South Park History

Waupaca Republican Post

April 11, 1912

PLEA FOR PLAY GROUNDS

As a retiring member of the Waupaca City Park Commission, I desire to take this opportunity to enter a plea in favor of our Public Play Grounds.

All cities are realizing more and more each year the value they receive from their parks but I feel that our citizens do not fully realize the amount of work that it takes to keep even a park as small as ours, in such a condition that it is a credit to the city.

Five years ago South Park was nothing but a clump of woods, and there were very few people who ever went there. Now thousands of people visit this Park each season and we are not ashamed to have them take friends from larger cities with them for today we have, for its size, a Park that does not have to take second place to any in the state.

The proper time to develop a park is when the city is young and growing, not when it has developed into a large city, when it is necessary to pay extravagant prices for land. Good Parks attract the attention of others, who realize that the businessmen have push and are abreast with the times and that such a place would be a good location; hence the city grows, it expands and a good healthy population is secured by a little exertion. It is not only a privilege, but a duty that every village, town and city owes its people, to afford them a real modern park with its trees, shrubs, flowers and grass where the public can recreate.

To develop a park requires time, they do not grow in a night. Take for instance our South Park. In the spring of 1907 the Woman’s Club asked permission of the Common Council to use the grove at the south end of Main Street for a park. That spring the first work of making us a City Park, was commenced, but owing to the fact that there was no water on the grounds, little progress was made. In the spring of 1908 Mayor Gurley appointed the Waupaca City Park Commission, consisting of five members, and the Council appropriated $300.00 for their use. The first year some work was done. A landscape gardener, from the University of Wisconsin was employed to come here and make plans and specifications for the Park, and a water works system was installed. The next year the lawn was placed in condition and a few shrubs and trees were set out. The third year considerable progress was made. The fountain was erected and many new plants and shrubs were set out. The fourth and last year, the walks, the new drive and the drinking fountain were added and the work completed according to Professor Sandstein’s plans, with the exception of a Band Stand for the southeast corner.

There remains a great deal more work in order to place Waupaca’s play grounds in first class condition. Our Court House square could be made a very pretty spot, this will cost considerable money but I firmly believe that the County will do their share in furthering this end.

Next we must take into consideration the grounds around our new school building. We will have there, when completed a very handsome structure, but unless the grounds surrounding it are placed in proper condition half of the beauty will have been lost. Banks of shrubs and perennials can be grouped about the building, to break the hard straight lines, vines can be used to soften the walls, a few beds of cannas, Geraniums and Coleus will all tend to make this one of the beauty spots of our city.

Another piece of work that would give Waupaca one of the finest drives in the state, could be made by making a road from the south end of Berlin Street, west and have it connect with the road south of the cemetery, this would give us a drive around both our pretty little inland lakes.

With all this work to be done there is work for all of us. Give the matter your serious consideration and better still give it your helping hand. Give the Park Board help whenever you can, if you have more flowers of a certain kind than you need, they can always use them. But what they need most is a little encouragement in the work that they are trying so hard to do.

George Skinner.