AREA — As spring transitions into warm summery days, people are starting to flock to local recreational areas with fishing poles in hand, leaving masks behind in their cars. For some, enjoying the setting sun over a Maine lake on a park bench brings no fear of the ongoing pandemic, whereas others still find themselves taking precautions to enjoy an outdoor activity.  

Livermore residents Keyana Benson, 18, and Evan Dow, 17, were cautiously enjoying their first dip of the season in Brettuns Pond now that Benson’s parents have eased up on some social distancing restrictions. 

“At first, I wasn’t allowed to see anybody and it kinda sucked, but now that the first order ended, my parents are just like, ‘make sure you’re careful and make sure you choose kids that are responsible and healthy before you hang out with them,’” Benson said.

She chose to avoid the pond’s small sandy beach where a couple of people were congregating and instead, elected to swim around a more secluded and rocky area to minimize her contact with others. Dow felt less anxious about being in close proximity with strangers, but said that his parents have allowed him to leave the house more.

“I don’t really feel nervous about anything,” Dow said while dipping his feet in the water.

Nonetheless, Dow said that he keeps a mask in his car at all times and that he does worry about potentially exposing his grandfather. Benson said she would continue to use caution and wasn’t sure if she would frequent local lakes and ponds over the summer if she saw large groups of people since her father already has a compromised immune system.

East Wilton resident Lisa Smith sat on a bench overlooking Wilson Lake with very little concern about seeing people while enjoying the outdoors.

“I’m not an anxious person, I believe in god and I believe in prayer,” Smith said.

While she recognized that people should practice social distancing, she did not see the need to cover her face with a mask when going for a walk or to a public park.

“I guess I feel like I trust my own instincts better than I do the government mandate. I still want to be safe and do what I’m supposed to do,” Smith said with a crossword booklet in her hand.

Just a few benches down from Smith sat Zach McCarthy and Haily Kaminsky who were relaxing by the lake after a hike to Small Falls. The two have been frequenting trails and recreational areas throughout the stay-at-home order for daily exercise.  

“I feel like there’s a lot of shaming going on for people being outside which I don’t think is right or fair. I think people getting out responsibly is important and not shaming people for doing the things they love to do,” McCarthy said.

Zach McCarthy (left) and Haily Kaminsky sit on a bench overlooking Wilson Lake in Wilton with no anxiety about enjoying a public space during the pandemic. Andrea Swiedom/Franklin Journal

Both Kaminsky and McCarthy said they are cautious when going out in public by keeping masks in their car and even wipes and disinfectant spray. However, they don’t anticipate feeling anxiety about frequenting recreational areas during the summer. 

“I don’t really get anxiety from it. Whenever I go somewhere inside, I will of course always wear a mask, and that doesn’t really bother me at all,” Kaminsky said. “It doesn’t really bother me when there’s more than ten people outside.”

16 year old Austen Bernard of Rumford expressed a little more concern about being in public spaces while he fished with a friend on the edge of the boat launch at Round Pond.

“I always carry a mask with me because you never really know. You never really know if you’re going to catch something,” Bernard said.

Austen Bernard (left) and Milek Kelley spend a sunny afternoon fishing at Round Pound in Livermore. Andrea Swiedom/Franklin Journal

The two teenagers specifically chose Round Pond because they assumed it would be fairly vacant of other people. Bernard wasn’t sure if he would frequent recreational areas throughout the summer if he didn’t think he could maintain a safe distance from others. He even feared a summer spike of COVID-19 cases.

“I feel like if it just keeps escalating then more and more businesses and activities and stuff like that are going to end up getting shut down, even like camping sites,” Bernard said while casting his line.

Currently, the town of Livermore does not have any restrictions on recreational areas, but administrative assistant Amy Byron did say that it was a topic that will be addressed at future selectboard meetings.