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A couple of years ago, I was walking on a greenway near Baltimore that was built more than 60 years ago. It passes through some residential neighborhoods but also connects to city streets and a few small shopping areas. We could walk out the back door of my niece’s house and go shopping at the toy store three blocks away, but never see anything along the way but old trees and a stream. 

At the time, I wondered if the people who had organized, designed, and financed that greenway had any idea of what it would look like in 60 years or if they could even imagine the enjoyment it would bring to people six decades years later. Surely, they had hopes; those hopes have been realized tenfold.

Several weeks ago, I was chaperoning at a small lake near Saluda that is owned by the Saluda Community Land Trust, which provides a free swim, open to the public, every Wednesday throughout the summer. It was a hot day. There were 88 guests between 11 and 4 that day, and at least 80 of those guests were children—silly children doing silly things like spitting water at each other, jumping off the dock, splashing, squealing, and showing off their dives that really were belly flops. You name it; they were doing it all, and they were having a great time. My job was simply to watch and make sure that they were being nice to each other, which can be hard for wild little boys in the water sometimes. It was surely the best volunteer job I’ve ever had—floating in the middle of the lake on a hot day, simply watching happy children play.

While floating in the lake in my innertube, watching all those children have such a wonderful time, I thought about the donors of that property who left it for the enjoyment of future generations. For years, they simply let people come swim all summer long. And there are trails through the woods surrounding the lake. Then, because of the liability issues associated with a lake nowadays, they started opening the lake up on a reservation-only basis, with donations accepted. When the original owners got old, they started talking to their children about possibly donating the lake and surrounding acreage to the SCLT with the understanding that it would be managed in the same way—open on a reservation basis, paid for with donations. 

Sometimes, a reservation is made for a family birthday party that makes a small donation, and sometimes, the facility is rented for a wedding, a church baptism, or a graduation party. People give thanks by making generous donations. And it works!

Donations cover the cost of maintenance and improvements, and that’s what matters. And now, thanks to funding from the Polk County Community Foundation, SCLT hosts eight weeks of free swimming lessons for children ranging from 10 months to 18 years old for eight weeks every summer. This year’s lessons are over, but be thinking ahead for next year if you have small children who want to learn to swim.

As compensation for the gift of the land, the heirs of the original donor reserve the facility for a few weeks every summer and have a great time. Since the heirs live in other parts of the country, this vacation time gives the children and grandchildren a wonderful place to be together. The gift of the grandparents is now being enjoyed by the children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren not only of that family but also by the families of this community. I guess you might say that it is a gift that keeps on giving!

How to give a gift like this to the community is not an easy decision to make. It takes time, and lots of thought. These donors took three years, and many discussions with their children, to make their decision. 

But think about it. Their decision has been a wonderful gift that will be enjoyed by many generations to come. For their gift, we give thanks!