Vachon's Wildlife Sanctuary

Backgrounder: Tita Laling, a 1st cousin of my mom, is married to Kenneth Vachon from Leominster, MA since 1988. They have a son named Joseph “Joe” Edmour Vachon who is now 13 years old.

For 40 years, the Vachon family has operated Grandview Country Club. Uncle Kenny said it was never easy being a greens keeper… you start from 2AM till 2PM everyday. They think they had enough and so they shut down the golf course on November 2001.

They have then decided to make the former Grandview Country Club into a wildlife sanctuary. Uncle Kenny and his family has donated 148 acres of land for wildlife… a home for black bears, moose, hawks, deer, red foxes, beavers, coyotes and other kinds of birds. Charles Wyman, a representative of the Audubon Society said they are very grateful for this gift. This land will forever be protected and preserved, he added.

I remember when we had to make a trail for this land. Uncle Kenny was cutting down the small trees using a chainsaw. Tita Laling, Joe and I had to pick those up and throw on the sides and put a pink ribbon to mark the trail. It was an extraordinary experience for me. I had fun! I even saw the trails which the American Indians did hundreds of years back.

Furthermore, they have renovated the 2-storey building which they plan to rent out for weddings and other events next spring. Uncle Kenny, Pepey (Irish term for grandfather), Tita Laling, his brother Uncle Dennis, his friend Tim, and David have worked so hard for this project. They have just started when I came to the country more than 4 years ago. I was a witness to everything they did. I recall Tita Laling saying she didn’t even think she could paint. She has just done so many things she thought is impossible for her to do. Uncle Kenny can actually hire a contractor to do the job but… he just has this “passion” which maybe not many of us have.

The party they hosted on October 7th to introduce Vachon’s Wildlife Sanctuary was a fun-filled event full of support from friends including the mayor and the ex-mayor. The flowers for the centerpieces were gorgeous. Their planner Erin did a great job. Food was good. The Mariachi Band performed really well that the people really had fun listening to and dancing with them.

Two thumbs up to the Vachon family!

Click here for more photos…

And for some articles from their local paper…
Worcester Telegram and Gazette News…

Sentinel And Enterprise…