Look! Love Lock Lane is Live!
A few weeks ago the City of Pocahontas Parks and Recreation Department installed fencing that Lesmeister Guesthouse donated to create the Pocahontas Love Lock Lane at Black River Overlook Park. Though no official announcement was made, over 20 couples have already discovered the new addition to the park and installed their locks.
Love Locks are standard padlocks that couples engrave, or write on with permanent markers, listing their names, and sometimes their anniversary date. The lock is attached to the fence, then the key is thrown away, symbolizing the couple’s unbroken love.
I first saw love locks a few years ago when I visited Paris, France. The rails of the bridges over the River Seine there are covered with thousands and thousands of love locks. I thought it was a great idea, and wanted to bring it home to Pocahontas. After discussing the idea with Pocahontas Mayor Kary Story, he gave the go-ahead to make the installation. It’s a wonderful thing Pocahontas can now offer, to local residents and visitors as well.
Any padlock will work. The city Visitor Information Center in the old train depot at the edge of the park sells padlocks, and they have an engraving machine for permanently adding the names to the locks.