Letters October 1, 2014
Town should buy Whipple Hill
H
aunted happenings in Danvers? My children, who grew up on Whipple Hill, cannot be convinced otherwise.
Their forays into the deep, dark woods behind the house felt like steps back in time, back to the early days of Salem Village. And their expeditions often ended with a race back home, the hairs on their necks standing in somber salute to the sad souls of yesteryear. What some have called “Witch Hill,” unfortunately, faces another incursion into green space. The parcel of land is targeted for sale, and if it is purchased by a private developer, this valuable landscape will become merely more housing and asphalt. The conversion would excise not only a piece of our past but also a potentially valuable tourist destination. Travel and tourism is a growing industry. And the segment showing the greatest growth and highest spending is cultural and heritage tourism. A report by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities says: Visitors are becoming “tired of the homogenization of places around the world” and “authentic experiences are an important factor and motivator for their travel decisions and expectations.” Visitors flock to New England, and specifically the North Shore, to enjoy our natural beauty and historic sites. The Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism reports that in 2012, Essex County benefited from more than $780 million in domestic travel expenditures, which include
lodging, transportation, meals, entertainment, recreation, and retail shopping. The town of Danvers is being handed an opportunity to share in these tourism dollars. We should expand Endicott Park—already a popular recreational spot. We should spruce up its existing walking trails. And we should let visitors and residents, alike, experience the wonders and thrills that await their own journey into the woods.