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Memorial Day in the
Treaty City
By Bob Rhoades
The beginning of spring, the pool is open, people in the park that’s
the way I remember it. During my last two years of High School I
worked in the park after school and on weekends readying the park for
the 100’s of people who enjoy our park every year.
So on Memorial Day this year, I drove to the park to see what this year
would bring. Right on cue there were people fishing in just about
every pond in the park. OK, people need to eat. The shelter
houses were less than full and some of the enclosed ones weren’t open
at all. Hmm! Can’t afford gas to come here. The Round House stood
vacant as it has for a while.
The next thing I saw was kids walking up from the Creek. Then I
saw kids swimming in the creek under the Swinging Bridge. Then I
saw kids walking down the middle of the creek. In all three
places there were probably a total of 15 kids. The picture isn’t
the greatest but you get the point.
I would think that the opening of the pool would be based on need, what
the temperature is, and the fact that there is a holiday. If the
answer to any of them is “well they don’t come to the park like they
used to,” that’s pretty sad. However for every action there is an
equal and opposite reaction. Let’s see, Round House not open,
people not in the shelter houses, pool not open. Which is the
chicken and which is the egg? Bottom line is in the next
picture. Mercer Savings Bank said at the time it was 95.
Second National downtown said it was only 89. Who’s counting? The
first picture in this opinion and the last picture are the only things
that count, kids in the creek and no one of authority saw them and the
pool door shut.
Come on Park Board! Archaic as you are, you have to know that there are
monthly weather reports. Even the Farmer’s Almanac said it was
going to be 88 today and 92 tomorrow, HOT it said. There is the
National Weather Service that gives free forecasts, especially to
government entities. On Channel 7’s news tonight, they showed
kids in Kettering playing in a “water park”. It’s a poured piece
of concrete with water shooting out of holes in the ground. A
slab of concrete with water shooting out of it solved the whole problem
and it needed no life guard. I think I would have gone in that!
I saw kids in the creek last year, right where the big culvert comes
out from up north. They hang on the grate over the culvert and
jump backwards. There’s even a nice stairway down to it from a
pump that fills or did fill the big pond. Wonder if they’ll be
there next year? For my money, perhaps the park board could buy
the Fire Dept. a rescue boat. If this keeps up, it’ll probably
come in handy.
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