Renovated Park Reopened

Tom Worthan was joined by old and new friends at the renovated Woodrow Wilson Park at 10 a.m., Saturday, July 21, to cut the ribbon and officially open the park, but only after a few stories of old were told by the participants.

Jimmy Hutcheson and others talked about how Woodrow Wilson loaned the money for the original park, and how the parents of the ball players worked to repay the loan through concession stand sales and other fund-raisers, feeling it was important since this was the first ball park in the eastern end of Douglas County at that time - the 1950s. Others talked about how they worked to restore the park after the frequent floods from the adjacent Sweetwater Creek, and kept playing there year after year, and how the park was the center of the Lithia Springs community.

The active team sports from the park have now been moved to the newly opened Lithia Springs Park at the intersection of Mt. Vernon Rd. and South Sweetwater Rd. on much higher ground. The new park features four ball fields, two playgrounds, one of which is all-accessible, a meditation area, walking track, and concession stand.

The renovated Woodrow Wilson Park will not have organized sports, but will lend its open spaces for pick-up games of baseball, softball and soccer on its open fields. A children’s playground has been updated; a new dog park has been installed; and two new pavilions are available for family reunions, Church gatherings, and for friends and neighbors to meet. Within the next few weeks, horseshoe pits and a volleyball court will be added. The popular walking track has been resurfaced. The project was partially funded by a $92,000 grant.

Joining Worthan in the ribbon-cutting were: Stephen Dalton, Judy Reeves, Ben Vickery, Liz Vickery, Gary Dukes, Lee Fuller, Jimmy Hutcheson, Jim West, Walt Stephens, Brandi Peck, Barbara J. Smith, Morris Ellison, Sue Paschal, Gregg Shepard, Austin Paschal, Cooper Paschal, Almond Paschal, Milford Paschal, Veronica Williams, District 3 Commissioner Mike Mulcare, District 1 Commissioner Henry Mitchell III, and Nobie Bowen Mitchell.