{"id":105804,"date":"2025-04-29T07:01:35","date_gmt":"2025-04-29T11:01:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/?p=105804"},"modified":"2025-04-30T18:43:42","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T22:43:42","slug":"a-small-town-girl-with-a-heart-as-big-as-texas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2025\/04\/29\/a-small-town-girl-with-a-heart-as-big-as-texas\/","title":{"rendered":"A Small Town Girl With a Heart as Big as Texas"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Steve Lawrence —<\/span><\/p>\n

Those driving past Brick Pond in Owego will soon see a construction project underway, and to those who might worry that there might be an effort to – in the words of Joni Mitchell – \u201cpave paradise and put up a parking lot,\u201d worry thee not. <\/span><\/p>\n

What will be constructed is a 340-square foot, fully wheelchair-accessible observation deck that will, in the words of Chris Audette, the Executive Director of the Fred L. Waterman Conservation Education Center, \u201cimprove the entire facility, will catch the eye, and hopefully draw more people to Brick Pond.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Nick Edwards \u2013 the owner of NJE Tree and Landscaping \u2013 added, \u201cThe observation deck will allow full access to this beautiful area, and will hopefully get more people outside to see more wildlife.\u201d (The deck was designed by Delta Engineers.) <\/span><\/p>\n

The project is being funded by John Abrams, a professor at the University of Texas Medical School. And while Abrams has lived in Dallas for the past 35 years, Brick Pond is – to him and his two sons – a sacred place. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

Pictured is Cindi Ford, a 1974 OFA graduate. Photo provided.<\/p><\/div>\n

In the mid-1980s, when John was in graduate school at Stanford, he was introduced to Cynthia Ford, a young woman who was raised in Owego (OFA ’74), but had moved to California to run her own landscape design business. When it became clear to both of them that the relationship was getting serious, \u201cCindi\u201d brought John to Owego to meet her family. (Many Owego residents fondly remember Bob Ford, a respected Opthamologist, Bell Ford, the Executive Director of the Red Cross, and Allyson Ford, a fine athlete at OFA.) <\/span><\/p>\n

Before making the introductions, Cindi brought John to visit Brick Pond, where she and so many of her friends had spent many hours while growing up. They hiked around the perimeter of the wetlands in the summer, watching the birds, catching frogs, pretending they were in some faraway place. They built bonfires in the winter, toasting marshmallows and gliding across the pond on ice skates, pretending they were Peggy Fleming, the figure skating gold medalist of the 1968 Olympics. <\/span><\/p>\n

When she went off to college at SUNY Geneseo and then to California, Cindi returned to Brick Pond as often as she could, feeling a deep connection to a part of herself she hoped never to lose. When she brought John there, he felt it too, and he became increasingly connected to that sacred place, to Owego itself, and to the people who loved Cindi. <\/span><\/p>\n

I am pleased to say that I was one of those people, and she was one of my dearest friends from the moment we sat together on a chairlift at Greek Peak when we were 13, to the day Cindi passed unexpectedly in 2021. I spent time with Cindi and John in California 38 years ago and watched them raise their sons. <\/span><\/p>\n

Throughout the course of their 30 years in Dallas, Cindi, John, and their sons \u2013 Kevin and Spencer \u2013 came to Owego several times per year. The boys went to summer camp at the Waterman Center, and Christmas parties at Bob and Bell’s house were wonderful gatherings. Having children the same ages, I spent time with them, going to Binghamton Mets games, out for pizza, and \u2013 you guessed it – to Brick Pond. Many of Cindi’s friends joked that despite the fact that she lived in Texas, we saw her more often than we saw some friends who still lived in Owego. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

An architectural drawing of the project. Provided.<\/p><\/div>\n

At the time of Cindi’s untimely passing, her mom was approaching 90, and John put forth a big effort to spend as much time in Owego as possible. It was clear that he felt a deep connection to his beloved wife while in Owego, and even after Bell passed in 2022, John kept coming back whenever possible. Those of us who were close to Cindi loved the opportunity to walk the snowy streets with John at Christmastime, his presence helping us to embrace Cindi’s memory even more deeply.   <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

And now, we and many generations to follow will be able to go to Brick Pond, sit on the bench dedicated to her, and breathe in a deep sense of gratitude. Gratitude for having known Cindi, gratitude to John for providing such a generous gift in such a sacred place, and gratitude to the Fred L. Waterman Conservation Education Center for working to manage and protect six different nature preserves (including Brick Pond).<\/span><\/p>\n

The project \u2013 which is on track to be completed by July 4 \u2013 will be a beautiful tribute to a beautiful soul in a beautiful town on a beautiful planet.      <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Steve Lawrence — Those driving past Brick Pond in Owego will soon see a construction project underway, and to those who might worry that…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":105807,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-105804","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nA Small Town Girl With a Heart as Big as Texas - Owego Pennysaver Press<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2025\/04\/29\/a-small-town-girl-with-a-heart-as-big-as-texas\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Small Town Girl With a Heart as Big as Texas - Owego Pennysaver Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Steve Lawrence — Those driving past Brick Pond in Owego will soon see a construction project underway, and to those who might worry that...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2025\/04\/29\/a-small-town-girl-with-a-heart-as-big-as-texas\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Owego Pennysaver Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/The-Owego-Pennysaver-49179420591\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-29T11:01:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-04-30T22:43:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2025\/04\/Pond3.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1422\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"psadvert\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"psadvert\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2025\/04\/29\/a-small-town-girl-with-a-heart-as-big-as-texas\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2025\/04\/29\/a-small-town-girl-with-a-heart-as-big-as-texas\/\",\"name\":\"A Small Town Girl With a Heart as Big as Texas - Owego Pennysaver Press\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2025\/04\/29\/a-small-town-girl-with-a-heart-as-big-as-texas\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2025\/04\/29\/a-small-town-girl-with-a-heart-as-big-as-texas\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2025\/04\/Pond3.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-29T11:01:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-30T22:43:42+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/#\/schema\/person\/e03684194434956dfb61f5ffcbc19492\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2025\/04\/29\/a-small-town-girl-with-a-heart-as-big-as-texas\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2025\/04\/29\/a-small-town-girl-with-a-heart-as-big-as-texas\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2025\/04\/29\/a-small-town-girl-with-a-heart-as-big-as-texas\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2025\/04\/Pond3.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/owego\/files\/2025\/04\/Pond3.jpg\",\"width\":1422,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"Brick Pond. 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