OPEN FOR PLAY … Lincoln Park Inclusive Playground is now open and ready for kids of all abilities and disabilities to enjoy it’s play equipment. The community came together on Sunday afternoon to hold a grand opening for the playground which included ceremony, food, face painting, music, and fun! Pictured above are those who took part in making the park a reality. (Left to Right) Pastor Luke Nagy, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, Superintendent Mark Rairigh, Paula Kline, Mayor Carrie Schlade, Stuart James and his assistance dog Raven, Bruce Wheeler, Amy Miller, Ben Dominique, and Ash Lemons. (PHOTO BY JENNA FRISBY / THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
By: Jenna Frisby
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
A ceremony was held on Sunday June 2 at 2:00 p.m. to officially open the Lincoln Park Inclusive Playground to the public. While the ceremony had many notable speakers, they all took less than 15 minutes for the speaking portion, so the children could get to playing on the new all-inclusive playground.
The grand opening celebration took place until 4:00 p.m. and included the F&M food truck, face painting, the Pink Penguin ice cream truck, and Four of a Kind Entertainment providing a live DJ and a photo booth, all of which were completely free thanks to the Bryan Area Foundation generously covering all those costs.
The Bryan Area Foundation also helped in funding 150 shirts that were given out to the children that were there for the opening celebration.
In total, through the generous donors of the community, $730,000 was raised, making the Lincoln Park Inclusive Playground a reality for the community of Bryan to enjoy!
Donors who gave over $50,000 included: Ability Center of Greater Toledo, Bryan Area Foundation, City of Bryan Parks & Recreation, Game Time Grant, Sally M. Metz, Spangler Candy Company, State of Ohio, and The Bard-Steel Family Foundation.
In total there were 137 donors from the community who funded this project. Something which is truly incredible to have, a community that has made a difference within that will sustain a lasting impact in the end.
The short ceremony began with Bryan City’s Mayor, Carrie Schlade, welcoming the crowd of over 350 people gathered and then introducing the speakers for the event. Speakers included: Bryan City Schools Superintendent Mark Rairigh, United States Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, Ash Lemons who introduced Stuart James the Executive Director of the Ability Center of Greater Toledo, Bryan Parks and Recreation Board Member Paula Kline, President and CEO of Bryan Area Foundation Amy Miller, Pastor Luke Nagy, and Mayor Carrie Schlade.
Mayor Carrie Schlade started with introducing Bryan City Schools Superintendent Mark Rairigh, who spoke on how the building of this park was “a win for the city of Bryan”.
“The way the community has come together to make this park a reality was incredible and “the inclusionary aspects of (Lincoln Park Inclusive Playground) provide opportunity for individuals of all abilities”.
“The benefits that this playground will provide to the community will be so beneficial not only for those who use it now, but also those who will be impacted by it in the future.”
Rairugh continued on in making sure that recognition was given where it was due in recognizing Paula Kline. He started by stating that, “Her vision to have something like this pulled off does not go unnoticed.”
He then continued to talk on how she continued to ensure that her vision became a reality, not for herself but for the lives of so many children. He finished his speech thanking all those involved in the process of building and making this park a reality.
Mayor Schlade then introduced United States Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur who started her speech connecting with the crowd jokingly saying that she would not give an hour speech, “especially for the children.”
She then went on to describe the “soul out here in Bryan, Ohio.” She explained how she could feel it within the community just being there at the event. Congresswoman Kaptur then spoke on Paula Kline and how “teachers touch the future” which is exactly what Paula Kline has done with her vision of this park.
Congresswoman Kaptur then commended the community for raising nearly $750,000 in order to fund the building of the park.
Lastly, she ended her speech by presenting Paula Kline with a small tree to be planted in the park at a later date in remembrance of the ceremony that day.
Mayor Schlade then came back to the podium to announce the next speaker but before doing so mentioned the flag that was flying on the flagpole beside where the ceremony was taking place.
The flag was given to the Lincoln Park Inclusive Playground by Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur and was actually flown over the U.S. Capital in Washington D.C. in honor of the park before being given to the park and flown on the day of their initial groundbreaking. She once again thanked Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur for all that she has done in supporting the Lincoln Park Inclusive Playground.
Next, Mayor Schlade announced Ash Lemons who works with the Ability Center of Greater Toledo and Stuart James who is the Executive Director at the Ability Center.
Lemons gave a brief history of the Ability Center in how it was originally started by the Toledo Rotary in 1920. He also explained how the Ability Center’s “goal is to make Northwest Ohio the most accessible and disability friendly in the nation.”
James then presented his speech in which he talked about how the Ability Center has now been a part of several of these parks in locations around the area including Perrysburg, Toledo, and Bowling Green.
He talked about how these parks are one of the best investments the community could be a part of as it gives kids the opportunity to play together.
He states that, “When they play together, they become comfortable with each other, and the disability thing kind of goes away.”
He goes on to talk about how it’s about that inclusiveness for kids, but it’s also so much more. Stuart James himself sits in a wheelchair, while his children do not personally face any disability.
This park, and the parks that the Ability Center has helped to build, have given James a place to play with his children.
So, it truly goes beyond the outlook for the children, it can even give their parents who may be disabled a new way to enjoy time with their kids. Something that could have very likely been a challenge before.
James ended his speech by thanking the City of Bryan for investing in this park and ultimately in the community.
Mayor Schlade then introduced Paula Kline, the visionary for this project. Kline started by acknowledging that she had so many people to thank for making her dream come true.
She exclusively thanked Ben Dominique (Bryan Parks Department) and the entire Bryan Parks Department, Bryan City Schools for the donation of the land which the park resides on, the Bryan Area Foundation for the countless things they have done, the Ability Center for their input, and for the committee that was formed for the park that worked countless hours to see this vision through.
Kline then gave a brief history of where her vision for this park came from. She talked about how she has worked for Bryan City Schools for 31.5 years, spending the last 12 of those years with children with special needs she found that they always had to travel to Fort Wayne in order to order to play.
Seeing this was an issue she started working on getting the park put in place. Having been on the parks board since 1998, she knew other things were in order to be done first but she waited patiently for her park vision to be started on.
Eventually, after those other projects had finally been completed, it was Kline’s turn for her project to come to light. Kline brought to light, “It only took me 10 years, but it’s here now! So, enjoy it.”
Amy Miller from the Bryan Area Foundation was then introduced by Mayor Schlade. Miller gave a brief history on another playground in Bryan, The Imagination Station.
That playground was originally built and dedicated in 1994. In 2019, the Parks Department, Bryan Area Foundation, and a few other members from the community got to celebrate the 25th anniversary of that park.
At the time of that celebration, Kline had already started her project fund seeking a more inclusive park.
That led to Miller and Dominique having conversations about how to make this possible. They looked into the option of adding on to the Imagination Station but found that if they were to do so in attempts to make it more inclusive, they would actually make it mire secluded as it would create two different sections of the park due to the need for special equipment to be inclusive.
This would have further created a divide among children with disabilities, therefore they stopped going that route.
Miller recalls that they knew that if this project was going to work, they would need “the right place, the right time, the right funding, and the right people to come together. And that’s what we have today.”
Miller went on to discuss that the park isn’t done yet. Currently, while the playground is complete, the bathrooms are still being built as they require special equipment to be sustainable and inclusive to all.
Beyond the bathrooms, the Bryan Area Foundation recently just received another surprising donation which is going to be funding two pavilions to be built for the community to enjoy shade while having a picnic at the inclusive park.
Miller also noted that at this time the project fund will remain open for any continued donations to go towards the park.
Mayor Schlade then invited Pastor Luke Nagy to lead the community in a prayer to bless the park. Pastor Nagy’s prayer started with thanking God for the beautiful day it was, for the park, and for all of His creation.
Pastor Nagy went on in his prayer, “we know You have made all of us in Your image… abled or disabled…to live in the fullness of joy for which You created [us].” Pastor Nagy ended his prayer thanking God for the park that would allow all people to “enjoy joy and play and to have a good fun day.”
Mayor Schlade then closed the ceremony, dedicating the Lincoln Park Inclusive Playground to the city.
Lastly, Mayor Schlade spoke to the crowd, “It’s time to play kids.” And with that the kids flooded the new playground together, of all abilities and disabilities, playing together.
