Children enjoy new playground

By Abe Winter

Friday, October 31, 2003 12:57 AM CST

RACINE - With schools closed for teachers convention, it only figured that children would flock to North Beach Playground.

After all, the grand opening was held last Sunday afternoon, and it looked like a wonderful place to spend part of the day.

"It's how to get them out of here that's the problem," said Pat Auchter as she watched two of her grandchildren - Sidney, 5, and Abigail, 3, daughters of Gary and Maude Buck - joyfully playing in the Tot Lot on Thursday morning. "They seem to like it."

They had been playing for an hour and were among about 60 children of all ages at the playground, albeit a day or two earlier than expected.

That's because the cleanup of the property hadn't been completed and co-chairmen Steve Smiley and Bob Oertel were concerned that children might end up playing on or near storage sheds.

The playground was surrounded by a snow fence, but apparently was opened by one of the parents who was bringing his child to play. The playground soon had a lot of activity and figured to be busier today and through the weekend.

"We think it's pretty safe, though," said Smiley, adding that he'd prefer all children at the site be under supervision by parents, grandparents or adult family friends.

Lachlan McDonald, 24, was there with his 22-month-old daughter, Chelsea.

"It's fantastic," said McDonald, a native of Australia who came to Wisconsin on an athletic scholarship as a racewalker at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. "I came in and helped build it, too."

Lachlan and his wife, Michelle, also 24, plan to bring Chelsea to the park often "as long as it doesn't get too cold."

Marybeth Zuhlke drove to Manitowoc to bring her 6-year-old granddaughter, Skye Van Lan Duyt, back to Racine to play at the playground.

"It's all brand new, grandma worked all last week on it," Zuhlke told Skye. "I'm showing her what I painted, so it's really special for us."

Zuhlke was especially proud of the rubber chips that form the "floor" of the Tot Lot.

"The rubber chips are unique, so children who have asthma or are handicapped can use it," she said. "It's a positive safety factor."

Jim Moes, 36, had his three children - Will, 3; Drew, 5, and James, 7 - at the playground.

"It's fantastic, something we definitely needed here," Moes said. "This is a wonderful spot for it. I helped build it and we had some friends from Illinois come in and help build it, too."

Also on Thursday, a special tree-planting took place. A Bosnian pine was placed in the sand to the east of the project, courtesy of those involved in the Integrated Day Services Program as part of Career Industries, Inc.

"Throughout the month they're doing random acts of kindness," said Marlene Salley, director of marketing and public relations for Career Industries. "They do quite a bit of work in the community."

More work to do Although the playground already is seeing considerable activity, it's a long way from completion. Some of the work will be done before winter, some not until next May.

What's left to do? The biggest item is the boardwalk that would connect the playground to the North Beach Oasis without forcing children to walk through the parking lot and across the street to go to the bathrooms. There's enough lumber for 350 feet, but it's 600 feet from the playground to the Oasis.

More painting and laying of bricks and tiles will be forthcoming, probably as part of a two-day work detail next spring.

That's why the fund-raising continues with the sale of tiles, bricks and pickets. So far, only 50 of about 2,000 bricks, 120 of 500 tiles and 200 of 2,000 pickets have been sold.

Although the work continues this week, there isn't a clamor for more volunteers at this time. Work crews will be needed later on the project site to the north of Barker Street and east of Michigan Boulevard.

The volunteer count at the playground it surpassed 1,800 and may have approached 2,000 between Oct. 17-22.

Emily Papara said 673 signed in Saturday on Make a Difference Day, but that didn't include many school children or Girls Scouts who helped out. More than 1,000 signed in from Tuesday through Friday.

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