Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Poinsett Park ready to slide into action - Dan Rodgerson

Poinsett Park ready to slide into action
The Greenville News - Greenville, S.C.
Author: Angelia Davis
Date: Sep 3, 2003
Start Page: B.2
Section: Suburbs
Text Word Count: 664

Document Text
Recreation spot offers playground, picnic area, walking path

By Angelia Davis

STAFF_WRITER

adavis@greenvillenews.com

TRAVELERS REST -- A visit to a park for Geraldine Lance and her 3-year-old grandson used to involve traveling from Travelers Rest to Greer.

That changed with the recent completion of the Greenville County Recreation District's new Poinsett Park, at 89 Pine Forest Drive.

Lance has found in Poinsett a place to walk for exercise, all the while keeping watch on her grandson, Jacob Ellenburg, as he plays on the playground or rides his bicycle.

An extra benefit, she said, is that the park is within four miles of her Travelers Rest home.

Lance is preparing to celebrate Ellenburg's fourth birthday at the park's picnic shelter this month. Meanwhile, the recreation district plans to celebrate the park's official opening on Sept. 20, with a Family Fun Fest event.

Poinsett is a 4.5-acre, passive park, nestled at the northwest base of Paris Mountain, between Furman University and the city of Travelers Rest. It offers a playground, paved walking trail and a picnic shelter.

The park is the culmination of a grass-roots fund-raising effort launched more than five years ago.

Residents and friends in the Hampshire Hills and Pine Forest communities organized the Poinsett Park Project in 1996 to raise money to buy the site and donate the property to the recreation district.

"The kids in the neighborhood didn't have a place to play," said Barbara Allen, chairwoman of the project, whose home has a view of the park. "We'd been watching this (property) for over 20 years. We came up with the idea that if we bought the land, we could determine its usage. We thought a playground would be a very nice use for it."

The neighborhoods partnered with Friends of the Reedy River and the recreation district to create the park.

The Poinsett Project group's goal was to raise $110,000 to pay for the land. It raised more than $118,000, with the excess money going toward development of the park.

Allen said the group had an account with Friends of the Reedy River, which allowed people to make tax-deductible donations to the project. And, she said, Friends was the purchasing agent for the property.

The group donated the park to the recreation district in 1998. Before that happened, Friends had a conservation easement placed on the property so it would forever be used as a park or greenspace, Allen said.

Allen credits part of the park's success to the receptiveness of the former executive director for the recreation district, Charles Hall, to work with the group on the project.

Hall, who retired in January, has said the district helped the neighborhoods reach their fund-raising goal by pitching in with $30,000 toward the property purchase. The district also received $30,000 through a Parks & Recreation Development grant issued by the state.

Dan Rodgerson, the district's new executive director, said Poinsett Park is "a classic example of what can happen when residents, businesses and the public sector join hands."

"The new park has been embraced by the community and already attracted visitors from all over the district. Our agency looks forward to more partnerships like this," he said.

The park has 25 parking spaces, a 1/3 of a mile walking trail, and a playground that Allen describes as "fabulous."

The park is a popular spot for families like Sandra Silvers'.

"It's a really family-oriented park. It's a nice place to have picnics. We go out there to get exercise," Silvers said. "It's convenient because my parents live near that park."

Among the many users are the grandchildren of residents who were members of the Poinsett Park project.

"Our former neighborhood children go down there with their children," Allen said. "It just thrills me to see it being used and enjoyed like that. It's very gratifying."

Cutline: OWEN RILEY JR./Staff

Fun at the park: Geraldine Lance and her grandson, Jacob Ellenburg, enjoy Poinsett Park, which will celebrate its official opening later this month.

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