BUCYRUS — After 24 years as a Crawford Park District Commissioner, Rich Carpenter has decided to hang up his hat. His dedication to the Crawford Park District has made an enormous impact on the quality of life in Crawford County.
As a result, there will be a retirement open house for him on Saturday, Jan, 26 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Lowe-Volk Park, 2401 State Route 598.
In the early 1990’s, Carpenter was approached by a group of kids looking for a place to collect leaves for a school project. He took them down to Carpenter’s Bottom, a family-owned woods just outside of Bucyrus. It wasn’t necessarily the kids needing a place to collect leaves, but a comment made by a girl in the group that really hit home to Rich:
She excitedly announced it as her first time in a “deep woods!”
“I thought that with the disappearance of the family farm, there must be many kids just like her,” Carpenter said. “So I started the idea of a natural area for young kids to learn about nature first-hand.”
He led a steering committee that researched the many facets of starting a park district. The group organized field trips to other districts to see which assets could be brought to Crawford County. The other goal of the steering committee was to build county-wide support.
After a two-year process of researching and talking with citizens, governments, and businesses throughout Crawford County, the Crawford Park District was officially formed on Nov. 16, 1994, with Carpenter serving as one of the three original commissioners.
After 24 years, he still sees the Park District growing in educational opportunities, volunteers, and land.
“It has been an amazing 24 years,” Carpenter said. “I think it would be safe to say that the Park District has exceeded even our wildest imaginations.”
Anyone wishing to salute Carpenter’s vision and legacy is encouraged to attend the open house.
Lowe-Volk Park is located 3 miles north of US Route 30. For more information contact the Crawford Park District office at 419-683-9000. Look for information on other programs offered by the Crawford Park District by visiting their web site at www.crawfordparkdistrict.org or by visiting the facebook page.
