades than anyone can remember."This park goes to prove what you can do when people put their heads together," Gary Webster, chairman of the Conway Board of Selectmen, said. "I think people will find this to be a nice addition to the village... The park really was Bob Porter's idea. He came to the selectmen about a year ago and said (North Conway) Rotary was looking for a community project to celebrate the organization's 100th anniversary. He got the ball rolling and it quickly picked up momentum and now look what we have, something everyone should be proud of. It's been well thought out and well done. No matter who you talk to everyone was on the same page... There were also several people on the planning board who were advocates for this. I know (Mount Washington Valley Economic Council Executive Director) Jac Cuddy wanted to create some green space and has been a staunch supporter for this project."Webster delivered the welcome address Tuesday and then asked Porter to say a few words. "I'm very proud of what we have here," he said and praised selectmen, town employees, state officials, the North Conway Water Precinct and members of rotary for all working together."Porter said "there is a lot of history" in the Depot Road Park. The stone plaque recognizing the park came out of the bridge at the Whitaker house and the two benches in the park were built by Herbie Schneider and had sat in North Conway's Schouler Park for over 40 years. "We have a lot of history brought in here and that's why I think this is going to be such a special place," he said.Porter said a number of trees located across Route 16 from the park, on First Church of Christ property will be trimmed and some removed to allow people a first rate view of the Moats from the park benches.Kevin Drew, of LA Drew Inc., and a member of North Conway Rotary, designed the park. "Bob approached me three years ago as part of the rotary club's 100th anniversary celebration and said he wanted to do something special for the community," Drew said. "It's been his dream for quite a while to build something along the lines of a park. He asked me to come up with a design and it was a project I was pleased to be involved in."Webster, Porter, Drew and fellow North Conway Rotary members Daniel Boatwright and Dottie Hunter took part in the ribbon cutting ceremony officially opening the park and moments later two four-legged guests arrived. Brian and Kathy Ahearn and their horses Poco and Athena, provided actual proof that you can lead a horse to water and make him drink it. Both horses drank from the through.Selectman Dick O'Brien talked about riding a horse to the through, but declined the opportunity to mount either Poco or Athena, opting to stand and watch the duo splash in the fountain. Town engineer Paul DegliAngeli, who received considerable praise from those on hand for overseeing the park project, said water for the through is on a time system, operating daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The fountain will probably be turned off for the winter following the Columbus Day Weekend.The park has been under construction since the middle of summer. It is a joint project of the town, N.H. Department of Transportation and North Conway Rotary Club. The park will include benches, a walkway, shrubs, a maple tree, a monument commemorating the 100th anniversary of Rotary International and, a watering trough. The trough was located previously across from Red Jacket Mountain View Resort. It was disassembled two months ago and held in storage at the town's public works garage until three weeks ago when it was reassembled at Depot Road Park. Selectmen decided to move the trough because they felt it was unnoticed and underappreciated in its previous location.