Category: Up to 1,499 Population Winner or Honorable Mention: Honorable Mention Title of the Project: Mayme Shaddock Park Restoration City: City of Napavine Population: 1,275 Name: Jim Haslett Title: Councilmember Phone: (360) 262-9231

In the beginning, Mayme Shaddock Park was just an acre parcel of land located on the corner of what is now Park Street and 2nd Avenue in Napavine. The land was donated to the City with the intentions of being used as a park. With old growth fir and cedar trees and abundance of underbrush, the lot looked more like a over grown forest than a place to picnic and play. Through volunteers, the underbrush was cleared, and the residents of Napavine began to use it as a picnic area.

Over the years, piece by piece, volunteer groups made the transformation of the forest into a park. A brick fireplace was erected and an open kitchen was built to encompass the fireplace. Four picnic tables were added to the kitchen, and restrooms were built. A swing set and a jungle gym were added to the park. The park remained in this condition for many years.

In July of 1983, the park was named the Mayme Shaddock Park in honor of a long time resident of Napavine who was beloved by all, and especially the children of the community.

Since that time and over a period of many years, the Park had fallen into a state of disrepair and was rarely used. The playground equipment was deemed unsafe by Playground Safety Regulations. Many of the old growth trees had branches grazing the ground; the tree canopy had grown so thick that grass wouldn't grow beneath it. The fireplace desperately needed repair; crumbling mortar, fallen and loose bricks had made the kitchen hazardous. Children were using the back of the unfenced park to access and cross the railroad tracks as a short cut home from school.

The Park had become a dark, scarey place children usually only read about in fairy tales.

In the Fall of 1997, the Napavine City Council looked at several options to address the safety issues at the Park. One was to totally clear the land and leave it as an vacant lot. Another was to remove the kitchen facilities, restrooms and play ground equipment, and to leave the parcel as timberland. The final options was to completely restore the Park to serve the community as it was originally intended. After public hearings were held, the City Council unanimously voted to restore the Park.

A logging company was contracted to evaluate the trees. The dangerous trees would be removed and the remaining trees would be topped and limbed up. The sale of the timber was negotiated to pay for the falling, stump removal, limbing and topping of the trees. Once the trees were thinned, the parcel emerged as a new starting point for the revitalization of Mayme Shaddock Park. A plan was drawn up to refurbish the Park. The fireplace would be removed. The kitchen and four picnic tables would be restored. The kitchen and restrooms would have electricity. Eight new picnic tables with barbecues would be added, along with ten park benches, asphalt walking trails, a paved parking lot with curb, a chain link fence the full length of the Park, a big toy, two swing sets, two horseshoe pits, a sand filled volleyball court, landscaping and beautification.

The estimated cost for the project was $38,125. Napavine had $35,194 in the Capital Improvement Fund designated for parks. Additional resources to subsidized the Park Fund came from the rehabilitation fund, donations, earned interest and the $4000 profit from the sale of felled trees. The funds available for the portion of the restoration to be done in 1999 totalled $46,065. The City Council approved the plan wherewithal.

The school was called upon for assistance, and they came through in a big way. Student Eric Murphy volunteered to refurbish the four original picnic tables. The Vocational/Technology teacher, Mr. Solstad, was contacted to have his class make the park benches. The park benches in the catalogs we looked at cost approximately $250 a piece. The Voc/Tech club built similar benches for $85 each. The kids in the Voc/Tech club went the extra mile when they also agreed to build the new picnic tables. The ones we looked at were $200 each, they did them for $60 a piece. In exchange for their materials and hard work the City donated a metal cutting saw to the club. Mr. Solstad's class was eager to try out their new saw. They made the eight pedestal type barbecues for $80 each. They would've cost more than $130 retail.

Mayme Shaddock Park was well on its way. A Big Toy was ordered for the Park which could be expanded for future needs. Meanwhile, volunteers and members of the Public Works Crew put a new roof on the kitchen, remodeled the bathrooms, wired electricity to both the kitchen and the bathrooms, and laid asphalt walking trails throughout the Park. Members of the Odd Fellows Lodge dug fence post holes for the chain link fence and helped with the flower beds at the front of the Park.

One of the most difficult tasks was the concrete. A curb to separate the paved parking lot from the actual Park, and the pads for the benches and picnic tables were all poured in two days by a City Council Member and the Public Works Crew.

A City Council Member designed the new swing sets, which were constructed by the Public Works Department and other volunteer labor. A pit for the Big Toy and swing sets was excavated by the Public Works Director and more volunteer labor. It was dug 6 inches deeper than required by safety standards. Then it was filled with pea gravel.

The Public Works Department along with a City Council Member put up the chain link fence. Additional landscaping and beautification continued to be done by volunteers. An aerator loosened the ground and the soil was leveled. Grass seed was sown and fertilized. The parcel was watered and nurtured by volunteers.

The City of Napavine had anticipated a rededication of the Park in early July of 1999. The biggest worry came when the Big Toy did not arrive by the designated delivery date. Calls were made. The Big Toy could not be delivered until after the rededication unless we picked it up ourselves. We got the pieces of the Big Toy to the Park at noon two days before the celebration. Volunteers along with the Public Works Department went to work pouring the footings in hopes the concrete would have time to set up. Fortunately, the concrete was dry enough by noon the following day. The crew and volunteers finished the Big Toy just hours before the ceremony.

The Clerk's Office organized a party at the Park for the celebration. There were hot dogs, chips, pop, cake and watermelon. Mayme Shaddock came to cut the ribbon marking the opening of the Big Toy and the rededication of her park. It was very cold and rainy for the first week in July, but over 250 people showed up for the event. Some came from as far away as the East Coast to be with and honor Mayme. She was thrilled to see so many friends. Mayme marveled at the kids who used to come into her variety store and now were all grown up.

Everyone worked very hard to get this project off the ground, and by the time of the rededication, the Park was partially restored and usable. The parking lot still needed to be sealed. Much more landscaping needed to be done. But with the help of a lot of beauty bark, the Park was off to a glorious start. We were all very happy that Mayme was able to partake in her friends, neighbors and their kids having fun and playing in her park because, you see, Mayme passed away in February of 2000.

The City of Napavine has declared the Saturday proceeding Mayme Shaddock's birthday to be Mayme Shaddock Day. A memorial service has been planned this year for May 6. A bronze bust of Mayme will be unveiled. A poem, an ode to Mayme Shaddock, written by Lieutenant Jim Pea of the Lewis County Sheriffs Department will be permanently placed in the Park. Jim was one of those Napavine "kids" who was influenced by Mayme.

The restoration of Mayme Shaddock Park took on a spirit of its own. The work has continued on the Park and will for many years to come. New walking paths have been planned, a rose garden is being planted, and people have planted trees and bushes in memory of loved ones. It is our intention that this Park will always be a work in progress.

Napavine will ultimately have other parks, but there will always be something special about Mayme Shaddock Park. Many residents helped with its evolution, and now take a great deal of pride in their Park. Even people from outside the community are amazed at the transformation of this piece of property from an eyesore and a hazard into a beautiful garden and a wonderful place to spend a little time.