Damage at Bucky Boyle Park
I visited Bucky Boyle Park this past Sunday, November 8th, and I am happy to report that children were there playing and enjoying themselves on some of the equipment that was unscathed by the arson fire of Thursday, November 5th. Their parents were there as well and while I saw smiling faces and heard the noises of children cheerfully at play ring across the macadam and out into the still ball fields, I took notice of the parents' expressions as they walked by the melted hole in the ground.
They seemed to be pondering the same questions I was asking myself. Who would do this and why? While we may, some day, know the answer as to who set the playground equipment at Bucky Boyle ablaze, I suspect we will never really know why.
Photo by Letitia E. Minnick
I can tell you that Sunday, November 8, 2009 was a day of sharp contrast. While at one Allentown park, children and parents alike pondered the "why" of a random destructive act, the parents, children, and volunteers of a neighboring community took action to help another Allentown park.
Sunday was cleanup day at the Old Fairgrounds Park, located at 5th and Liberty Streets. The ring of children's voices was in the air here, as well. These children were working, rather than playing, but for children the difference is sometimes semantic, isn't it? Volunteers showed up from Friends of Allentown Parks, (represented by Capri Roth and others), Dubbs UCC, Temple Beth El, Old Fairgrounds Neighborhood Association, and a college student named Andrew Kleiner, who is a real friend to Allentown's parks.
While I was there, I couldn't help but think of community, and what an organized and caring community means, not only to our parks system, but to us as well. The community surrounding Bucky Boyle is united in their outrage against the vandalism of their park and in their determination not to be turned away by a senseless act of violence.
After all, it is this sense of community that brings us together, to share something as simple and wonderful as a day at the park. It is a sense of community stronger than misdirected aggression and broader than the streets that border our neighborhoods and the boundaries of race, religion, or creed that border our lives.
Photo by Letitia E. Minnick
Comments
Great article! Community is what it is all about. It is really good to see the kids volunteering to help too... the more they feel a part of the park, the more they make it their own, the better the chances of continuing a legacy of respect and love for the park system as a whole. Maybe if whoever torched the playset at Buckey Boyle had felt more connected to the park, he or she wouldn't have wanted so much to destroy it.
Kudos to the kids helping at Old Fairgrounds!
Awesome write up, parks are and should be a Community project. Getting the kids involved in a Community activity like this will definately help them to choose to do the right things, not only with helping the up-keep of our parks but also being busy with constructive, and positive things to do in the Community.
There are more good people in Allentown than most people realize. Most people and especially children, and young adults need to feel needed and able to make a difference, even in small ways. So glad someone brings that to our attention. I pity the vandals. Is that all their lives consist of? Negativity and destruction?
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