Meet Your Neighbor: Kiwanis continue park projects
FREMONT - Without Kiwanis, the outdoors wouldn’t be nearly as fun in Fremont.
In 2002, the Kiwanis Club of Fremont installed five playgrounds around the city: at Rodger Young Park, Walsh Park, Anderson Field, Birchard Park and Biggs-Kettner Park. In 2021, they installed the Kiwanis Play Park, an inclusive playground, next to the existing playground at Rodger Young.
This year, the group constructed a shelter house at Rodger Young to tie the two playgrounds together.
Tom Bowlus, Kiwanis member and Play Park committee member, said playground construction is just another way of improving the lives of local children.
“Kiwanis International focuses on serving the children of the world,” Bowlus said. “One of their mottos is, ‘Improving the world one child and one community at a time.’ We feel playgrounds fit really well with that mission, and we saw a need for them.”
Kiwanis included an inclusive park for children of all abilities
The inclusive Kiwanis Play Park was built to inspire connection between children of all abilities, and the new shelter house helps tie the two playgrounds together to create a massive recreation area for families.
“I’ve been to inclusive playgrounds where there seems to be separate equipment for kids with special needs. That’s not what we wanted. We wanted equipment that all kids would use together,” Bowlus said.
The plan worked. On any given day, crowds of children of all abilities play together at the two playgrounds at Rodger Young.
“The Play Park has been fantastic. The city told us the number of kids there has increased dramatically since it was constructed,” Bowlus said.
The Play Park committee includes Bowlus, Jodi Albright, Mike Jay and Bob Gross, who serves as the economic development director for the City of Fremont. Gross is in a unique position to recognize the parks’ impact on children and on the community at large.
“The playgrounds have been a big asset, and they are one more selling point I use with families considering moving to Fremont,” Gross said. “I drove by the Play Park and new shelter house yesterday, and it was jam-packed with people. Kiwanis is committed to kids and development and growth, so it was great to see kids getting out and playing. It was exciting seeing all the donations and planning and work come to fruition.”
Community donated to new shelter house
The new Rodger Young shelter house was made possible due to community generosity. Concrete for the structure was paid for with a grant from Sandusky County Community Foundation and the fundraising efforts of Kiwanis Club of Fremont, the City of Fremont and Sandusky County Board of Developmental Disabilities.
All of the supplies and labor for the construction of the shelter house was donated by BSE Welding and Fabricating, LLC and owner Chris Daniel.
“Chris is a client of mine and a friend of mine, and he knows the mayor (Danny Sanchez) really well. The mayor approached him and asked if he would like to give back to the city, and he said yes,” Bowlus said. “This is the exact same structure BSE built at the former dam site.”
Future plans for the shelter house and playground include donor recognition signage, handicapped-accessible picnic tables, and new trash receptacles. A second, existing shelter house near the playground will get a facelift later this summer.
On May 23, several families enjoyed the Play Park, including Carla Hammer of Fremont and her son, 3-year-old Tyler Nutter.
“This is our first time here. It’s really nice. There are a lot of different things to try,” Hammer said. “It’s very safe and very clean, and my son is obviously super happy. We’ll definitely be back.”
Contact correspondent Sheri Trusty at sheritrusty4@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Meet Your Neighbor: Kiwanis add shelter house to inclusive playground
