TISDALE — A new play digger was added to Ronnie’s Family Park.
This marks the final piece the Tisdale Kinette Club needs to complete the park once and for all.
“It gives kids a place to go and have fun. We had a grand opening there a few years back when we finished putting the last few pieces in, and we had a big grand opening with a bouncy castle and play games and stuff like that,” said Terrah Casemore, president of the Tisdale Kinettes.
“We told them then we were expecting to add one more thing, just a member of the community said he would build one instead of us buying one.”
The digger was donated and installed by Al Hooper.
“He donated his time and he donated the digger, and he installed it himself as well,” Casemore said.
Hooper makes these diggers for a hobby and sells them to family and friends.
“The Kinettes approached me about doing it,” Hooper said. “So they knew I was doing this kind of thing, they had seen them with my daughter. ‘Hey do you want to figure out what you got to have and figure out a price and get back to us,’ sort of thing. And I said, ‘shucks, I can just build it and donate it.’”
They cost $30 in parts, and eight hours of work, which includes precise drilling and welding.
“I’ve probably made close to 50 now, 47 or 48, of them I think,” Hooper said.
Hooper thinks the children will get enjoyment from his work.
“The kids just seem to have such a good time playing on them, all the ones I built, this is the first one I did that was stationary, cemented in,” Hooper said. “I’ve come by it two or three times already and there’s kids digging on it, and playing with it.”
According to the Tisdale Kinettes, this marks the true finish of the park.
“That’s as much space as we were allowed to use, we won’t be adding anything else,” Casemore said.
