Susan Campbell watched with sadness Wednesday afternoon as a demolition crew from Roberts Corp., of Hudson, N.H.
, broke apart the tracks and railings from the iconic coaster, the Flyer Comet. "It's heartbreaking," she said, shaking her head. "Your whole life as a child here was Whalom Park.
If you didn't grow up around here, you can't understand. They're pulverizing generations of memories." Campbell's poignant comments underscore the importance of Whalom Park in local hearts and minds.
Even though the park closed years ago, memories of its glory days still burn brightly. The reality on the ground is bleak in contrast. A worker used a bulldozer to smash up and separate the wood and steel from the roller coaster, which stood partially demolished around 3 p.
m. Wednesday. Workers have been tearing down buildings and rides at the park since last Tuesday, to make way for a 240-unit condominium project that Bridgewater-based Global Property Developers Corp.
is planning to build there. Leominster resident Sheila Roy, 48, whose daughter worked at Whalom Park, said she is sad to see it go. "I'm not a big fan of the condo idea at all," she said.
Dick Wise, 78, of Leominster, reminisced about better days at Whalom, but acknowledged the unstoppable march of time. "It was everything, the roller coaster, the roller skating rink, the ballroom dancing, the big-band music," he said. "At one time it was a very busy place.
But times do change." Indeed they do. Those who love Whalom Park -- and there are so many of them, both in this area and points across the nation and globe -- are justified in remembering the park's heralded past.
The kind of memories Whalom has created don't fade easily, nor should they. But sentiment can't stand in the way of progress and rebirth, which is what the impending condo project represents. Certainly, the development will create additional traffic, as some residents worry.
But so did Whalom Park. And not to belabor the point, but the park is gone, and it is time to move on. If the park was meant to be in existence forever, why did business there flag so much?
Why didn't a realistic movement to save it coalesce before Global's plans arose? Those are questions that Whalom's supporters should acknowledge as they lament the park's demise. Also, who's to say the condominium development won't be a positive thing for Lunenburg?
High-end housing certainly will generate additional tax revenue, something the town could use as it looks toward shoring up and replacing its school buildings. And a site that has been in sad shape for years is being reclaimed, instead of getting even seedier. With this week's swing of the wrecking ball, the conversation about Whalom should change.
The future has arrived and in its own way, could be pretty bright.
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