Much-loved Playground Gone, Time Capsule A Bust

by Alan Pollock

            CHATHAM — There’s nothing left but memories of the Robert Leathers Playground off Depot Road, which was demolished last week to make way for a new playground.  And thanks to a leaky time capsule, some of those memories are gone for good, too. 

The Chatham Play-a-round playground was torn down last Thursday.  ALAN POLLOCK PHOTO

           Last Thursday, a demolition crew from McIntire and Sons spent the day tearing apart the old playground, which was determined to be leaching unacceptable levels of arsenic from its 17-year-old pressure treated timbers.  During the demolition of the ride-on toy car, crews unearthed a white PVC pipe, briefly leading them to wonder if they had hit some sort of drain pipe.  But they found that the three-foot length of pipe was sealed at both ends, and organizers started to have vague memories of having buried a time capsule when the playground was first built.

            Parks and recreation director Dan Tobin called Craig Vokey, one of the many volunteers who helped build the Leathers playground, and the two made plans to publicly unseal the time capsule in a ceremony Saturday morning.  But optimism faded when Vokey made a discovery.

            “There’s something sloshing around in there, and it’s sealed well,” he said.  On Monday afternoon, Vokey unsealed the pipe and confirmed the worst: the records and artifacts inside had become wet, and had mostly turned to goo.

            Of the items that could be identified were a T-shirt with the “Chatham Play-a-round” logo, a soggy newspaper and a stack of donation receipt booklets, recording the names of those who contributed to the effort.  But even those items were a reminder of the amazing community project that brought the playground to fruition.

            Vokey said in retrospect, the Leathers playground was such a success because it came about during tough economic times.  Some of the most talented builders in town found themselves with time to spare volunteered their skills.  They were joined by many other citizens, and the final product was very impressive, Vokey said.

            Depending on the weather, construction of the new playground could begin in the next few weeks.  Replacement of the playground has been in the works for more than two years. Private donors contributed $100,000 to pay for the new equipment, and the town obtained a $75,000 community preservation grant to cover site and construction costs.

            The new structure will be similar to playgrounds behind the elementary school and at Volunteer Park, and contains some recycled materials.  It will have several custom features designed specifically for the Chatham playground, like play areas shaped like a ship, a lighthouse, and a ride-on shark. 

3/20/08