Forefathers Swimming
Pool The 1970s The
1980s 1990s - Present
Compiled by Roger Schamberger
It was the year 1854 and John Garner's
original Alida and then Terra Haute were transformed into what is now known as
Lena. The Lena Community Park District was still 101 years away. Please note
that it is the Lena Community Park District. Often the word Community is
omitted from the title. The area served by our park district covers 66 square
miles. The Lena Community Park District is truly a community park district.
The year was
1953 and Mr. Vernon Boeke had a parcel of ground that he agreed to sell the
Lena Lions Club for $4,000.00. This is the area currently served by Lions Park.
The park boundaries have changed in the past few years with the addition of the
Hager property and DeVoe property to the original tract. In 1955 the Lena
Community Park District was voted in by referendum. The original five
commissioners were: John Esmond, President from 1955-1963; Milo Scudt, Vice
President from 1955-1961; Francis Holmes, Secretary and Treasurer from
1955-1963; and Louis Heyer and Louis Schermerhorn, Advisors from 1955-1959.
These fore
fathers provided the insight for developing the Boeke property into a beautiful
park. Early pictures show volunteers from Russell Cox of R.E. Cox Construction
providing manpower and equiptment for making the ball diamond. With very few,
if any staff, the early improvements were provided by volunteers.
Lena looked to
the many recreational opportunities being offered by the neighboring Freeport
Park District and in 1965 decided to build a new swimming pool. Commissioners
at that time were: Dr. W.H Cable, Dr. Neal Chapin, Eugene Becker, Denzil Mead,
and Daylon Price. The cost for building this new facility was $300,000.00. We
have a photograph of Mr. Wieland "Willie" Kayser doing a hand stand
on the diving board. When Splash Land opened in 1995 Willie came back and
repeated his hand stand performance. It was nearly 30 years and the same Willie
doing another hand stand.
During this
time, the Lena Community Park District was preparing for more growth. The Board
of Comissioners decided to obtain a Master Plan for the park district. This
document would help establish guidelines for future programming and facility
expansion. The Village of Lena was growing and there was a growing need for
more park district space and more ball diamonds. The new master plan suggested
that the park district purchase the field northeast of Lions Park.
In 1972, the
West Point Township Board offered Schudt Park to the park district. This property
was transferred for $1.00 to the Lena Community Park District. This park is
located west of the Waddams Grove school and was once owned by John Schudt, of
whom the park is named. In 1973, the Master Plan was once again used as the
basis for receiving a $4,000,000 grant from the Illinois Department of Natural
Resources for the purchase of Dodds Park. This eight acre park was purchased
from Mr. Gishwiller. Many volunteers helped build this park. Dodds Park helped
ease the need for more ball diamonds and recreational open space.
In 1985, the
Stephenson Black Hawk Trail was dedicated. The trail was made possible through
the efforts of Dr. Vickery and Melvin "Butch" Polhill. The Stephenson
Black Hawk Trail is a Nationally Registered trail. Each year the 14 mile trail
is hiked by Boy Scout troops from throughout the United States. The Lena
Community Park District maintains the trail and provides trail patches and
information surrounding its historical significance to our area.
In 1989, a
petition was circulated requesting that a park be developed for the residents
in Fairway Hills subdivision. At this same time, St. John's Lutheran Church was
also looking to build a playground for their members. The Lena-Winslow Jaycees
were looking for a community service project. The Lena Community Park District
purchased a lot from Stu Doth for $1.00, and Jaycees Park was developed by
volunteer labor and donations.
The 1990s
represented a lot of change for the park district. The relatively new Summer
recreational programs would continue to expand and grow, which gave kids
something to do over the summer, and older kids a summer job. In 1992, The
Americans with Disabilities Act entered into the picture as a new federal
building code, which required the Lena Community Park District to upgrade its
facilities. The swimming pool was placed under the microscope, and the board
decided to build what is now Splash Land water park, which opened Memorial Day
1995. A year later, Splash Land Food Court was opened, and in 2001, Splash Land
Mini Golf was opened.
In 2001, the
village was able to purchase the area formally known as the Elementary School's
playground. This parcel was purchased from the Bill Dietz family and given to
the park district. The village purchased all new playground equipment. This
park was dedicated on May 19, 2005 as Polhill Park, in honor of Melvin
"Butch" Polhill for his twenty-five years of service to the district
as Commissioner.
