Letter to the Editor:
The wonderful day we had at the park for the Oswegofest celebration wasn’t just luck but was due to the efforts of many people who love Oswego. The Festival Committee invested hours of work to coordinate the event, and volunteers and city staff help to make the park a beautiful place where we can enjoy, not only festivals, but special family time as well. The park is a place of pride and is one of the special advantages to living in our small town.
But it takes more than time and hard work to make the park such a special place; it takes the generosity of people who believe in our community. The Oswego Park Foundation has been thrilled at the generous donations that have been made to improve our park, but it isn’t completed yet. We have a “Wish List” - a reminder of improvements needed to make even more dreams come true.
What’s next? There are plans in the works to replace the west shelter house with one similar in style to the two built by the WPA years ago. A grant for $30,000 has been applied for, but if received, it must be matched with $5,000 from community donations. This shelter house would have a fireplace and cement walks for easy access. This would be a great place for family outings even into the winter months.
If you drive through the park at night you will notice how well lit it is. Twenty-four beautiful street lights help make the park a safe and inviting place after dark, but we still need to pay for some of the lights and the identifying plaques at a cost of $2,200 each.
Benches provide places for people to rest but come at a cost of $500 each. And trees are a lasting memorial to loved ones for $110.
And there are more dreams in the works. The old fountain west of the bathhouse has been serving as a planter for years and should be restored to its original purpose, and for fun, a talented woodcarver could turn ordinary stumps into playful raccoons or squirrels.
Let’s continue to work together to make Riverside Park the showcase of Southeast Kansas and a wonderful place for our citizens to walk, play, picnic and gather. All these wishes are possible as soon as the money becomes available. Let’s keep this enthusiasm going.––by Oswego Park Foundation