Archive for category Walden Pond

Art Weathers was found dead by Chief Burley this morning at Walden Pond, victim of an apparent freak accident.  According to the Chief, “I thought I would drive out there this morning and talk to Art about the beaver dam.  I don’t have any jurisdiction on his property, but I was hoping to convince him to leave it alone for awhile.  Some of the townspeople were getting too riled up.  As I walked up to the pond I could see that a big tree had fallen on Art’s backhoe, so I assumed he wasn’t there.  When I got closer I saw that Art was in the driver’s seat and was crushed by the tree.  Immediately I called for the paramedics, and they got there as fast as they could but there was nothing they could do.”

“While the paramedics were taking care of him, I walked around the pond looking for whatever I could find.  The fallen tree had been chewed down by beavers.  Their teeth marks were clear on the stump.  It was weird.  Art wanted to destroy the beaver dam, and the beavers got him.  I know that beavers are just beavers and this was a freak accident, but it gave me a chill anyway.”

Art is survived by his son John and two grandchildren, Susan and John, Jr.  Funeral arrangements will be announced later in the week.

Yesterday this reporter witnessed the Green Committee’s 4pm march on Walden Pond to save the beaver’s new dam from Art Weather’s backhoe.  Led by Mandy Henderson, the committee was joined by several Pearlville School teachers and dozens of students who seemed happy to have something new to do after school. Most carried some version of a homemade sign calling to “Save the Beavers.”  Included was a group of about 20 high school boys who chanted “Save the Beavers” and “We Love Beavers” with great enthusiasm, although it did not appear that they were overly concerned about saving the beaver dam.

Art Weathers appeared to ignore the group completely as he backed his backhoe off the low-boy and moved into position to take his first bite out of the dam.  As he raised the shovel it looked like the Green Committee was going to lose this round.

Then at the last moment Susie Weathers, Art’s ninth-grade granddaughter, ran to the top of the beaver dam and stopped with her arms extended in front of the shovel.  “Stop it, Grandpa!” she cried with tears streaming down her face.  Art clearly had not anticipated anything like this.  Despite his gruff exterior, he would never hurt anyone.  But he is a skilled backhoe operator and would have used the shovel to gently push any adult into the water without a second thought.  But children, no.  His granddaughter? No.  “Stand back, Susie,” he yelled, as he put the backhoe in reverse and backed away from the beaver dam.  “If that don’t beat all,” he said as he walked to his truck and drove away.

Mandy Henderson saw this as a great victory snatched from the jaws of defeat, and led her troops back to their cars chanting “Save the Beavers.”  Nobody seemed to notice that while Art had vacated the site, the backhoe remained in position.

This morning Art Weather’s truck was sited traveling down Rt. 50 pulling a low-boy trailer with a backhoe.  As soon as word of this reached town, the Green Committee called an emergency meeting.  Following that, Mandy Henderson called me at the Post.  “We’ve scheduled a march on Walden Pond for this afternoon at 4:00.  You are the only media outlet in town, so you’d better be there.  We’re going to stop that nut from destroying the beaver dam.  This morning you heard Art Weathers threaten me, so if he pulls his gun out there, you will be there to record it for the public.”

I had planned to focus on other things today, like the Senate Committee vote on the Health Care Bill, but this event is too good to miss.  Stay tuned.