Monday, July 13, 2015
Many Troy youngsters participated in a free Parks and Recreation playground program during the summer of 1978. The seven-week event was held at 12 locations including City parks, school playgrounds, and the Stoneridge Subdivision’s “North Park.” Stoneridge Homeowners Association permitted the City to use the private 11-acre area free of charge.
Boys and girls enjoyed fun-filled days playing chess, checkers, and active games like foursquare, kickball, basketball, and tee ball. They made in crafts, wove macramé, painted plaques, and competed in contests ranging from watermelon eating to Frisbee and water balloon toss. Many kids also competed in a bake-off.
One hit of the summer was the pet show. At Hill Elementary playground, leader Mary Haezebrouck observed “Besides your regular pets like dogs, cats and rabbits, we had kids bring grasshoppers, worms and even an ant farm that a boy just collected that morning.”
Photo: Kids cool off under sprinklers at playground program
Sources:
Daily Tribune (Royal Oak MI). 1977. Troy Leases Private Site For Summer Program. June 15.
Daily Tribune (Royal Oak MI). 1978. Troy City Council. June 3.
Daily Tribune (Royal Oak MI). 1978. Troy OK’s Park Use. June 8.
Slimak, Gloria J. 1978. Kids live for summer fun in Troy parks. Troy (MI) Eccentric, August 14.
To commemorate the City of Troy’s 60th Anniversary in 2015, we will publish a different story each day that highlights a person, discovery, or event that occurred locally, regionally, nationally, or even globally between 1955 and 2015 and that helped shape our lives and our community. We will try to post stories on important anniversary dates, but we also realize that dates are less critical than content and context. We will include the facts related to controversial stories, allowing our readers to form their own opinions. We invite you to read and comment on the stories. Your suggestions for topics are also welcome and can be posted on our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/TroyHistoricVillage. You can also email stories or ideas to the 365 Story Editor at ed@thvmail.org.
