JACKSON, Mich — Last week, Concord neighbors thought they had lost a major part of their village landscape — the Mill Pond. But now, it's filling back up after neighbors came together and brought it back.
WATCH THE VIDEO TO SEE NEIGHBORS WORKING TOGETHER TO RESTORE THE HISTORIC CONCORD MILL POND:
Last week, here in Concord, the view was a real change for neighbors: the Village's iconic Mill Pond was draining away.
"Just a little stream through there. All you could see is fins — fish trying to find some water," recalls Concord neighbor Gary Keller.
But the weekend saw neighbors pitching in to rebuild this ruptured dam…and now, the Pond is filling back up.
"This is a place for kids to fish…and old men to fish," says Concord neighbor Mark Jeffrey.
The Concord Mill Pond has been a part of the landscape here for generations.
"It's kind of — the Mill Pond, you know. Everybody knows that's where Concord's at," says Jeffrey.
"Bring the kids here fishing. Gets them out of the house for a while," says Keller.
Imagine their shock as Concord neighbors watched it all but disappear last week.
WATCH LAST WEEK'S REPORT:
"Got up, went to go to work and — how come it's all white, you know? Almost looked like snow," recalls Jeffrey.
Then, neighbors sprang into action. In consultation with Michigan's Department of Energy, Great Lakes, and Environment, a plan was developed…and put in motion — to fix the dam, replacing the old wooden planks that had been holding back the water and had started to give way.
Todd Holton, who is spearheading the effort, says, "We wanted a few volunteers. I bought some breakfast for about ten guys, and I think by about 9 o'clock, about 40 people had shown up....So, we had plenty of help and it was great!"
Holton says new oak planks donated by the Hubbard Memorial Museum are being put in place of the old ones…and the Pond is starting to fill back up.
"Hopefully by the end of the week, we'll have a full Mill Pond, again," says Holton.
Jeffrey muses: "Things fall apart. Then people've got to put them back together."
Holton says he has a lengthy list of people to acknowledge: "Concord Excavating, David Joers and the family — they kept this up for many, many years…Just a lot of people that have volunteered and helped through the last actually couple of weeks, but especially on Saturday. So, it's really exciting to see."
The results are already visible — along with a renewed sense of hope among neighbors as work continued Monday.
"It'll all come back," said Jeffrey.
Keller concurred: "It'll come back."
