Have you had the opportunity to visit Linwood Park in Ardmore, PA? This is a very nice summary from our Friends at Linwood Park about 2011:
“As we approach one year turning into a new one, it is a time to reflect on all that has happened in our little park over the past year. It started last New Year’s Eve with a kid’s countdown to 2011 at 8 p.m. The McDonnell’s shoveled a path through the park so there was a way in.
Then it was Winter. Lots of snow. Lots. Snowman building and making footprints in clean snow. Snow on the branches of the inkberry hollies and along the wall.
Dogs on leash were officially allowed in the Park. Thanks to you all, there has never been a problem with dogs at Linwood. They are happy to be there and happy to take a brisk walk through the park, sniffing all the way. What good owners!
The beginning of Spring was marked by the Vernal Equinox Celebration with lots of help from the Penn Valley Girl Scout troop. On a brisk, sunny day kids and adults got to make pinecone bird feeders and plant sunflower seedlings to take home.
In the Spring, future Eagle Scout, Dave Gilmour, took on the task of building a composter for the park. He made it into 3 sections so volunteers can turn the compost and use it in the Park.
Then the Hoop Jams started again for the season. Leah Troiano of Loopdihoops and Live Well Holistic Health Center sponsored the fun! So fun! All ages, genders, ethnicities and, sizes came out to hula-hoop. These continued through the spring, summer, and into the fall.
The Spring also saw the installation of the sculpture donated by Max Paul and Ardmore Toyota of two children reading on a bench. This sculpture is loved by kids and an endless source of fascination.
Also in the Spring, volunteers planted hundreds of perennials and shrubs. Hundreds! That is why the park looked so beautiful this summer.
The Lower Merion Conservancy sponsored a Family Watershed workshop and taught us all about the water cycle and why a place like Linwood Park is so important for our environment and our health.
More Hoop Jams!
Spring and Summer saw the beginning of Fourth Fridays in the park. Neighbors gathering to hang out and share fun and food. Popsicles in the Park!
In May, the park celebrated its first Birthday. The cloudy skies cleared just in time for our two hour celebration and we even had a rainbow overhead1 Firinji served smoothies, Live Well gave free chair massages, Leah hooped it up, Riverbend taught us about bats and played bat games with the kids, there was tons of fun!
The weekend of Memorial Day had us decorating our bikes and scooters for the Ardmore Memorial Day Parade. It was sooooo hot!
We raised enough money from the community to match Ardmore Auto Body’s bench donation and the Cipollone family gave enough for another bench, so we will be getting three new benches installed sometime over the next two weeks.
In July there was Movie Night with 6:8 where we had quite the crowd gathering on one of the hottest nights (NO AIR!) to watch “Despicable Me”. Linwood Avenue resident Peggy Ann Waters came to sell water ice and donated all the proceeds to the Friends.
Money magazine voted Ardmore one of the best places to live “with a new park recently opened for residents” (that’s us!).
In August, there was the First Anniversary of the first couple married at the park. September brought the birth of Harrison Reif, son of Friends of Linwood Park Board members Carrie and Greg Reif.
September also brought a rained out movie night – but we tried!
September and October brought out the full glory of the park, with the hues of purple and yellow glowing across the landscape. Many questions of “what is that purple stuff in the park?” (Muhlenberg grass).
Snow canceled the Jack O’ Lantern Lighting for Halloween.
A couple of Fall Workdays had volunteers raking leaves and mulching them to be used in the park. We also planted 1,000 daffodil bulbs! Special thanks to Jim Hasselman, 6:8, Welsh Valley Community Service, and Anastasia Frandsen.
In December we officially gained our 501(c)3 status from the federal government. What a long process! Thanks to Amy Weigand for all her help on this.
The Winter Solstice Celebration was a hit, with fire pits, s’mores, holiday songs, and luminaries all along the wall. 6:8 co-sponsored this event.
There were also baseball games, birthday parties, quiet reading, coffee drinking, peaceful walks, tree planting, flower gazing, bird and bee watching, rabbits eating plants, pogo sticking, sidewalk chalking, quiet conversations, loud shouting, and on and on.
Which bring us looking forward to another year of life in the park. Watch the park as it evolves and becomes your space.
A special thank you to Lower Merion Assistant Director of Building and Planning, Chris Leswing, who has devoted countless hours to Linwood over the past year.
Thank you to the many, many people who continue to make Linwood Park a great place. That is all of you. Happy New Year and Best Wishes for a Healthy 2012!”
