Beach lures visitors on summer’s hottest days

SHARON — With the start of Region One schools just 11 days away (on Monday, Aug. 31), it is that somewhat sad time of year when summer is coming to an end and the public beach at Mudge Pond will soon close until next year. Here’s a look back at what was happening at the beach this past summer.

The Little Rascals Day camp returned for its 31st year, with numbers about the same as in recent years.

Although the summer wasn’t exactly a scorcher (until last week), the campers swam daily and participated in theme days such as a tie-dye day.

Use of the beach by residents was down for the second straight year. According to Town Hall, only 476 beach stickers were purchased in 2015, compared to 493 in 2014 and 559 in 2013.

Lifeguards working at the beach mentioned that on the few really hot days of the summer the beach was packed, with almost all the space on the sand taken up by blankets and towels.

There were also a few sightings of the Mudge Pond snapping turtle, nicknamed Jaws, but no incidents involving swimmers were reported.