Freedom—December 21, 2025—How does this year compare to past years on the lake? As we prepare our annual summary of this year’s news, here are some of the stories that were making waves 20 years ago.
Alliance volunteer June D’Andrea and professional diver Cliff Cabral, right, with other members of the first diving team to remove milfoil from the lake.
In 2005 the Alliance sponsored the first effectiveness study of hand-pulling milfoil by professional divers. DES and the Town of Ossipee split the $10,000 cost. The use of divers would go on to become a standard option for milfoil control plans—as would the model of sharing costs with the State.
The grassroots group Focus: Tamworth received help from Ossipee State Representative Dave Babson. He said “developers and special interests” were behind Tamworth’s loss of control over a proposed racetrack on Mt. Whittier. The track eventually opened, but not for another 13 years—and only after the town revoked its wetlands ordinance to pave the way.
Freedom took ownership of 2,660 acres of clear-cut land that was previously slated for development as an upscale housing development and airstrip. Selectman Les Babb predicted a long recuperation process. “We have to help it come back,” he said of what is now the Freedom Town Forest.
Freedom voters directed the Select Board to revoke its controversial approval of winter camping at condominiumized Totem Pole Park if it could not figure out how to prevent owners from obtaining town residency. The issue arose after a State judge sided with five TPP residents who applied to vote in Freedom.
Jean Hansen said Ossipee’s taxes on lake properties like hers were too high. Selectman Harry Merrow agreed.
The beach-in-a-natural area story took flight in 2005 after Ossipee voters approved seed money to study State Representative Harry Merrow’s plan for a town beach on State land. More than a year of acrimonious debate took place before the plan was abandoned.
“Among the Bears” author Ben Kilham spoke to a large crowd of children and parents in August about his work rescuing and raising orphaned bear cubs. The Alliance sponsored the Freedom Old Home Week event as part of its “Tales of Ossipee Lake” presentations held outdoors in a tent at Calumet Conference Center.
“There is a major turnover on Long Sands Road,” said Jean Hansen about her neighbors, who were leaving the lake because of town property taxes. Ossipee Selectman Harry Merrow conceded that he too left the lake because of taxes. Hansen and her neighbor, George Eisener, led a tax revolt that produced huge abatements for Long Sands residents the following year.
The Dam Bureau said there would be full drawdown of the lake immediately after Labor Day for dam maintenance. Officials later conceded it was so property owners could work on their shoreline. “If they’re going to drain the lake [early] for five people, maybe we ought to find a better way to do this,” said Representative Dave Babson. The actual number of shoreline work permits was four.
Boaters panicked but got their boats out by mid-September. It was just luck, but the early drawdown spared a disaster. The lake was dead-low at 403.5′ on October 8. Two days later the lake rose by six feet—to 409.6’—due to heavy rain. It kept raining and there was flood damage, but not the catastrophic damage that would have resulted had there not been an early drawdown that fall.
In a Smart Report post, Bob Smart called October “a month of tricks and treats for the lake’s water level.” As New Year’s Day approached, he said things had finally settled down. “Christmas on Broad Bay was quiet,” he wrote. “Only one snowmobile on Saturday afternoon.”
An early lake drawdown closed Lakefront Landing early in the season. Days later the lake rose by six feet and inundated these buildings.
Seems like yesterday. Thank you!
Just a minor clarification. It was not Eisener who led a tax revolt. Although, he did submit an editorial to a local newspaper about the comical assessments being levied by the town against lakefront property owners. Three members of the BLBA led the charge. Many hours were spent collecting reams of data, summarizing a coherent argument and ultimately retaining a lawyer to battle the town and state. The plan to file a class action suit was the goal. We could prove that our property assessments were well above market value. We had the data to prove our case. The town of Ossipee opposed a class action suit. A lower court agreed with the town. The BLBA appealed to the NH State Supreme Court only to be told that they did not want to hear the case. The only option left to the property owners was to each file our own cases independently. The town nor the judges could then keep us out of court. It was at that point that the town finally conceded, and long overdue abatements were granted not to just Long Sands but all around the lake.
What’s really funny about your post though is that “Harry Merrow conceded that lakefront taxes are too high”. He was one of the selectmen, at the time of our tax battle, that had absolutely no concern about the abhorrent property assessments being levied on the lakefront property owners. The arrogance and utter disregard for fairness was on full display when we initially presented our case to the Ossipee selectmen. Many of us overpaid tens of thousands of dollars that we were never able to recover. It’s an incident that stings to this day.
Thank you for the additional context and info.
Thank for posting my historical summary of the “tax revolt”. It is my intention to try and inform the people of Ossipee how the town and judicial branch of NH swindled hundreds of thousands of dollars from the lakefront property owners of Lake Ossipee. Keep in mind that Freedom shares the lake with Ossipee, but they did not engage in the over assessment and taxation of its lake front residents.
It is easy as time goes by and as the population turns over for the history to be forgotten. I will continue to try and remind everyone of that history as long as I can. The hope is that the voters bear the history in mind anytime they need to vote for selectman.