Park District essay and drawing grand prize contest winners, posing with project coordinator Doug Emery (left) and Park Board member Frankie Banks, are (from left): Stephani Martin, second grade East Side School; Romina Neal, seventh grade Malan; Julie Hathaway, freshman High School; Tina Mcllrath, fifth grade Independence and Sandy Foster, fifth grade West Side School. Each received a $50 savings bond as reward for their efforts. (Register photo—Bob Bondurant)

Kids tell what they like about their parks

The Harrisburg Park District received rave reviews from some of the most stalwart park visitors—kids. A story published in the Harrisburg Daily Register gives a sampling of school children's views about their parks.

By Bob Bondurant

What do people like best about their park district?

Well, if they're students in Harrisburg Unit 3, the answer seems to be just about everything.

In recently completed essay and drawing contests, students at all Harrisburg schools gave reasons for why they liked the Harrisburg Park District.

One grand prize winner, who received a $50 savings bond, was selected from each of the following schools: East Side, West Side, Independence, Malan Junior High and Harrisburg High School, Faculty at each school evaluated and judged the students' work.

At the East Side School, second grader Stephani Martin won the grand prize for her picture of the park.

The other grand prize winners were essayists.

Romina Neal, seventh grader at Malan, likes the park district "because it shows that if people of all colors and races work together, they can make something beautiful."

Tina McIlrath, fifth grade Independence, won the grand prize there for writing, "I go to the lagoon on early mornings, smell the flowers and feel the breeze on my face as I swing. I love the park."

At the high school, freshman Julie Hathaway put her 25 words to use in a poem to describe why she likes the park district:

Horshoes, waterslide, volleyball and running,
Fishing, softball, day camp and sunning,
Picnics in the park,
Baseball under lights,
Tennis at night
... a summer's delight.

And at West Side School, fifth-grader Sandy Foster's memories of a family picnic were the basis of her winning essay. She wrote, "The whole family threw a party at the park for my grandma. She was surprised and everyone took pictures.

Illinois Parks and Recreation 37 September/October 1984

(Reprinted from the Harrisburg Daily Register)

Everybody played baseball. We had so much fun. We didn't even know what time it was."

But a lot more students than that had feelings about the park. In their essays, the children noted the cleanliness of the parks, the peacefulness, the playgrounds, the lagoon, the swimming pool, and just about every activity available to them. All the other winners received 50th anniversary T-shirts.

"When I'm at my park district, I can lay by a tree and daydream, and I like to play on the swings and sliding boards," wrote Becky Crowder, fifth grade, Independence.

Ecologically-minded Kathleen Johnson, sixth grade Independence, likes the park district "because it is the one place I can go and not have to see very much pollution."

Just to show everyone that boys like the park too, Jason Burnham, second grade West Side, "I like to go swimming and slide down the water slide. I like to throw rocks in the lagoon. I like the Labor Day activities."

Although missing the 25 word limit. Missy Coffee, fifth grade East Side, did manage to mention a very important aspect of Harrisburg parks. "I like my park because it's nice and clean and you can do anything there that you want to. Another reason is that there is a bathroom there when you need to use it. I also like the playground toys the park has."

Safety also entered into some children's answers. Billie Jo Howard, third grade, West Side, wrote, "What I like most about my park district is the tiny tot land, because it is the safest place around the park. It has many toys to choose from, and you can picnic too."

And personal fitness got in, too. "The park district offers so many things for young kids to do. One of my favorites is the swimming pool because it's great exercise," wrote Toby Lyon, third grade West Side.

Ryan Rann, second grade West Side, enjoyed the park's cleanliness: "The park is nice and neat and a good place to play. The pool is nice and the swings are fun too, especially the water slide."

Katy Williams, fourth grade West Side: "I like the programs there are in the park. The toys are different and fun to play on. The pond is good to fish in."

Stefanie Simpson, fourth grade West Side: "I like my park district because when I sit on the swing, I just go out of this world with the wind hitting my face."

"I like best the pool, because it's very safe. Also, the people that work there are nice," wrote Trenna Edwards, fourth grade Independence.

Gennifer Dismuke, fourth grade Independence, wrote enthusiastically, "I like the swings, the sliding boards, and the high diving swimming pool. It's so fun! I wish I could go every day. I love it!"

Michelle Mays, sixth grade East Side: "I like it because it's quiet, peaceful and lovely. It's also a place to have fun. You can fish and have cookouts with your family."

Erik Nelson, fourth grade East Side: "What I like most about my park district is the crystal clear water in the pool, but mainly the way you can dive, slip or slide into a whole new dimension of freedom."

Rita Coleman, sixth grade East Side, said, "My park is a dream place where I go and spend my time, playing or thinking. How lucky I am to have a wonderful park."

Melissa Sturman, fifth grade East Side: "Our park is a fun place. I can run, jump, swing, picnic, play ball and then cool off in the swimming pool."

Jeff Dunn, fourth grade East Side, says "the park district has things such as: baseball, tennis, swimming, picnics, playgrounds, softball, fishing and swings. I love my park."

Perhaps the sentiments of all the children could be summed up by the writings of Dawn Smith, fifth grade East Side: "I like my park district because it is fun and very pretty. My family and I like it very much. It is the best."

Brookfield Zoo introduces "Tropic World exhibit"

Now celebrating its 50th birthday, Chicago's Brookfield Zoo provides more than 2,000 rare and familiar species of wildlife on 204 acres of park.

Tropic World, the newest and most spectacular exhibit, is the largest indoor zoo exhibit in the world and features multiple species in three simulated rain forest regions; Africa, Asia and South America. Sharing that environment are orangutans, gibbons, siamangs, long-tailed macaques, small-clawed otters, gorillas, a pygmy hippo and more. Thunderstorms occur periodically, but the animals are the only ones who get wet.

The nation's only dolphins in a zoo perform daily in the Seven Seas Panrama. Children's Zoo offers a closer look at domestic animals and wildlife on North America. Animals in Action demonstrates cow and goat milking, animal training, and bird, dog, and horse shows daily through Labor Day.

Other exhibits include the hunting, feeding, and exploratory behavior of Siberian tigers and sand cats and the nocturnal exhibit of kiwi birds. The rare okapi is exhibited in the Giraffe House. From late spring through early fall, steam and motorized safari train rides are available.

Adults, $2.25; kids 6-11, 50 cents; Tuesday is free day. Just 14 miles west of Chicago, near the Elsenhower, Stevenson, and 1-294 expressways at First Avenue and 31st Street, Brookfield. For more information, call (312) 242-2630.

Illinois Parks and Recreation 38 September/October 1984