PEABODY — Parents, teachers, and local officials looked on as children climbed on play structures, spun on the roundabout, and slid down slides.
One mom, Samra Lincoln, helped her daughter Nadia, who has Down’s Syndrome, climb through a spiderweb-style structure.
“She loves it here,” Lincoln said. “Her being involved means so much to me. It’s all she’s looking for.”
On Saturday, an inclusive playground behind the Captain Samuel Brown Elementary School was dedicated to Randi Lemenager, a Peabody local who worked with children with disabilities up until her death in 2017.
“You can feel Randi’s presence here,” said Danny Lemenager, Randi’s father. “My heart is full when I see the kids playing. This is exactly what Randi wanted.”
His wife, Randi’s mother and a teacher at Brown Elementary School, Denise, agreed with him.
“This is for anybody,” Denise Lemenager said. “It’s where play has no limits. It has easy access and it’s a beautiful place to be.”
The completion of the playground took more time than anticipated, said Mayor Edward A. Bettencourt Jr., but he said that the city was able to make Randi’s dream a reality thanks to the dedication of the people who worked on and organized the building of the park.
“This project was not easy,” Bettencourt said. “We had a lot of hurdles to overcome. It was because of a committed group of people who continued to keep their eye on this project that it was able to happen.”
Erin Thorpe, a teacher at Brown and a parent, and Haley Guarino, a mom to children who attend the school, met at a citywide meeting to decide what to do with the old park behind the school. Thorpe, who knew Randi, mentioned the idea of an inclusive playground. Guarino said the two women instantly clicked on the idea and started coming up with plans.
“We wanted a playground where everyone could play,” said Guarino. “Who knew that two moms could get all this done?”
Councilor at large Jon Turco said that Guarino and Thorpe were inspirational in their efforts to make this playground a reality.
“I would go to battle with these two ladies,” said Turco. “From the get go, there was a lot of blood, sweat, and tears put into this.”
Ward 1 Councilor Craig Welton said that he was thrilled to have been a part of the creation of the park and to see children playing on every single apparatus. Welton said that before being elected to office two years ago, he worked for 20 years in disability services.
“As a resident of Peabody, I couldn’t be prouder that we have a fully inclusive playground behind us right here in Ward 1,” said Welton. “The best investment we can make is to have people of all abilities feel comfortable and feel included and that starts at an early age.”
Katelyn Sahagian can be reached at [email protected].
