Reasons Why #4 - Creative Community Playground

In the spring of 1995, a group of community leaders, elected officials, a corporate playground construction company, and a bunch of elementary and middle schools sat in a room at Crystal River Middle School. The playground company presented a plan to build a community playground in Crystal River. This playground would benefit the entire community, be built of recycled and donated materials, and be constructed with the blood sweat and tears of the community. To ensure that the children of the community would utilize this playground – they sought our opinion.
In the spring of 1995 I was in that meeting and throughout the fall of 1995 I assisted in building that playground. Initially getting involved seemed like an easy way to get some of the needed community service hours I would need to graduate high school, but the further into the process we (the group of friends and I who worked on the project) really began to have fun. If my memory serves me correctly it only took a few weekends of construction work after months of planning to construct. Until recently I just chalked it up to another life experience, an ice breaker perhaps. How many people do you know who have built a playground?
Now it’s so much more than that. Not only is it in my direct line of sight from my new office digs, it’s now my daughter’s favorite place to go to. Surreal defined. If you would have told me 14 years ago in that planning meeting that the playground we were about to construct would one day be a favorite play spot of my 4 year old daughter I probably would have laughed you out of the room. (My life plan at that time only involved having sons.)
Having spent many recent afternoons at the Creative Playground, I realized it holds a spot on my list of reasons why I love Citrus County. True there are playgrounds in every town across this county, but not like this. And trust me; I’ve seen hundreds of playgrounds. This playground was a concerted effort of a community that cared enough about its children to pull together and create a unique place specifically for them. I had always been proud to be apart of its birth but now I’m beaming that I’m around to enjoy it in its maturity.