The effort Saturday morning to assemble the New Playground at the Union Street School was a rousing success! Children for many years to come can thank the group of friends and neighbors who came together under the guidence of Jayne, Playground Chair, to perform the modern version of the time-honored "barn-raising" style cooperative event.
The playground itself is nicely situated - not only is the newly finished work splendid in aspect, but the location comes with a fine view of the forested hills on the other side of the Black River and up toward North Springfield, a green carpet of dark Verde Antique velvet only rarely broken with a patch of orchard or mown field.
The hill, upon whose flank nestles the school itself, where the moose still lives, and where it could be that still Indian warriors lurk behind the bigger trees, rises behind the school and playground, nicely wooded, providing a cascade of cool and refreshing forest-lische air all afternoon.
The actual playground furniture is a clever assembly of even more clever prefabricated plastic parts, plastics that one would hope are designed with properties dedicated to allowing the Product to survive the harsh climate and vigorous use to which it will be subjected on a regular basis, and of course formulated to withstand modern solar radiation levels (since the gradually changing "new atmosphere" no longer protects in quite the same way as it formerly did). The fittings employed to anchor elements together and to the Earth, look like they are of steel with a galvanized finish, of stout dimensions and easily handled.
The whole play array is set in a cushion of mulch about one foot deep, that rests upon a bed of crushed stone of differing grades that will keep rain water from pooling, letting it drain off to the grassy hill and wood that separates this play area from the row of 1880's vintage Victorian Village Farmhouses that stud busy Union Street, overlooking the valley that cradles Springfield, Vermont, Official Home of the Simpsons.
(also send in your own photos if you like, make a note about how you would like the credit line or attribution to appear).
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