The Sayre Historical Society’s annual dinner on March 8 will feature a presentation by James Nobles on “Sayre’s Ponds – Past and Present.” Among the rare images will be a whimsical painting of Island Pond in Sayre rendered by Valley artist M. L. Gore.
The Sayre Historical Society is hosting its annual dinner on Tuesday, March 8 at 6 p.m. in the Sayre High School cafeteria with a special program on “Sayre’s Ponds – Past and Present” by local historian James Nobles.
The event is open to the public with dinner at 6 p.m. and the program to follow. The cost is $20 and reservations are requested by Feb. 29. Please call Tom Collins at (570) 888-6821 or Mary Sargent at (570) 888-6081 for reservations. The buffet dinner, catered by Ali Fedorka Bennett, will include sirloin tips in beef gravy, chicken breast strips in herb sauce, pasta Alfredo, glazed carrots, mixed green salad, dinner rolls, warm apple crisp with ice cream and a Brownie sundae. Coffee, tea, and water will also be available.
The program this year will be presented by former Sayre history teacher James Nobles who was founder and first president of the Sayre Historical Society.
Richly illustrated with photographs and postcards, the presentation will center on the six landmark ponds scattered throughout Sayre.
“These six ponds, having been part of the community’s landscape since before its founding, have had an interesting history,” said Nobles.
“In preparing this program,” he said, “I made use of the writings of long-time local newsman Paul Seibel, the edited memories of Ruth Tozer Bixby of the Sayre High School science department, Elizabeth Wilcox’s book, Sayre and Early Valley History, and my own collection of photographs.”
Only Island Pond and Packer Pond, located on opposite sides of West Lockhart Street, remain today, he said.
“Island Pond has become an attractive park after many years of neglect,” he noted. “On the other side of the street, Packer Pond has been reduced in size significantly over the years between efforts at filling it in and claiming portions of it for parking at the medical facility. Both ponds have been part of Sayre’s landscape throughout the borough’s history.”
In addition to the two well-known ponds, Nobles said Sayre had four additional ponds.
“All have disappeared from the scene and are now fading from memory, although at one time they were well-known features of the town,” he said.
“The current Lockhart Street Bowl of Sayre High School was known in its pre-athletic field days as Mason’s Pond and was next to Mason’s Hill upon which the high school was built,” he said.
Next to Lake Street west of Keystone Avenue was Oak Grove Pond.
“This pond included an open-air theater with a stage facing and partially over the water,” he said. “Seating for patrons was amphitheater style on the bank rising up to Lynden Street. Summer programs saw some theatergoers arriving on trolley cars of the Waverly, Sayre & Athens Traction Company.”
The third of the “lost” ponds was referred to as “Round Pond.”
“Round Pond was part of the recreation facilities of Coleman Field, an athletic field parallel to Hayden Street,” Nobles said. “It was man-made as part of beautifying the grounds around Robert A. Packer’s magnificent mansion which was located nearby. All the other Sayre ponds were natural features predating the earliest settlers.”
The final pond, located behind the First Baptist Church along North Wilbur Avenue, was called Lilly Pond.
“It was the smallest pond and even reappears occasionally today with heavy rainfall,” Nobles said.
The Sayre Historical Society is a non-profit historic preservation organization staffed by volunteers. The group is membership-supported and a recipient of United Way funding.
The Sayre museum received the 2015 Clement F. Heverly Outstanding Service Award presented by the Bradford County Historical Society.
