Kincaid Lake 65th Birthday Celebration

  • Bob Gulick, pictured with his daughter Missy Gulick-Taylor, recalls the land before it became the park, and was instrumental on the park board for 20 years.
    Bob Gulick, pictured with his daughter Missy Gulick-Taylor, recalls the land before it became the park, and was instrumental on the park board for 20 years.
  • Danny Woodhead was also on the board for a number of years. He is pictured here with daughter Mary and friends Joyce Flaugher and Sue Emminger.
    Danny Woodhead was also on the board for a number of years. He is pictured here with daughter Mary and friends Joyce Flaugher and Sue Emminger.
  • David Billings, the current director, helped bring about the celebration along with his team.
    David Billings, the current director, helped bring about the celebration along with his team.
  • Missy Gulick-Taylor, Elsie Daugherty, and Rick Price, recalled their times working at the park.
    Missy Gulick-Taylor, Elsie Daugherty, and Rick Price, recalled their times working at the park.
  • Billy Corbin, an original Kincaid Lake State Park Ranger, is surrounded by current maintenance employee Elsie Daugherty, former employee and Friends of the Park member Amy Hurst, and Mary McDowell.
    Billy Corbin, an original Kincaid Lake State Park Ranger, is surrounded by current maintenance employee Elsie Daugherty, former employee and Friends of the Park member Amy Hurst, and Mary McDowell.
  • Falmouth Rotary, the Falmouth Outlook, Partners of Kincaid Lake, the Falmouth Outlook, and others helped to bring history to the celebration.
    Falmouth Rotary, the Falmouth Outlook, Partners of Kincaid Lake, the Falmouth Outlook, and others helped to bring history to the celebration.

Kincaid Lake 65th Year Celebration

Sunday, Kincaid Lake State Park held a celebration commemorating its 65th birthday. The open house hosted many former board members, employees, and others who have enjoyed the park regularly through the years.

The idea for Kincaid Lake (or Falmouth Lake) State Park took hold in 1958 with a small group of people who, seeing the coming tide of expansion and urbanization, decided to set aside a part of the county for preservation and successfully completed the mission to begin the project that had started three years earlier.

PVA John Steele pulled up records that documented over 20 families who sold land to make the park possible. He could say with certainty that his family had owned the area from the Boston Steele cabin, a fixture in the park area, to the dam, and Abe and Clara Hamilton had owned the portion holding the recreation area. Others who are on record as selling significant portions of land for the park were Roy Watts, Albert and Laverne Newkirk, and the Sharp, Bonar, Fields, and Jacobs/Houston families.

Mr. Bob Gulick, a member of the board for over 20 years, recalls hanging tobacco in the barn that was part of the Steele property. He remembers it being behind the cabin, very close to the area where the clubhouse now sits.

He also recalls the fight for the pool. He and Danny Woodhead were on the board at the time the park was wanting a pool. Gulick remembered going to Frankfort only to be told the Griffin family could finance the pool. The board  had an estimated construction bid of about $25,000 for the pool, from what he remembered. In the end, after the money was received, the structure cost over $1 million due to ADA regulations and other structural upgrades. He said the original bid was for a metal structure to be set into the spot. After the final plans were set, the pool was made of the materials most public pools are made of today.

People gathered to share these memories and to enjoy the park as it is today. Roger Hurst, a member Friends of the Park, went to check out the fishing tournament before coming to the gathering. Lifeguards Ally Hall and Alyssa Turner appeared briefly during a break from work to get cake. The clubhouse parking lot was full of cars, and golfers and others were out enjoying the nine-hole golf course situated close to the Boston Steele log cabin that was restored in the late 1970s to become the office. Campers and families who were out to enjoy the park’s play areas and other amenities were all around the grounds.

 

Inside, those who had worked the park and who were still part of the day-to-day operations celebrated the vision of a group of people who, years ago, worked together to preserve and enhance an area of the county they considered to be worth contributing to the future residents.