MARYSVILLE GOLD MUCH TARNISHED

The choice of this filmed bit was deliberate. While it may not contain all of the points to qualify, for MOI it works, and makes one think 'film noir'. Have no clue who the film maker be or even still local, but found on YOUTUBE and even added to me list. Pray watch the film and read on.

Ellis Lake, located in Marysville, Ca., has been much in the news of late. I thought it be a good time to show some of the things found out about this man-made lake. Wikipedia has this to report on Ellis Lake;

Located in Marysville, California, Ellis Lake has been the most memorable centerpeice of in the City of Marysville since the 1930s. It is a sparkling man-made lake surrounded by lush greenery and sidewalks with flocks of geese and a variety of other birds. Feeding the geese has been a recreational activity enjoyed by the Yuba Sutter Area at the lake for years as well as pedal boating and fishing. The lake is bounded by 9th street to the South, B Street to the East, 14th Street to the North and D Street to the West.
Ellis Lake was once an unsightly swamp. It wasn't until 1924 that the Women's Improvement Club of Marysville commissioned Robbie McLaren, famed designer of the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, to turn the swamp into a beautiful lake. The project was completed in 1939. The lake, named for Marysville citizen W.T. Ellis, Jr. offers a pleasant walk, picnic areas, fishing and pedal boats.
On October 20, 2002 a car was found at the bottom of the lake, in seven feet of water. Inside the car was the skeletal body of Mary Jane Gooding. It is believed by police that Mary Jane Gooding, accidentally drove her husband's car into the lake on October 10, 1981. It is believed by her children that she was a victim of foul play.
For decades, Ellis Lake hosted a 4th of July celebration every year, an event that is composed throughout the day of power boat and cardboard boat races (youths build boats out of cardboard and duct tape, trying to cross the lake without sinking). An annual fireworks display was cancelled in 2004 after a young girl lost part of her leg due to a rogue firework shot from the island in the center of the lake into the gathered crowd. That year they had twice as many fireworks than usual, which made shooting the fireworks more difficult and dangerous. The lawsuit finally closed 11 months later when the California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection released a report stating that mortar shells burst low into the crowd onto the other side of the lake from Gazebo Island.

Like so much in life, the above entry does not tell the whole story. What was once 'golden' be not so 'golden' of late. Lake Ellis has fallen on hard time, hard times being blamed on the lack of coin in the public purse. I am getting ahead of self. Allow some comments found on the INTERNET to colour the rosey picture painted by the Wikipedia entry.

"Ellis lake is always dirty and stinks. It seems as though the birds have taken over the lake, from the lawns, to the pathways and side walks there is bird crap everywhere. The water looks discusting and dirty. Every once in a while you will come across a dead smelly fish on the sidewalk that someone decided not the throw back. Overall this could be a nice place to relax if there wasn't crap everywhere."

"Dirty and dangerous, geese wise by day and vagrants by nights. 'YOU'RE IN SCARYSVILLE!!!', said a vagrant man who recently chased me out of the ellis lake vicinity.
Dirty meaning a car containing the dead body of a woman who went missing was recently found in only seven feet of water...after TWENTY YEARS."

"Ellis Lake is one of those places that could be really peaceful and relaxing, but people trash it. The amount of trash there is obscene. That said, I still go for early morning jogs around the lake from time to time and the other exercisers are really friendly. I see parents taking their children there to feed the birds and a lot of people fishing. It would be great if we could get a local cleanup going -- the lake needs it!"

"If Marysville has a trademark location, Ellis Lake is pretty much it.
The lake is tranquil and inviting by day, although roving bands of geese have been known to attack.
The water is filthy, and the shores are loaded with slippery rock walls, so you won't want to get in the lake.
Avoid Ellis Lake at night. It's a magnet for transients, drug users and shifty people."

Whatever Ellis Lake once was, it has fallen on mean times. Much of the former glory of this attraction has been reduced. DEAD BIRDS and horrid water do not make for a pleasant experience. Local officials at Silly Hall place much of the blame on lack of cash.

It would seem to me, that allowing the lake to revert to the horrid thing it once was is stupid. Keeping Ellis Lake clean and safe is duty of local government. This be one of the things not allowed to suffer.

More's the pity that Silly Hall in Marysville does not grasp what is truly important to maintain....