By Anne Paulsen, Martha Moore, and Heli Tomford with contributions from neighbors Nanny Almquist, Jacquie Dow, and other Belmont friends and committee colleagues who knew and worked with Joan Campbell.
When Joan Louise Campbell died on December 15, 2016, Belmont lost a citizen whose life exemplified devotion to her community, especially its open spaces. Joan moved to Belmont with her parents in the late 1930s, and except for some years working as a librarian in Seattle, she lived in the same Prospect Street home for most of her 92 years. We are honoring Joan Campbell because of her involvement in town affairs and for her philanthropy. Joan left a bequest of $330,000 to Belmont to benefit Lone Tree Hill, the town-owned conservation land on historic Wellington Hill, adjacent to McLean Hospital and Highland Cemetery.
Almost to the end of her long life, Joan was an involved community activist in Belmont. She was a longtime member of the local League of Women Voters (LWV), acting as its liaison to the state LWV, and used that position to inform our community of state actions for fair housing. Joan was a regular contributor to the Fair Practices Newsletter, a publication on fair housing issues in Belmont and statewide. Between 1966 and 1968, she was president of the Belmont League of Women Voters and continued as an active member for decades. She also served in leadership in the Belmont Garden Club, as a Town Meeting member, and as a patron and advocate for the Belmont Public Library.
When the town was informed in 1996 by McLean Hospital that it wished to develop much of its property, Joan stepped to the forefront of the McLean Open Space Alliance, a citizens’ group organized to preserve as much of the extensive open space on the property as possible. With her characteristically indefatigable spirit, she expressed her concerns about excessive development on land that many local citizens, with hospital permission, had become accustomed to using for walking, birding, and cross-country skiing in winter. Joan understood the value of the forested areas, open meadows, and areas of water in providing habitats for wildlife as part of the Western Greenway, and for their importance to current and future residents.
Already in her seventies then, Joan’s proactive stance, along with deep knowledge of her local community and the natural world in general, was invaluable to the conservation effort. She diligently gathered information from many different sources, attended meetings with developers, and spoke up when the opportunities arose. One McLean Open Space Alliance member recalls Joan “as a diminutive person with strong opinions which she was not reticent to express.”
Pine Allee, Lone Tree Hill. Source: Tree Specialists, Inc.
Those of us who knew Joan remember her as an independent and determined woman. When her car succumbed to old age, she declared she would walk instead or use public transportation. Wearing her signature black raincoat and hiking boots, with a pack on her back, Joan walked long distances to shop or to the various meetings she attended day or evening (only occasionally accepting a ride home if one went late). Among many other interests, Joan was an ardent birder. While walking, she often sported a pair of binoculars around her neck to seize any opportunity to spot a resident or visiting bird.
A smart and capable person, Joan recognized the importance not only of the acquisition of open space for future generations but also of the critical need to maintain land for wildlife habitat and for residents to enjoy through passive recreation. With the town’s acquisition of Lone Tree Hill came ownership responsibilities and the necessity to find funding for annual maintenance requirements such as mowing to preserve meadow areas and dead-tree removal along with ongoing site care to eliminate invasive species, refresh the Pine Allee, and provide safe trails.
Today, the town’s Land Management Committee for Lone Tree Hill oversees the site. This committee of nine includes representatives from the town and McLean Hospital and a representative from the Trustees of the Reservations. Upkeep of the property is supported by rent payments from the cable tower on site and both funding and volunteering by local groups.
Joan Campbell’s generous gift helps ensure good stewardship for Lone Tree Hill. More than just a contribution, her bequest serves as inspiration for citizen participation in protecting and maintaining a community’s natural resources.
Joan’s vision played out on a cold day at Lone Tree Hill this past January. Cross-country skiers were sailing along, people were walking their pets, other walkers were enjoying the landscape, and lots of children were tumbling down slopes on their saucers. What better ways to cope with the difficulties of our times? We are grateful to Joan and thank her for leading the way in preserving and maintaining Lone Tree Hill, reminding all of us of our responsibilities to our town and its historic properties.
Anne Paulsen is a long-time resident of Belmont and served on the School Committee, the Board of Selectmen, and as the representative from the 24th Middlesex District in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Martha Moore is a Town Meeting member, former member of the Conservation Committee, and an advocate for open space. Heli Tomford is a Town Meeting member and advocate for open space.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.