Day Before Thanksgiving Walk
This year marks the 19th. It started as an idea 19 years ago when Joanne and Phil Stanway were sitting around thinking about adding some color and fun to the season that centered on family and community.
Back in the early days of stewardship, Thanksgiving Forest was known as a bad place. Fires, trash, and sometimes cars drove in from Janet Road and used the area that is now the pollinator garden as a parking lot. We talked about how no place in town should be known as a bad place, and we decided our goal was to transform this spot into a place people wanted to go. Over the years we changed it from bad to family-friendly. Today we have the Thanksgiving Forest that everyone loves and talks about.
The Day Before Thanksgiving Walk is a celebration of family and community. Scout Troop 75 serves hundreds of cups of free hot chocolate and hands out more than 300 cookies. Becky Warren gives a lighthearted, kid-centric history talk. A fire is allowed in the natural fireplace formed in the rocks.
The rocks tower over the gathering area and are always covered with kids climbing, laughing, and just being kids. Parents and families, more than 200 of them, gather in front of the rocks to talk, laugh, and share good wishes as the holiday season begins. It is a small-town feel in a magical place.
Here is a short reel of the 2024 Walk so you can see how much fun it was. It really captures the spirit of the day before Thanksgiving tradition.
https://www.facebook.com/reel/879211601341093
Kickoff is at 2 pm on the day before Thanksgiving at Janet Road. The full loop from that side is one mile. For those who want a shorter walk, the Gary Road side is about the same overall time but only a five-minute walk to the rocks over a fairly flat and wide path.
The entire area around the rocks has been cleared to avoid slipping on the steeper slopes and to reduce any tick habitat.
The Janet Road entrance now has a new pollinator garden and a major cleanup of the small park area. It still has the Girl Scout Gold Project, and neighbors banded together to clean and make the park far more family-friendly. Many invasives were removed, including some trees, which now allows the new garden to thrive. A garden leader will be there to elaborate on the garden and the community effort that made it possible.
Many years ago, one of the walkers brought their dog and gave us fifty dollars for treats for other dogs. They said it was to remember their pup and to share with all the dogs who come to the forest. We have continued this tradition, now done remembering Jerry the Open Space Dog, our COSS logo pup and much-missed mascot.
It is a simple chewing gum and duct tape event, and sometimes those are the best. Old Mill Coffee will likely be at Janet Road so you can buy a fancy coffee or pastry before heading in.
This event shows the heart of Chelmsford. It is a place where old friends gather and new ones are met.