(courtesy of Richard Bowker)I first learned that Rock Springs Park was going to be torn down while on the playground of Chester Primary School (pictured above, center, with RSP in the background). Unfortunately, by the time I got the news via the playground grapevine, it was "Raccoon Creek Park" and not Rock Springs.
"Did you hear? They're going to tear down Raccoon Creek Park and build a bridge that's going to go right over our school!"
I couldn't figure out why they wanted to build a bridge starting 13 miles away in Pennsylvania and spanning the entire upper panhandle of West Virginia to East Liverpool, Ohio, but it suddenly made sense as to why folks in town were so upset about losing business due to the bridge. I imagined some sort of futuristic bridge casting a giant shadow over our tiny elementary school.
Eventually, I came to understand that it was Rock Springs Park and not Raccoon Creek that was to be razed, and that made me sad. By the time I was in the fourth grade at the junior high/intermediate school the park had been sitting unused for four years. Seeing the Cyclone and the carousel pavilion every day on the playground left me with many daydreams and plenty of questions. It would take 35 years to find some of the answers and I'm still learning.
"Did you hear? They're going to tear down Raccoon Creek Park and build a bridge that's going to go right over our school!"
I couldn't figure out why they wanted to build a bridge starting 13 miles away in Pennsylvania and spanning the entire upper panhandle of West Virginia to East Liverpool, Ohio, but it suddenly made sense as to why folks in town were so upset about losing business due to the bridge. I imagined some sort of futuristic bridge casting a giant shadow over our tiny elementary school.
Eventually, I came to understand that it was Rock Springs Park and not Raccoon Creek that was to be razed, and that made me sad. By the time I was in the fourth grade at the junior high/intermediate school the park had been sitting unused for four years. Seeing the Cyclone and the carousel pavilion every day on the playground left me with many daydreams and plenty of questions. It would take 35 years to find some of the answers and I'm still learning.
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