“Reflections on Spring Creek”

We have a little jewel in our small corner of the world, and that little jewel is called Spring Creek. Featured in this week’s Rollin’ Down The River segment, there is no place around like Spring Creek. Similar to my recollections last week about the Mill Pond, I have an abundance of fond memories about Spring Creek. It has long been a favorite swimming and recreation spot for local folks. Sites like Turner’s Landing, with its shallow clear spring waters are an open invitation to come and cool off with your kids.

I can’t recall the first time that I went swimming in Spring Creek, I just know that I have been swimming in it most of my life. Like the Mill Pond, many a hot summer night during my teenage years concluded with a trip down to Turner’s Landing to cool off. Long before folks outside Jackson County discovered the creek, me and my buddies organized many a flotilla that made its way down the creek. In addition to floating down the creek, I recall numerous camp outs down where the creek meets up with the river.

Spring Creek is right at the top of my list for places that I enjoy fishing. I don’t claim to be a big time fisherman, or to be very good at it either. But spending a day wading the creek and catching stump knockers is just about as good as it gets with me.

So all these fond memories about this precious little jewel in our community makes what’s happening to the creek these days even more painful. Much has been written about the trashing of Spring Creek. As the popularity of floating down the creek spread to cities like Tallahassee, Dothan, Panama City, the traffic on the creek during the summer weekends has exploded. I don’t think I am overestimating when I would speculate that as many as 1,500 – 2,000 folks are floating down the creek on a normal weekend.

While I’d like to think that most of these folks don’t trash our little jewel, even if 25-30% do, you’re talking 250-300 people trashing the place up every weekend. I know law enforcement has made some efforts to police the put in points and the take out points. But they’re not making a dent in the amount of trash left on the creek and river.

I applaud our local government and tourist development council’s effort to promote eco-tourism of local attractions like Spring Creek. But we need those same groups, or some civic organization, to take the lead and formulate a comprehensive strategy to help keep our little jewel clean for current and future generations to enjoy. Simply Put, if we don’t there will come a day when there won’t be anything to promote and our little jewel will be lost for good.

From the front porch: Uncle Bob said he is about to the point where listening to music is tougher than facing it.