Speaking ill of the dead

The first time I canoed Long Pond was in 1961 or 1962 with my cousin Dan.  It was an amazing experience.  At the embarkation point by the bridge on Kuhenbeaker Road you can reach both banks with your paddles.  A few miles later the pond is at least a quarter mile across, although the entire way we could touch bottom with the paddles.  The current moves so slowly that you sometimes must look down to see which way the reeds are bent so you don't paddle the wrong way.  I have since learned that some plants common to Canadian bogs can be found at Long Pond.  The pond is a remnant of the last ice age.  This is unique habitat, and I know what the word unique means.

As Dan and I neared the takeout point on Long Pond Road, we could hear the roar and scrape of bulldozers.  I learned that a racetrack was being built within view of the water.  The track eventually became a huge raceway with a seating capacity of about 75,000 and acres and acres of land devoted to parking.  When the builder, Joseph Mattioli, was stymied in his expansion plans by the Tunkhannock officials, he tried to convince the Pennsylvania legislature to create his own borough, which I believe had a population of 12.  Cooler heads prevailed.

Most of Long Pond is now owned by the Bethlehem Municipal Water Authority and the Nature Conservancy (full disclosure--I am a member of the Nature Conservancy), so it is reasonably well-protected except for the area around the raceway.

"Doc" Mattioli died in Allentown last week.  He was 86.  The Pocono Record touted him as a wonderful guy who purchased a 1000 acre farm and turned it into a Nascar venue for the enjoyment of thousands of people right here in the Poconos.

So we gained a place where drivers go at high speeds round and round a track, burning precious fossil fuels and making lots of noise while thousands of drunken louts cheer them on.  I'd trade the whole lot for one snowy egret.