The Raymond Park

From the The Raymond News, May 21, 1970

The Raymond Park Board was organized on June 25, 1970. Bruce Hall, Verne M. Pinkston, Pete Henderson, Howard Mitts, and Louis Stieren served as commissioners. The board purchased the property for $5,000 from John Johnson on May 18, 1971. This included the ground where a group of kids had made a ball field that they called “Crawdad Stadium.” The first playground equipment was ordered in November 1971 at a cost of $977.00. The equipment included the Muscle Man, Bunker Hill, six seat swing-set, and the slide.

The park project was a community effort. In 1973, members of the Raymond-Harvel Kiwanis helped plant 22 trees and in 1974, members of the Raymond Fire Department built the restroom facilities. Poles for the backstop on the ball diamond were set in place in May 1974, and the backstop was erected and dugouts were built. The original tennis court was built in 1974 at a cost of $2,700. The light poles were set on November 16, 1974.

The park was officially dedicated on May 26, 1975, and the baseball field was named Stieren Field in memory of former commissioner, Louis Stieren. A ceremony featuring the Lincolnwood High School Band and the American Legion Post #299 Color Guard was held to commemorate the occasion. The Raymond-Harvel Kiwanis and the Raymond Knights of Columbus little league teams played baseball following the dedication.

From the The Raymond News, May 21, 1970

In June 1977, a 24’ x 22’ shelter was erected. In June 1978, Graybar Supply Company demonstrated a new lighting system and the board purchased 30 light fixtures at a cost of $10,286. The tennis courts were improved in the fall of 1980, and in 1984, a second shelter was erected. In 1993, an electronic scoreboard was put in place at the ball diamond.

Apparently, when the idea of building the park was introduced to the community in 1970, there was disagreement about using tax dollars to support the project. I was too young to know or care about the controversy that took place. I only remember the fun that we had when the park finally opened, and I still have a few scars to prove it. My earliest memory was playing on the big slide. It seemed incredibly tall back then, and you would burn your backside if you attempted to go down it about 1:00 p.m. on a sunny summer day. My sister, Sue, taught my friends and me the wax paper trick and we would zip down the slide over and over, with some pretty hard landings at the bottom.

From the The Raymond News, May 28, 1970

Today, the park looks completely different than the park I played in as a kid. The saplings grew into nice, big trees that provide lots of shade, and there is an expanded playing field that was named Terry Todt RHSA Field in honor of Terry Todt who served on the Park Board for more than 20 years. With the help of the Place2Play Committee, headed up by Raymond resident, Amy Brown (who happens to reside in my childhood home), there is new, colorful playground equipment.  The grounds are neatly kept and it's a wonderful little park that adds to Raymond's charm.

The current Park Board members include: Kent Sorrells, Ty Herman, John Terneus, Kent Wagahoff, and Daniel Mulch. Verne L. Pinkston, who had followed in his father's footsteps as a park commissioner, recently stepped down after 30 years of service.

The photo and information were taken from Raymond’s 125^th Anniversary Book