Dick Lawrence 

Board of Directors, Clerk ~1992 to 2022 

Richard “Dick” Lawrence served on the OARS Board of Directors for over 30 years, offering leadership and recordkeeping as the Board Clerk that helped shape and preserve the organization’s history. His connection to the rivers has always been personal, as the Assabet River runs through his backyard in Hudson. That connection led him to attend the very first O.A.R. meeting, which he remembers as “a picnic along the Assabet River at Wood Park,” after seeing a newspaper announcement about the newly formed organization. He attended with his wife, Patrice McCabe, who would serve as O.A.R.’s first secretary, marking the beginning of a decades-long family commitment to the rivers. 

Throughout his years of service, Dick’s most memorable project with OARS was the annual cleanup. Reflecting on his role, he says, “I managed the cleanups for Hudson and Stow until they were passed on to Julia Khorana. My daughter would take my video camera and record at the events.” Dick coordinated the logistics that made these cleanups possible, including “getting the flat-bottomed boat from US Fish and Wildlife” to haul debris collected from the water. When USFW no longer needed the boat, Patrice recalls that she and Dick “kept it in [their] backyard with other kayaks and canoes” until it was ready to be used again the following year. 

The cleanups themselves highlighted the rivers’ industrial past and revealed fascinating finds along the banks. As Dick shares, “There is a collection of photographs where you can see trash bags, car parts, washing machines,” and other debris pulled from the water. Tires were especially common, particularly near former auto factory sites. “There was a section of the river on Route 62 across from Damonmill. We collected about 250 tires there,” Dick said. On another occasion, volunteers removed “another 200 tires from the river.” For their total tire count, Dick says that “800 tires is the best estimate.”  

Further underscoring the area’s history of manufacturing, some discoveries were quite surprising. “Upstream from Horse Shoe Pub, we pulled old shoe leather out of the riverbank in perfect condition,” Dick recalls. The preserved leather was a legacy of a nearby shoe factory, where the dyeing process prevented the material from deteriorating.  Dick continues, “There was another section downstream from the Hudson Dam where people collected hundreds of old bottles. Some were antiques and were worth quite a lot to collectors.” Patrice remembers one particularly unusual sight: “A farmer had an old Volkswagen in the river with a pole sticking out of the sunroof,” which served as an anchor point for a cattle fence. Looking back on decades of work, Dick reflects, “We really made an impact…some of the trash had been there for a century.” 

Beyond cleanup efforts, Dick also contributed to projects that brought new experiences along the rivers. One of these was the Assabet River Rail Trail. As he explains, “Before the Rail Trail was its own 501(c)3, it was a subcommittee of O.A.R.” Working alongside landscape architect Jeff Richards and other community partners, the group helped guide the trail’s design and raise funds toward its completion, laying the groundwork for what would become a lasting regional asset. 

Dick’s steady presence as Board Clerk provided continuity to the organization throughout its history, including the transition from O.A.R. to OARS. Dick recorded all meeting minutes for over 25 years, which he maintained records of and later brought to the current OARS office to be retained. When he retired from OARS in 2022, his decades of dedication were recognized in a ceremony where he received recognition from Senator Jamie Eldridge and Representative Kate Hogan, alongside Julia Khorana, a fitting tribute to years spent caring for our rivers.