Group prepares county park to open again

Cass County Park—recently under 10 feet of Wright Patman Lake water—is almost ready to receive campers and boaters again.

When it opens, visitors can thank volunteers and others who appreciate the “Park With A View.” Park friends have supplied most of the labor and money.

Friends of the Park is the organization and has about 20 workers. In a big auction effort, they raised about $18,000. Here’s what they’ve done with that money:

The picnic tables are back in the park and painted bright yellow. They would have washed away had not the Friends chained them together just as the January 2016 storms hit.

A new restroom facility with showers is up and almost running.

The gate has a new visitor sign-in office building.

The pavilion and fish-cleaning structures have metal roofs back on them and are awaiting equipment tables and chairs.

The shoreside camping and play area has been cleared of debris and about 100 trees, mostly pine. With tall green grass, the area looks open and inviting now.

Electrical service is upgraded from 30 to 50 amps to take care of modern travel vehicles.

Surviving signs, poles, playground equipment and gates are repainted. New road safety bumps to keep down car speed are installed.

Here are some of the things that have returned on their own:

The deer come to get corn early each morning about sunup. Park people just whistle them up.

Birds and fish still flock to to the lake, and the ground-level evening sunsets are unbeatable.

The horseback riding trail entrances in the park are open.

Roads have widened, thanks to the waves that created washerboard effects. But these have been graded smooth.

Once again, one can paddle the boat up to the shore line and walk ashore to set up tables and chairs for picnic or fishing from the bank. The boat will just rock safely nearby.

One can ride around on golf carts, licensed or not, with windshield-wipers or not. Can’t do that in the more meticulous state and federal park grounds.

Finally, one can meet old friends here.

The park is called the Cass County Park because the Cass County Commissioners Court helps to keep it going by supplyzalso maintaining the roads. But it is the volunteers, many of whom are in their 60s, who do the most.

The volunteers are represented by one in particular. Jesse Deese, the park’s gatekeeper. He is on duty constantly and has been doing it for seven years.

“Unpaid,” he said, wanting to be sure everyone understands.

Deese lives in the park all year and is the “consistent worker,” using his many skills such as carpentry to get things done.

The Friends of the Park hold occasional meetings to talk over what they can do and who’ll do it. They hold various fundraising events with all money going to support the park as handled through the commissioners court.

Perhaps it’s time for a new or modified name for the park.

Perhaps it’s the “Park with a View and Vision” as well.