A fountain, a duck house, a celebration
On Saturday, May 19, a group gathered on a lawn above the duck pond at Deering Oaks Park to celebrate installation of a new fountain and a restored duck house. The weather was fine, free of the frequent rain during the week.
It was the 10th anniversary of the formation of Friends of Deering Oaks. The Friends’ president, Anne Pringle, presided at the celebration. Other officers of the Friends are Scott Turner, treasurer; Barbara Hager, secretary and newsletter editor; David Martines, membership; Carol Hutchins, Alexander May and Kate Rumery; and Tom Civiello, Parks Department.
A history
Deering’s Woods was the largest undeveloped open space in Portland when, in 1879, the Deering family heirs donated 45 acres to the city to be used forever as a park.
The task of designing the new space fell to William Goodwin, the city’s civil engineer, with guidance from Calvert Vaux (former partner of landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead). Goodwin gave the park a naturalistic flow, emphasizing a 4-acre pond, numerous plantings and a network of curving pathways designed to accommodate pedestrians and carriages alike. The oaks were to remain the park’s “crowning glory,” Goodwin wrote, and urged that no tree be cut or even trimmed “without a deep sense of responsibility and earnest conviction of necessity.”
To further promote the park’s picturesque qualities, Goodwin recommended that only a few structures be built, including a bandstand, a multi-tiered fountain and a duck house on an island in the pond. The latter, resembling a miniature summer cottage, has been a fixture in the park since 1887.
Although not part of Goodwin’s original plan, the park’s first major structure was erected on the north side of the pond in 1894 as a visitors’ shelter and a winter warming hut for skaters. The brick-and-stone “Castle in the Park” was designed by Frederick Tompson, a prominent Portland architect. Many of the materials and much of the labor were donated, an expression of civic pride in “the Oaks.” Restroom facilities were added in a separate wing in 1929.
In 1897, Mayor James Phinney Baxter presented a plan to link the city’s major parks by a series of boulevards, with the Oaks envisioned as a gateway from Union Station. The Olmsted Brothers firm was hired to prepare a comprehensive plan.
The ensuing decades saw numerous improvements to the Oaks, including granite pillars flanking the main entrance on Park Avenue. Designed by Tompson, the pillars were completed in 1903, with ornamental light fixtures added the following year. As the automobile gained in popularity, the park’s roads were paved and widened, and lights were added along their lengths. Today, the 54-acre park remains Portland’s largest. In 1989 Deering Oaks was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The Castle in the Park was recently restored to its original 1894 condition, complete with stained glass windows and an ornamental fireplace mantle.
The structure was built for $900 out of surplus city paving stones and mostly donated materials. The restoration was completed and dedicated in 2006. Presently, the convention and Visitors Bureau occupies the Castle in the Park and serves thousands of delighted visitors annually.
At the May 19, ceremony, the new fountain was turned on and the streams of water rose high in the air. Charles Stickney Jr., of Yarmouth, who contributed $50,000 toward the $170,000 project (the new fountain), was unable to attend, as he and his wife were attending the college graduation of a grandson. Their daughter, Beth, was there to accept the praise and thanks.
Also present were Roger Knight and his wife, Sally, of Smiling Hill Farm, Westbrook. Roger had saved the old duck house when it was to be destroyed by the city in 1987 and then totally restored it and put it on display at his former Smiling Hill Farm petting zoo.
It was ironic. Roger had convinced Portland not to destroy the old duck house, then had to compete against other bidders to buy it. His $1 bid, the least offered, won because of his superior plan to put it on public display and it delighted thousands of visitors in the years it was at his farm.
A group of boys at a vocational school built a new duck house which was in the Oaks for several years. In 2006, after the Knights had closed down the petting zoo, they were asked about the old duck house. Roger had completely restored it, painted it a deep red with white trim, repaired the three porches and fences, which had badly deteriorated, and replaced the old roofing with copper roofing. He also replaced all the windows with new glass. It is a beautiful structure.
Roger has now given it back to the city, and it is there in the Oaks pond in all its splendor. I praise Roger Knight each time I drive slowly by the Oaks Pond, and admire the handsome duck house which he rescued 20 years ago.
A taste
Today’s recipe is from “A Taste of Trinity,” the cookbook printed for the Trinity Lutheran Church, Westbrook. It is a recipe from member Greta Wallace.
LEMON SQUARES
2 cups flour
1 cup margarine
1/2 cup powdered sugar
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice
4 teaspoons lemon rind, grated
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Powdered sugar
Mix first three ingredients and press into 9×13-inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Mix eggs, slightly beaten, sugar, lemon juice, lemon rind, flour and baking powder. Pour second mixture over crust while it is hot. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Sprinkle powdered sugar on top.
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