Community Corner
Fox Valley Park District Wants to Know: What’s Your Favorite Park?
Weekly musings from Jeff Long, public relations manager for the Fox Valley Park District.
Parks are symbolic to us in so many ways. On the surface, they represent freedom, natural beauty, open space, recreation … and that’s just naming a few of their many attributes.
We all have a very unique and different perspective of what parks mean to us. It’s a personal relationship that is distinct and different for every park and every person.
Parks are a frame of reference to memories and moments in our lives. They are a scrapbook of times and events that help animate our slide show of life with snippets of experiences both special and meaningful.
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A sunset. A kiss. Hangin’ out with friends. That dramatic home run over the left field fence in the championship game. Your first child’s first steps. The summer aroma of grilled hot dogs and burgers.
They all bring smiles.
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Every time I drive by Greene Field, I think fondly of the times when Dad and two of my brothers all played together on the same softball team. Fresh out of college, it was a generational gift that continued at Stuart Sports Complex in subsequent years.
My home park as a kid – Memorial Park in Batavia – is where I learned to golf. When sports teams weren’t practicing, I’d take a 100-foot, orange extension cord, make it into a circle that would be the “green” and plant a bicycle safety flag in the middle.
My wedge play definitely benefitted but somehow all those hours of practice didn’t translate into a career on the PGA Tour as I’d planned. Even so, those are priceless memories of pursuing a dream.
The Fox Valley Park District has been around since 1947 and at last count, offers 163 public parks. Some of those – including North Aurora Island and Montgomery Park – date back to the District’s origin.
Millions of residents and visitors have frequented these public treasures, and I’m sure many of you reading this have a story or three to share. So … in this age of social media and online interaction … we thought it would be fun to create a forum that serves as a common site for celebrating our local parks.
The idea was inspired by a colleague (thank you, Debbie Smith) who discovered a Facebook page dedicated to Lebanon Park – an iconic, community park in Aurora’s southeast quadrant. Developed by the Park District in the early 1960s, Lebanon’s playgrounds and ball fields are legendary to all those who loved (and still love) that community gem.
So feel free to indulge and let us know what parks highlight your list, and why they have special meaning. As we gather feedback, we can create a special section on the Park District web site that will pay homage to our heritage of fantastic parks that continue to make memories for the next generation, the same as they did for ours.
Send feedback to fvpd@fvpd.net or contact me at the email address below – because good times are worth celebrating!
Jeff Long is the public relations manager for the Fox Valley Park District. Contact him at jlong@fvpd.net
Fox Valley Park District Upcoming Events
Saturday, Jan. 26: Wintertime Fun, Eola Community Center, 9:30 to 11 a.m.
Saturday, Jan. 26: A-Factor Dance Company 5th Annual Winter Showcase, Prisco Community Center, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 2: Daddy Daughter Dance, Prisco Community Center, 6 to 8 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 9: Hello Kitty’s Valentine Party, Prisco Community Center, noon to 1:30 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 10: Love & Laughter: Cupid’s Valentine Variety Show, Prisco Community Center, 3 p.m.
