A playground to remember

To the editor:

What was happening in Wasilla 13 years ago this week?

Wonderland Playground was born.

If you were here, you may remember being a part of one of the strongest demonstrations of community cooperation and volunteerism ever in the Valley, involving literally thousands of people. Those teens who just graduated may recall scrubbing tires, soaping screws, or painting whimsical designs on wood as kindergartners.

Over the course of one week, that spot on the gravely airport strip, which at the time had nothing on it, was transformed to the brilliant play area you see today. Like an old-fashioned barn-raising, it was the climax of a two-year effort involving 12 planning committees that brought together diverse people from all over the Valley. I was not the only one with tears in my eyes at the ribbon-cutting ceremony that Sunday prior to Memorial Day.

The motto of the project was, “We’re not just building a playground, we’re building a community” and we did.

With the Valley’s huge population growth, many people living here do not know the Story of Wonderland. But it is a story that needs to be told and retold. It is, many people continue to tell me, one of the best stories of Wasilla’s history.

We were hoping the newspaper would choose to do a feature story about this remarkable project on the playground’s birthday, but they have not. This letter doesn’t do the memory justice, but it will hopefully nudge people who were involved to recall their own stories of building Wonderland — and tell those stories to others.

Ley Schleich

Wasilla