Volunteers aim to make The Pumpy into ‘Sweet Arrow North'

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2 days ago

EAST UNION TWP. —For decades, families flocked to the northern Schuylkill County site known as The Pumpy, where they fished for trout, picnicked and enjoyed the outdoors on the 100-acre property and its reservoir.
The site became legendary, and people traveled there from towns across Schuylkill and southern Luzerne counties, creating memories and stories they still cherish years later.
When the state Department of Environmental Protection ordered the reservoir closed in 2010 due to concerns about potential flooding from its dam and spillway, it ended that era.
But now a nonprofit volunteer group called The Pumpy Association has support from nearly three dozen communities, local state lawmakers and former Pumpy regulars to bring the East Union Township property back to its old glory and even expand on its recreational offerings.
They all share the same goal of wanting to make it a destination similar in popularity to Sweet Arrow Lake Park near Pine Grove, where families can again appreciate the beauty of The Pumpy and create new memories.
Many adults from the area still remember the fun they had as kids coming with their parents or grandparents, and can't wait to now bring their own children and grandchildren, association president Lou Truskowsky said.
The association wants The Pumpy to be for much more than fishing. It can be a place where families walk the trails, sit by the water and bring picnics, and a place where Scouts can camp.
Already people are coming to hang out, walk the dam breast, watch the eagles, ducks, geese and other wildlife, and the association wants those numbers to keep growing, members say.
With so many of the county's green spaces being turned into housing developments or commercial properties, it's essential to preserve The Pumpy long-term, they say.
Dave Briggs looks out on the water at The Pumpy in East Union Township. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
The Pumpy is so named because it was built in the early 1900s as a reservoir to pump drinking water to Shenandoah, though that purpose was long ago abandoned. The property is still owned by Shenandoah, though it is located in the Brandonville section of East Union.
The association has already benefitted from a state grant obtained by Shenandoah to build a pavilion and dig a well for drinking water, two important amenities for the property, said Geri Sarno, association treasurer.
Volunteers have been working hard to clear vegetation, dead trees and brush from trails, cleaning up tires, cans and other trash, installing picnic tables and memorial benches for the public to use, cutting grass and planning events. Eventually they'll expand the parking areas.
'This is being done through countless hours of volunteers donating their time, machinery and skills,' Sarno said. 'We are the caretakers to bring this gem back to life.'
Pumpy Association members stand for a group photo at The Pumpy in East Union Township. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
The association is now up to almost 170 paid members, and before restoring the site as a prime fishing spot, they are awaiting the results of a study to see exactly what spillway work or dam work is needed to keep the reservoir filled.
At best it will likely be three years to do that work, association members say. Then they could restock the waterway and allow fishing to make a comeback. In the meantime, the association is preparing by raising fish in its hatchery, where visitors can buy food to feed to them.
Ricky Grabosky tosses fish food into a holding pond at The Pumpy in East Union Township. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
Decades ago, summer weekends at The Pumpy were like block parties with the crowds that gathered, association members said. There was lots of fishing, camaraderie, and food, with people sharing good times with neighbors from other towns, and families passing traditions from one generation to the next, they said.
The first day of trout season each spring, many would set their rods up along the shoreline a day or even two days in advance and camp there to reserve their favorite fishing spot, and anglers stood elbow to elbow as they filled their buckets with fish to fry.
Many adults from the area still remember the fun they had as kids coming with their parents or grandparents, and can't wait to now bring their own children and grandchildren, Truskowsky said.
'People tell me 'I had a ball there when I was young,'' said association vice-president Dave Sarno. 'That's what we want to bring back.'
Ducks swim at The Pumpy in East Union Township. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
Among those with vivid recollections of his younger days at The Pumpy is association trustee Rick Grabosky.
Each year on his birthday, his mom would allow him to skip school and fish at The Pumpy. He needed a ride there and back, though, so he'd board the school bus with his fishing rod, tackle box and his lunch, and the driver would drop him off at the reservoir. After school, the driver picked him back up and he again boarded with his rod and fishing supplies, making the other kids jealous of how he'd spent his day.
'It was great,' he said.
Although DEP ordered the reservoir emptied and its drainage pipe fully opened 15 years ago, it is still fed by springs, a small stream and rain water, so it is now full due to the recent precipitation.
Shenandoah and East Union are among the numerous municipalities whose leaders are happy about the effort to have The Pumpy being restored as a regional recreation attraction.
'It's really exciting,' said Kyle Mummey, who chairs the East Union board of supervisors. 'We fully support their work to bring The Pumpy back to its previous glory.
'This will be an asset for the entire county. And every time you drive by there, there is something that looks better. They're doing a great job.'
The more work that the association does, the easier it will be to get grants and donations directed to the project, he said.
'More and more people will realize how nice it can be there,' he said.
Shenandoah Councilman Joe Boris discusses The Pumpy in East Union Township during a meeting of the volunteer Pumpy Association. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)
Shenandoah Council President Joe Boris said the project also has the complete support of officials in Shenandoah, which have no alternate plans for the site other than allowing the upgrades to continue and for it to remain a public space.
Among the supporters of The Pumpy restoration is the Mountain Council of Governments, which has members from Schuylkill and Luzerne including Beaver Meadows, Conyngham, Freeland, Weatherly, West Hazleton, McAdoo, White Haven, Hazleton, Butler, Banks, East Union, Foster, Hazle and Sugarloaf townships, Hazleton Area School District, MMI Prep, Freeland Municipal Authority, Hazleton City Authority, Greater Hazleton Civic Partnership and the Greater Hazleton Chamber of Commerce.
'The Pumpy Association's volunteer grassroots efforts to rehabilitate a once vibrant recreation area and restore it as a place where families can once again go to fish, hike, picnic and enjoy the outdoors is commendable,' the council said in a 2023 letter of support.
Shenandoah's engineering firm Alfred Benesch and Co. is now doing a feasibility study on the dam that it expects to finish this summer, said engineer M. Christopher McCoach.
The dam had been in compliance with state laws for many years, but those regulations changed, and DEP deemed it out of compliance.
The most likely options of bringing it back into regulation so they can close the drainage pipe and keep the reservoir filled are expanding the spillway, raising the dam, or combining those two upgrades, McCoach said.
Once Benesch completes the study, it will present the results to DEP to see which options it would approve, and then Shenandoah can decide whether it can afford that work, McCoach said. Receiving grant money for the project is also a possibility, he said.
The grant already secured by Shenandoah for the pavilion and pump was for $78,000 from the Statewide Local Share Account program, which distributes gaming revenue to community and economic development projects.
The Pumpy in East Union Township. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR)Helping to secure the grant were state Sen. David Argall and representatives Tim Twardzik and Dane Watro, all of whom represent Schuylkill.
Argall said it was speaking with the association volunteers that sold the three on the importance of 'bringing their dreams for the site to life.'
'When Rep. Twardzik, Rep. Watro and I met with members of the Pumpy Association last year, they were full of stories about the good times they had there and passion for bringing these same opportunities to a new generation,' Argall said.
As nice as it is to see The Pumpy being restored, it's also good to see how the project has rallied many in the region, Mummey said.
'I think it's wonderful,' he said. 'It's a situation where community members are getting together and doing the right thing.'