Around 30 volunteers helped restore the Big Toy Playground on Saturday, July 19, under the leadership of City Councilor Marlene Parsons.
Volunteers worked under a hot sun, sanding park elements and lathering on fresh paint.
“We have some people painting the big structures, and then we have taken off some of the decorative elements from each structure…and we have people doing some more detailed work,” said Beth Melendy, a longtime Keizer volunteer who helped organize helpers.
Workers scattered across the playground, assigned to various tasks. Scott Guptill, owner of Revolution Pool and Spa, was dismantling park elements with a power drill.
“I’m here just to help wherever I can,” he said.
He brought four of his kids to help. His children have enjoyed the structure since it opened in 2015.
“The structure seems fine. It’s just the little things that make the Toy special,” he said. “Keizer is about volunteerism. We love the Toy and don’t want it to fall apart, and honestly, it was looking a little shabby the last couple of times we came here.”
Time and weather had worn some of the Big Toy’s aesthetic features. Painted objects were faded and cracked. Tears and holes riddled the playground’s fall surface.
Guptill thinks the volunteers’ initiatives will make a tremendous difference.
On Saturday, Jacki Wolf, a former Keizer teacher, was sanding elements, preparing them for a fresh paint job. A longtime community volunteer, Wolf was working on the same structure she helped build 10 years ago.
“It’s a beautiful day to work in the community,” she said. “I want to give back. I love Keizer.”
City Councilor Lore Christopher worked alongside other councilors, including Dan Kohler and Shaney Starr.
“We did this 10 years ago. We know how much effort this takes,” she said.
Christopher was leading a few hardworking youngsters who carefully painted small park elements like signs and decorations.
She explained that the Big Toy is Keizer’s most used structure, and holds rich sentimental value for many Keizerites. She pointed out various tributes around the structure, including a McNary High School plaque and a castle dedicated to Keizer’s semi-professional baseball team.
“I had a 4-year-old grandson come out here, and he was wild for this park,” Christopher said. “This park was built by real Keizer people that put their time and effort and ideas, and all of the kids put their time and effort and ideas into making this reflective of our community.”
The Big Toy Playground was scheduled to be closed at least through July 23 as the Public Works Department repaired the surface and painted hard-to-reach elements. However, the work was completed early and the Big Toy reopened for use Tuesday, July 22.
Every 10 years, the city plans to host a paint party to keep the playground’s vibrancy.
“If every 10 years we restore it, then it’s going to stay around for many generations,” Guptill said.
News tip? Contact reporter Riley Ellis: [email protected].
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