Posted on 03/08/2012 5:40:16 PM PST by SJackson
Who says nothing good ever came out of a summer outbreak of algae?
After all, if it wasn’t for the discovery of those colorful organisms on a small pond two summers ago, Mont Vernon voters might not be going to Town Meeting next month with the opportunity to officially change the name of the tiny pond with the offensive name.
At that March 13 meeting, voters will consider a warrant article that asks: “To see if the Town will vote to petition the United States Geological Survey to rename Jew Pond to Grand Hill Pond.”
Despite the wording of the article, there also appears to be some sentiment in town to rename it Carleton Pond in memory of George C. Carleton, who donated the land that contains the pond to the town 40 years ago.
We’ll leave it up to town residents to decide whether it should be Grand Hill Pond, Carleton Pond or any of the names that have surfaced in recent months, such as Frog Pond, Spring Pond or even Lake Serene.
Anything but Jew Pond would be fine with us.
It was on July 14, 2010, that The Telegraph published a brief 138-word article reporting that Mont Vernon and state officials had closed the pond because of possible contamination by algae. As it turns out, the closing of the 6-foot-deep pond proved to be less newsworthy than the headline that accompanied it: “Blue-green algae closes Jew Pond.”
“It was the first time the name hit print in a long time,” Rich Masters, the town’s public health officer, says in “The Story Behind Jew Pond,” a documentary produced by University of New Hampshire-Manchester graduate student Katelyn Ann Dobbs.
“A lot of people cringed when it was publicized. I didn’t think it was a very good name and figured maybe I should go about trying to change it.”
After conducting some extensive research, Masters approached town selectmen the following year with a recommendation to rename it Frog Pond, but the board voted unanimously at that time against changing its name.
The half-acre pond appears to have gotten its derogatory name from town natives during the 1920s, after two young Jewish lawyers from Boston purchased the nearby Grand Hotel, an upscale resort that attracted many summer vacationers from the city. The new owners closed the hotel two years later, but the name “Jew Pond” eventually made its way onto a U.S. Geological Survey map of the area.
Today, the push to change the name of the pond is getting attention around the world, with stories appearing in Yahoo News, The Boston Globe, The Jewish Press, The Arizona Republic, The Guardian of London and The Straits Times of Singapore, to name a few. Videos are also available on YouTube and other sites.
It also caught the attention of Bishop Peter Libasci, the newly installed leader of the Diocese of Manchester, who didn’t mince words in a letter to the editor published Monday in The Telegraph.
In that letter, in which he urged Mont Vernon residents to support the name change next month, the bishop noted the use of the word “Jew” in this instance was clearly “pejorative.”
“It is different than the use of the word ‘Jewish’ or ‘Christian’ because it is added as a stinging barb, the way that a bigot in private company would mention a ‘Jew lawyer’ or ‘Jew doctor.’ You just absolutely know it’s meant to convey some measure of contempt,” he wrote.
“It’s a small pond, but anti-Semitism is a big deal.”
We couldn’t have said it any better.
If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
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From the same source, Name of Mont Vernon pond making big splash
What a silly issue. I would suggest that burying history isn't a good thing, no disrespect to the residents, but it sounds like the locals were a tad antisemitic at the time. Which wasn't out of character. And there's no reason to erase it.
Perhaps Bishop Peter Libasci has the right idea, unknowling
the bishop noted the use of the word “Jew” in this instance was clearly “pejorative.”“It is different than the use of the word ‘Jewish’ or ‘Christian’ because it is added as a stinging barb, the way that a bigot in private company would mention a ‘Jew lawyer’ or ‘Jew doctor.’ You just absolutely know it’s meant to convey some measure of contempt,” he wrote.
He is correct. Name the pond Jewish Pond, everyone will be happy.
Hebrew Cove?
Jew Lake?
Why did they call it that in the first place? Was it lucky to throw coins in?
/oh relax
Is there a footpath through the middle of it?
That’s funny right there, I don’t care who ya are....
lol
Hey, didn’t you just post over at Faceboook?
To be honest I find the current political correctness obsession and ultra sensitivity and objection of some to what are historic names and things from the past, as detrimental to society. That’s just my opinion and it would mean nothing regardless of the ethnic group involved. If it was called Catholic Pond or Mormon Pond or WASP Pond or Pope’s Place, who would give a hoot?
To be honest for at least 20 years I’ve viewed political correctness and the so called need to create special separate levels of crime and call them hate crime as the nemesis of America. The idea that some are special and others aren’t is non-American.
We need to get away from being overly sensitive.
Still tasty after all these years.
More PC BS and the chronically offended yet again......Give it a break, no one else cares..
Judenfrei ("free of Jews") was a Nazi term to designate an area free of Jewish presence.
I don't think the locals can quite win this one ~ should have thought about it when they named the pond eh!
what’s next? Guinea Road and Negro Mountain?
Not to beat a dead horse.
I wish some would name a pond after me. I wouldn’t feel that it was a slight at all. Now if it was cesspool or a septic tank, then it might be different.
Most of us would feel a sense of pride and respect to have a pond or lake named after us. I don’t get at all the reason for the “slight”.
Now we even name USN ships after living liberal female Congress people from AZ who have never served a day in uniform, and whose only claim to fame was the misfortune of getting shot by a loser constituent.
This? No I didn’t post this at Facebook.
Why is it always thought to be “derogatory” to name something after somebody.
Would they call them the Cleveland Indians if they despised Indians? I don’t think so.
If they want to change the name, how about Jewel Pond? A tiny bit of brightness in a drab neighborhood?
I heard every one you catch has a pound of flesh.
I have a little lake in rural Il. It is named for my grand-
father who built it. He named one of the points for a boy
that worked for him and that he put through college. He was
killed in Nam. I have continued the tradition and now have
“Brian's Bay”. “Jimmy Adamos Dam” etc. Your comment helps me
think they would appreciate the gesture.
“This? No I didn’t post this at Facebook.”
I didn’t say “this”, I just said “post”. (You been getting
into the cooking wine early tonight-)?)
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