Busy North Fork social calendar scaled back

By now, every North Fork landowner should have received the North Fork Landowners Association’s 2013 newsletter. The newsletter is sent to all landowners to promote membership in the NFLA and to inform landowners about issues important to everyone.

Dues are only $10 a year per person and cover from Sept. 1 to the next Aug. 31. In addition to being involved in the current issues of interest to all landowners, that is wildlife, water quality, fire and many more, the association strives to provide an effective social calendar for spring, summer and fall residents, plus a Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner.

In 2012, the NFLA board of directors experimented with a greatly expanded social calendar, which has as many as three or four events every week and tried to accommodate everyone’s interests. Turned out this wasn’t what people wanted.

I know that most of us on Trail Creek enjoy a weekly trip to Polebridge on Friday for a pizza. We can combine a great social event with good food, and the 30-plus miles on a dusty road is worth it. We will make a second trip only for a special, important event. Cribbage and bocce ball do not qualify as that important for most of us.

Anyway, the 2013 social calendar has been scaled back significantly with long-time popular events dominating the schedule. These include the Bowman picnic, the pie and ice cream social and square dancing at Sondresen Hall. The most popular new activities are also included, like an expanded river float, the book club, two astronomy nights and a fly-fishing class.

Of course, the big celebrations at Thanksgiving and Christmas remain intact. These represent, in my mind, the true community-wide events. As such, they have the most people in attendance. To some, the annual meeting and election and the interlocal meeting are big social events that are also well attended, but I count them as business-oriented rather than social events.

The interlocal meeting is on Wednesday, July 10, starting at 1 p.m., but it is preceded by the annual Firewise workshop from 9:30 a.m. to noon. Lunch is provided with potluck additions.

The annual meeting and NFLA election is on Saturday, Aug. 3, starting at 8 p.m. with elections at 9:15 p.m.

Monthly business meetings of the NFLA are always at 8 p.m. on the first Saturday of the month, with a potluck and social hour following the meeting.

Finally, between social and business gatherings there are ecumenical church services at Sondresen Hall every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. from the first Sunday in July until the last Sunday in September.

See you all at the first event — hall clean-up on May 24 starting at 10 a.m. Bring a lunch.