YORKTON - Some very good ideas come to the forefront sadly too late.
But, sometimes the germ of an idea can be nurtured into something new and equally good.
So just where is this line of thought going?
Well, the idea brought up in a recent conversation in the community goes back to the once fine horseshoe pitches which sadly are gone now.
Certainly at the time there were reasons behind the demise of the facility here. The club which had long nurtured the sport aged, and renewal within any organization is never easy. There is just a natural rift between new blood and their vision with that of a core group that has long done things their way.
Suddenly a once vibrant club was in decline and ultimately turned over the facility in Pioneer Park to the city.
The city seeing the sport had declined took something of a wrecking ball approach to the pitches, eliminating every one of them and building a playground for youth.
Kudos to the city on a new playground, but that seems as though it could have been achieved without clear cutting horseshoes from the city’s sport mosaic.
So in the aforementioned conversation it was put forward that a better vision for the horseshoe pitches would have been a revamp and revitalization.
While acknowledging horseshoes were in decline the conversationalist wondered if the city might have left a few, converting the others to associated games such as cornhole and bocce – and there are others too of course washers, Waddies and one could easily include an area for Kubb and Spikeball.
Suddenly you have a rather diverse and low cost, and low impact recreational area for the community.
But, the idea was grander still without being something that would have broke the bank to create.
Now add picnic tables – some maybe with chess boards – maybe a few under a pole shed structure for shade, and you have a nice spot where people gather to talk and watch friends and family participating in what could be a rather diverse array of sport activities.
But, back then there was a building associated with the pitches. What if the city allowed brew sales within the fenced area.
And, we know the current edition of Council has stated a desire to help local community groups so if they were allowed the sale of those brews, and hot dogs etc, what sort of community gathering spot would have been created?
Alas the pitches are long gone.
But, the desire for recreation options remains high. You still hear many lamenting there is little to do in the city.
So, what if the idea broached in the conversation were resurrected from scratch? It seems an idea that would be affordable, and worth a very long look.
