Waccabuc Landowners Council

from Linda Broudy, Editor of the Waccabuc Report ( a semi-annual publication of the Waccabuc Landowners Council):

They say a photo is worth a thousand words. So feast your eyes on this Picasa Web album for an encyclopedic look at WLC activities of the past six years! You can view all the photos either as a slideshow or individually.

I’ve snapped the photos at the many and varied WLC events for the Waccabuc Report….or just because I happened to be wandering about, camera in hand, and something caught my eye. (I took all the photos unless indicated otherwise; the historical photos were acquired from various publications or Mead family archival material.)

Have a Waccabuc photo you want to share? Send it to waccabucLC@gmail.com In the meantime, check out the album!

This particular issue of the WLC newsletter, published in Spring 2008, contains an extensive article written by Warren Schloat, in which he interviewed long time  Waccabuc residents Susan Henry, Tim Smith and Waldi Gullen.

Waccabuc_Spring2008-1

Yesterday’s mail brought the Spring 2008 issue of the Westchester Historian, the journal of the Westchester County Historical Society, and we were excited to see that the issue bore the title, “Stewards of the Land: The Meads of Waccabuc.”

Susan Henry, a seventh generation member of the Meads of Waccabuc family, was a founder of Westchester Land Trust and is still the secretary of our Board of Directors and chair of the Lewisboro Land Trust, one of our chapters.

The piece, written by Field Horne, a historian who lives in upstate Washington County, is long and we’ve just started reading it, but it’s filled with great details. Horne was hired by the county historical society to organize and catalogue the Mead family papers, and then write about what he learned. In particular we were struck by this, from the introduction:

“And what a story it is! Contained within the 171 boxes and 281 bound volumes are tales of agriculture’s development and decline, men’s roles and women’s growing independence, suburbanization and environmentalism, politics and war. During the long task of cataloguing, in which every item was examined, it became evident that the Meads’ love of the beautiful landscape that is Waccabuc is the most thoroughly documented aspect of their history….”

Here’s the historical society’s website: Westchesterhistory.com. You can contact them to get a copy of “The Meads of Waccabuc” issue.

by Tom Andersen, from the Westchester Land Trust website blog

A couple of weeks ago, a Waccabuc lad caught this pike in the lake! But this pike didn’t become a filet since after this picture, he was placed back in the lake and swam away.

by Linda Broudy, Membership Chair

The current WLC Membership form is attached as a link on this website. Our annual dues are $235 and have been for years and years. Unlike everything else around here, they don’t automatically increase every year. The membership form is mailed every January. Although dues are technically due by March 1^st, there are always reminder mailings that need to go out. If you haven’t yet sent in the 2008 dues, perhaps you’d consider printing out the attached form and sending it in…

And just what do you get for those dues?

Glad you asked. WLC maintains the charming historic U.S. post office at the corner of Mead Street and Post Office Road. About 15% of the annual budget goes towards its maintenance. The U.S. Postal Service actually leases the building and property from WLC. The original structure was built in 1879 (and was about the size of the present-day lobby), so as to receive the mail that was delivered by four-seated wagon from Katonah, traveling along the “post” road that wound its way from NYC to Danbury and beyond.

You get the benefit of many volunteers’ hours in our 10 committees (see the membership form or the other link on this website). Of course you can join in the fun as well. We are always looking for fresh ideas and it’s a very nice way to meet your fellow Waccabuceans.

We welcome new residents to the community by reaching out and delivering a “Welcome Bag”, which contains the following useful goodies (or something very similar):

• honey or jam from Salinger’s (a local orchard)
• Post Office note cards with envelopes, in packs of 5
• WLC membership form
• Westchester mag comp subscription
• Backyard Harmony pamphlet
• Mail-a-Map of Lewisboro
• Lewisboro Answer Book booklet
• The Waccabuc Report newsletter
• The Lewisboro Land Trust flyer
• Walking Wild Lewisboro pamphlet
• 2008 WLC Service Directory
• 100 Things to Do in Lewisboro booklet

We have an email which we use to notify our members of upcoming events, or other note-worthy items of interest that the WLC Board feels should be disseminated. The emails go out on a blind cc basis, to protect privacy. And it is a very timely way to reach folks with breaking news.

We have this lovely website, but you already know that don’t you?

And last but not least, we have The Waccabuc Report – a 4 color, 8 page glossy paper newsletter, published and printed by yet more volunteers from within our community. It is mailed semi-annually to our members in late Fall and late Spring. It recaps in both word and photos the many and myriad social activities of WLC, eg. the annual Dinner on the Lake, the WLC Annual Meeting and Progressive Dinner that follows, musical and literary events at the Mead Memorial Chapel, new residents to the community, interviews with interesting people, articles written by local residents on Waccabuc-specific items of interest and so forth. It helps you stay informed. Or gives you a small frisson seeing your name or face in print….

Please consider joining us!

One of the principal activities of the WLC is to support and maintain the Waccabuc Post Office facility, located at the corner of Mead Street and Post Office Road. But it has a wider charter as well: to exclusively involve all Waccabuc residents in promoting the best interest of the community. To that end it has 10 committees to help assist in this endeavor. Won’t you help us help you? To quote the WLC By-Laws:

The Audit Committee shall:

• Be chaired by a current Board member who is not an officer and whom the President will select. The chairman of the Audit Committee will in turn select two additional committee members who have not served as Board members during the previous two years. It is recommended that one person shall have served on the Audit Committee previously.
• Audit the Treasurer’s financial records on a yearly basis as soon as possible after the end of the fiscal year.
• Oversee that all accounts have been properly recorded and justified.
• Submit signed Audit Committee Statement of Findings of audit and all books and material to the new Treasurer.
• Provide a copy of the Statement of Findings to the Board of Directors.

 The Land Preservation Committee shall:

• Protect and preserve the environmental resources – natural, historic, and scenic – of the Waccabuc community.
• Work to preserve the quality of life of Waccabuc in such a way as to educate our children and protect our property values.

 The Social Committee shall:

• Organize social events for the membership.
• Make arrangements for the annual meeting with the Board of Directors’ approval.

 The Security Committee shall:

• Be a liaison between the membership, New York State police, local police, and security firm.
• Oversee the security firm.
• Negotiate the contract with the security firm and present it to the Board of Directors for approval.
• Organize, promote, and oversee the neighborhood watch.

 The Membership Committee shall:

• Maintain a current list of all Waccabuc residents and members and distribute it to all Directors, as needed.
• Provide mailing labels for all WLC mailings.
• Create and distribute a yearly membership drive brochure, reflecting WLC’s purpose and its functions.
• Collect WLC dues and give checks to the Treasurer for deposit.

 The Beautification Committee shall:

• Encourage all residents to keep Waccabuc cleaned-up and beautiful.
• Organize a Spring and Fall Clean-Up Day.
• Organize holiday decoration on street signs, entry signs, and Post Office.
• Plant and maintain the window boxes at the Post Office.
• Maintain the Route 35 entrance.
• Coordinate with the Tree Committee.

 The Newsletter Committee shall:

• Accept submissions from various committee chairs.
• Publish and distribute the newsletter quarterly, or as determined by the Board of Directors.

 The Tree Committee shall:

• Monitor trees and shrubs on right-of-ways within Waccabuc, with special attention to Mead Street
• Replace and supplement trees and shrubs within Waccabuc, as needed.
• Organize a Work Day at least once a year.
• Coordinate with the Beautification Committee.

 The Post Office Committee shall:

• Negotiate with the U.S. Postal Service.
• Organize and approve any repairs and maintenance to the property.

 The Sign Committee shall:

• Keep an inventory of all WLC street signs and their condition.
• Organize repair and maintenance or replacement of signs and/or posts as necessary.