Winchester Report: “A Sordid Saga.”
“Union Mills reservoir and the pumpkin patch”
As appeared in my “Winchester Report” blog on the Westminster Eagle web site:
A sordid saga of communists, reservoirs, congressman, and pumpkins
Note: see also, “20070307 A sordid saga of communists, reservoirs, congressman, and pumpkins ” on “Soundtrack.”
By Kevin Dayhoff March 8th, 2007
Contrary to what is being circulated; the Union Mills reservoir project in Carroll County will add another layer of protection to the site of the “pumpkin papers,” and this national treasure is not threatened.
Recently the old Whittaker Chambers “pumpkin patch&...[Read full story]
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A sordid saga of communists, reservoirs, congressman, and pumpkins
03/08/07
By Kevin Dayhoff
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Contrary to what is being circulated; the Union Mills reservoir project in Carroll County will add another layer of protection to the site of the “pumpkin papers,” and this national treasure is not threatened.
Recently the old Whittaker Chambers “pumpkin patch” farm just north of Westminster, in Carroll County Maryland has resurfaced in the news.
The Chambers’ Pipe Creek Farm was the scene of the “pumpkin papers” incident in which a former communist spy; Whittaker Chambers, defected to become a champion of the anti-communist cause at the beginnings of the cold war in 1948.
Mr. Chambers hid U.S. State Department documents in hollowed-out pumpkins on his Carroll County farm. Once he gave the documents to then- Congressman Richard Nixon, the entire issue of communists and communism in the United States gripped the nation for many years in what has become known as the “McCarthy era.”
The “pumpkin papers” named a local Baltimorean and Baltimore City High School and Johns Hopkins University graduate, Alger Hiss, as a communist spy.
The national, if not international story of intrigue, spies, and the beginnings of the cold war all took place in Carroll County with roles played by Carroll County and Baltimore citizens.
It is now almost 60 years later and intrigue and conspiracy continue to abound.
Since January, Carroll County officials have been plagued with persistent rumors and conspiracy theories, some of which have been published in local newspapers, that Carroll County wants to “seize” the old Chambers “pumpkin patch” farm. Good folks, good journalists and conspiratorialists alike have been “had” by this misinformation.
The misinformation seems to continue to grow legs and is about as far from the position of Carroll County officials as one could get. Carroll County is not trying to take the farm.
I attended what appears to be the genesis of the misinformation; the December 14th, 2006 “Public Hearing ~ Carroll County Water & Sewerage Master Plan.”
The public hearing was poorly attended except for a couple of gentleman who politely and eloquently expressed concern for their property which seemed to be involved in the proposed reservoir. Anyone can understand that. However, assurances were made by county officials that they were sensitive to the concerns of the citizens.
Somehow, from there, the alarm was quickly spread that the county was about to begin “seizing” land for the project even though that has not been the practice and policy of past commissioners and there seems to be no indication by the present Carroll County Board of Commissioners to go in that direction.
But, the casual reader and any person seriously interested in this aspect of our national history could read certain news accounts and walk away with the impression that the pumpkin patch will cease to exist as a result of the reservoir project. This is not true.
In the Internet age, where news is 24/seven, there is an epidemic of misinformation getting legs and if it is repeated often enough “it becomes true.”
Folks who have been “had” by the great “seizing” conspiracy are in good company - with ah, count them, 12 members of Congress who wrote to the Carroll County Board of Commissioners on January 12th, 2007.
They wrote, in part;
“We are writing to express our support for continued preservation of an important National Historic Landmark located within Carroll County, known as Pipe Creek Farm. All steps must be taken to preserve the integrity of this property, having served as the home of a great patriot and noted author, Whittaker Chambers.”
So far – so good. From what I am aware of the attitude of Carroll County officials, they are also interested in “preserve(ing) the integrity of this property.”
So what is the problem?
It’s in the next paragraph:
“We understand that the Carroll County Commissioners are considering a water plan that includes the creation of a Union Mills reservoir which, if completed, would destroy a significant portion of this national treasure…”
The letter is signed by Members of Congress, Ros-Lehtine, Bartlett, Gilchrest, Mario Diaz-Balart, Wolf, Wilson, King, Bordallo (from Guam,) Feeney, Boozman, McCotter and Lincoln Diaz-Balart.
Well, it is true that the Commissioners are considering the creation of a Union Mills Reservoir. As has been considered since the mid 1970s when the City of Westminster first proposed the reservoir.
As I wrote on February 28th, 2007 in my Westminster Eagle column titled, “Recalling when B's Coffee Shoppe was all abuzz:”
In line with expanding the city's water supplies, in the mid-1970s, plans were made for Westminster to build another reservoir, this one to be located on Big Pipe Creek in Union Mills.
When the $5 million dollar reservoir was presented to the public, the public rose up in arms saying the city did not need the water and that the project was a waste of ratepayer money.
By September 1976, the project was shelved.
History, of course, has proven that the council was correct in pursuing the project and we would be in a lot different position today if it had been allowed to go forward.
However, fast forwarding to today, the waters of the proposed reservoir will hardly come within a mile of the present day unmarked location of the “pumpkin patch” which now rests in an otherwise nondescript field.
The Carroll County officials who are in a decision making role in this matter are keenly, and personally, interested in preserving the integrity of the site of the “pumpkin papers” – so it is simply baffling as to how this matter got all wound around the axles of misinformation.
Why didn’t the gang of 12 Congressmen contact Carroll County officials before they sent the letter? Every member of Congress who did contact Carroll County officials did NOT send a letter.
Unfortunately another one of the Congressman who has been “had” in this saga was Congressman Roscoe Bartlett who wrote to the Carroll County Board of Commissioners on January 3rd, 2007.
Congressman Bartlett wrote in part:
“It is my hope that the Commissioners of Carroll County will value, even treasure, this very special farm, that you will do all in your power to keep it whole, and protect its integrity for this and future generations to study and know.”
And here lies the really bizarre part of the story. Contrary to what is being circulated, the Union Mills reservoir project will add another layer of historic protection to the site of the “pumpkin papers,” which is already in agricultural preservation -- and preserve the site in perpetuity.
This is a good thing. The county wants a watershed protection easement which will concurrently give the site addition historic protection.
Click Here to See a PDF of a County Map Depicting the Historic Chambers Farm in Relation to the Proposed Union Mills Reservoir
The “lake” area of the Union Mills reservoir will only encompass approximately 325 acres. The balance of the 2,200 acres needed by the County that surround the “lake” are for the purposes of watershed protection. The county commissioners have reported that the county already owns 1500 acres of the needed watershed protection area – to be preserved in perpetuity.
Nevertheless, in situations like the Chambers Pipe Creek Farm, where the county can get a watershed protection easement on the property, rather than purchasing it, this is a good thing.
This watershed protection will add an additional layer of protection for the historic “pumpkin papers” site, which again, is almost a mile from the waterline.
In a response to Congressman Bartlett’s January 3rd, 2007 letter, which he penned in addition to the gang of twelve Congressmen’s January 12, 2007 letter, the Carroll County Board of Commissioners wrote on January 18th, 2007:
“With regard to the Pipe Creek Farm specifically, Carroll County has no intention of negatively impacting the field identified as the location of the famed “pumpkin patch” and has designed the reservoir in a way that minimizes impacts on the balance of the farm. Indeed, the impact anticipated by the planned reservoir… is limited to the northeastern edge of the farm where the Pipe Creek stream crosses the property.
The Pipe Creek farm is already protected from future residential development by easement sold to the Maryland Agricultural land Preservation Foundation (MALPF) in 2001. Carroll County has no interest in acquiring Pipe Creek Farm land for the purpose of constructing the reservoir beyond… the ‘normal pool level.’ We estimate this direct impact on the Pipe Creek farm to equal roughly 15.5 acres. The balance of the farm, approximately 346.5 acres, remains undisturbed and under the full control and ownership of its present owner…”
On a final note, the Union Mills reservoir was needed and should have been built in the 1970s. The need for water in Carroll County has been a basic health, safety, and welfare concern for public officials in Carroll County since the terrible drought of 2002.
To not go forward with the Union Mills reservoir would be an abrogation of one of the basic responsibilities of elected officials to Carroll County’s citizens. NIMBYism and misinformation cannot prevail.
In their January 18th, 2007 letter, the Carroll County Board of commissioners wrote:
“The need for a surface water supply for communities in northern Carroll County is real. We also believe that protecting and preserving nationally recognized sites of historic significance and irreplaceable farmland is equally important to our local, state and national well being.
Our reservoir concept, with minimal impact to the Pipe Creek Farm, satisfies both of these fundamental principles of government: protecting our past while planning for our future.”
Current Events, History, Chambers – Whittaker Chambers and the “Pumpkin Papers”, Examiner watch, History Carroll Co., Journalists, Maryland Blogger Alliance Blog Carnival, Newspapers, Volkmann watch, Water and Sewer
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