Photo Credit: Westfield Parks and Recreation
As parks and recreation professionals, it is easy for us to get caught up in building the biggest and best new parks and facilities, and implementing the newest fads and trends into programming. However, the goal of the parks and recreation department in Westfield, Ind., is to highlight and celebrate the historical figures of the past.
The inspiration to host Voices from the Past came about when another committee was looking for a project. In 2010, the Heritage Committee was asked to research the history of the city’s park names. Several of the parks have names based on historical figures from the community--such as Asa Bales Park and Simon Moon Park, two of the founding fathers--while other parks pay tribute to the role the community played in the Underground Railroad--such as Freedom Trail Park and Liberty Park. These unconventional park names often leave residents wondering about the origin of the names.
When the Heritage Committee wanted to share its research with the public, I was reminded of the Voices from the Past fundraiser hosted by the historical society in my hometown of Winona, Minn. The event led attendees through a scenic local cemetery where actors portrayed past citizens. Offering a similar event seemed the perfect way to utilize the completed research and educate the community on its rich history in a new and exciting way.
