DEXTER, Maine — For many in the area, Dexter’s public beach on Lake Wassookeag used to be one of the town’s most popular spots.
"I’m in my 50s now, but us kids we all took swimming lessons here, so it was buzzing. You know, there were 50 kids in the water every day," Frank Spizuoco said, a Dexter native and organizer of "Save the Beach."
But for years, visitors have been declining, and the water has stayed relatively empty. Those who used to frequent the beach, like Corinna resident Alisha Davis, said several things kept her from bringing her family.
"There was a lot of riffraff, bad language, I mean trash everywhere," Davis said.
That is until Spizuoco and the Dexter Development Association decided something needed to be done.
"We put some ideas together and we created a site plan. We hired Haley Ward to kind of put everything on paper so people can get a visual look of what we want to do and what we can use for fundraising," Spizuoco said.
And since those plans were drawn up, Dexter residents and Mainers alike have been coming together to save the beach.
Like Manda Stewart and her lifeguard staff from the Piscataquis Regional YMCA, who are working to improve water safety.
"We’re bringing swim lessons here to the beach and the Dexter Development Association is going to be paying for those as well, so we’ll have YMCA swim instructors here twice a week all summer long," Stewart said.
Piscataquis Regional YMCA lifeguards will also be stationed at the beach from noon to 4 p.m. seven days a week.
Dexter Town Manager Trampus King has been attending cleanups organized by Spizuoco and said the amount of community support has been amazing.
"The first day we did it, I think we had 60 people here working on things. Trimming branches up, raking, just moving things around," King said.
King added he is working with the Dexter Development Association to possibly add a pavilion to the beach which he hopes will allow for events like small concerts.
For longtime Dexter residents, like Town Councilor Andrew Bermúdez, these changes and possible additions have sparked a newfound appreciation for the beach.
"A lot of times when you live close to something you forget what you have and when you can revitalize it, it brings it back to life," Bermúdez said.
What once was a beach described as being covered in trash is back to being the popular family vacation spot it used to be.