DAMASCUS, PA — Out on Conklin Hill Road, with the help of state lawmakers, local donors and volunteers, a brightly colored playground has grown.

Those old enough can remember decades past, when the site was all dirt and rocks. There were places for kids to go, sure, but Damascus needed its own park.

So 20 years ago, the township built a playground. But 20 years in playground time is like 80, maybe, in people years. 

“The equipment was old and outdated,” said Dan Rutledge, chairman of the Damascus Parks and Recreation Department. “It wasn’t up to code.”

The Damascus Park project had been in the works for awhile before COVID hit. 

The pandemic meant that supply chains were disrupted. There were delays. Funding was a worry.

But then grants came in. The project was made possible through grants awarded by the state Department of Community and Economic Development and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, as well as from the Upper Delaware Council. 

The funding came to a total of $570,000, according to a press release.

“We were very fortunate to receive the grants,” Rutledge said.

Now Phase 1 is completed. There are two playgrounds, he said—one for young children aged two to five, and the other for older kids, aged five to 12. 

The shining new playground equipment is in place, keeping company with the Heritage Barn (see box), a volleyball court, a ballfield and hiking trails.

As part of Phase 1, there’s also a parking lot and an amphitheater, plus an ADA-accessible walkway to go with the paved handicapped parking spaces. 

Fun on the playground at Damascus Park. Phase 1 has been completed and the ribbon was cut on August 14.

What’s next?

Phase 2 will improve the ballfield and create an ADA-compliant stone trail to the top of the hill, where there will be an eagle-observation site. 

The equipment might be for kids, but, Rutledge said, the park is for everyone.

For all that the project had a couple of delays and took seven years to complete the first phase, Rutledge pointed out that 10 to12 years “is normal.”

But it happened at all because lawmakers cared, and because of people in the community.

Local residents and business owners stepped up. Flynn Stone Design provided two stone benches; one is dedicated to the memory of longtime community volunteer Bill Gager, and the other in memory of John “Jack” Joyce, a founding member of the Equinunk Fire Department. 

A third bench was donated by the Calkins Ag 4-H Club, which won it in 2022 for a recycling project, Rutledge said.  

Now that Phase 2 is in motion, businesses and contractors who would like to help would be welcome—and so would volunteers, Rutledge said. “There are lots of ways that people can help.”

For example, the committee in charge of the project is looking for members; it meets on the fourth Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. at the township building.

And on August 14, the town held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the park, officially opening it. (The project was actually completed in December of 2022, Rutledge said.)

A long line of people involved with the project held the ribbon, including county commissioners, township supervisors and officials, state Rep. Jonathan Fritz, state Sen. Lisa Baker and state Rep. Joseph Adams. The contractors were there. The volunteers.

Gager and Joyce, for whom benches were dedicated, were heavily involved in their communities. And a park needs a community to become reality.