Addison Park District Uses Unemployed

A federal grant to purchase trees and shrubs for Community Park West, while giving four previously unemployed people several weeks of work is being utilized by the Addison Park District.

The $29,444 landscaping grant was received from the U.S. Small Business Administration this past summer. Ten percent of the money came from local funds. The grant is designed to provide short-term jobs for the unemployed and help the nursery industry which has been hard hit by the decline in housing starts in recent years.

The money is being used by the Addison Park District to plant 205 trees and 300 shrubs in Community Park West. The district is also regrading and laying sod in certain areas of the park to slow water which is eroding the soil.

The Addison Park District is one of only 40 recipients of the grant among 273 applicants.

Standing near some of the 205 trees planted by Addison Park District (left to right) are: Karl Pfeiffer, Project Supervisor; Roman Strzala, Park District President; Illinois House Minority Leader Lee Daniels; and Park Superintendent, Marvin Wolf.

Illinois Parks and Recreation 16 November/December 1983