Роде
Eight
THE STATE
September 15,
1 93‘*
Cypress i tecs and one of the beautiful reaches of water in Greenfield Park — one of the most attractive spots in North
Carolina and of which Wilmington citizens are quite proud.
Jimmy Builds a Park
AND with llie foo|M»rjilion of the people» of Wilming¬
ton. he iiinke.s on oiit.stan«liiig success of it.
Hy CARL COICIICII
★
TEX years ago there was an mi-
sightly dump-ln-ap in a swampy
area near the outskirts **f the eity
of Wilmington. The kind of n place
you’ll turn iq» your nose at. One of
those spots which invariably causes
visitors tn comment : "Why isn’t some-
thing ilone about it?"
Today that same phiee i. one *»f the
most beautiful parks in the country.
Stalwart cypress inw. tadccki-d with
Spaui'li moss and located ill and
around tawitching reaches **f water,
show up to impressive advantages.
Thousands of beautiful shrill» and
(lowers have been set out over a wide
area. Shaded walks, playgrounds for
eliildleit, swimming licnehos, fishing
grounds, ornate fountains and iiunn-mu*
otlier features have helped in bringing
about a transformation which i« truly
renin rk a hie.
It is known as Greenfield Park, and
it's within the city limits of Wil-
uiington.
John Paul Lucas, of Charlotte, railed
my attention to the place. I’d never
known about it before.
"Why don't you go down there and
write it up?" he suggested. "It's the
kind of thing that ought to hn done in
many other towns throughout North
Carolina."
And then lie added; "Cel in touch
with Jimmy Wade. Hr'» la-on responsi¬
ble for most of the work that’s been
done.”
So | went to Wilmington Monday,
and I found Jiiuuiv Wndc and shook
hands with him. That, in itself, is an
experience which leaves a lasting im¬
pression. A long time ago. Jimmy de¬
veloped a handshake which is a cross
In-tween Japanese jiu-jitsu and the Cu¬
ban rhumba. It literally lifts yon off
your feet, and it onuses you to dance
around in rather snrightly fashion.
Mr. Wade although nobody ever
calls him that i» Public Works Com¬
missioner of Wilmington. He looks out
for lights, water, -ewerage, public build¬
ings and things of that nature. But his
special lmbly i. |--autifying things. II«-
loves shrill» and I lowers, and he also i*
a great Udiever in doing things for those
folks who can't do for themselves. That
was one of the motive* tahind the es¬
tablishment of Grecnth-ld Park.
We went out to see it.
“The eity bought the place about ten
years ago," Jimmy explained. "We
paid for it. and the cost of up¬
keep has ln-en Very low. As a matter of
fact, the total cost of the park to date
has In-eii less than ?.’*tUHM». During tin-
last fiscal year, we spent only $523.’’
"But bow about all these shrubs,
flowers, road- and other things?" I
inquired.
"Oh. folks donated those, or the mon¬
ey with which to buy them.” he replied.
"When we started «.ut. building up this
place, wo asked for donations, and you
ought to see tin- way onr people co¬
opera Uni. Why, l ight now. We’ve got
hundreds of shrubs set out over there,
to one side, waiting to Ih- replanted.
We just haven’t had time to attend to
them.”
As we walk»* I through the park.
Jimmy explained how the work had
progressed.
"See that rock fountain? . . . The
t'oeks enmc off Olir streets, and didn't
eost ns anything. . . . Slime thing with
those holders on the tlower beds. . . .
Thin hot house over on the other side
of the road was built out of elinnscs of
Ford ears ... 1 mean the supports. . . .
We got the glass donated, too. . . . Those
bears, and pheasants, and monkeys and
other things in the ZOO wen- all donated.
. . . We used to have a couple of lions,
hut we gave one of them to Goldstar*
ami they both died shortly thereafter.
. . . Look at the fish down there in that
stream. . . . Thousands of thorn. . . .
We lot everybody fish who wants to,
without any charge. . . . No charge for
bathing, either. We’ve got a batli -house
over there with Is room» in it. and
everything is free. . . . That «living plat¬
form was built out of chas«»-« of die*
carded Ford cars. _ The wood in that
house over there was all donated. . . .
Every single one of the shrill», you see
was given to us.”
And so it went. A big fat man by
the name of tang — an employee in
Jimmy's department went around
with us, and he seemed jn-i as proud
of the park as Jimmy was. As a matter
of fact, all of Wilmington is proud of
it, ami they've got a right to he.
It’s n truly beautiful place. You
really can’t appreciate it at this season
of the year. The time to see it is «luring
spring or early summer. Yards and
I arils of rambler roses on wire fences;
и
ml reds of other varieties of flowers,
some of them of rare varieties. And the
natural setting of the place is extremely
tanutiful in i t <•-! f.
And here's another interesting fea¬
ture about the park proposition : About
fout years ago, a five-mile bard-surfnee
road was built around the Ink*-. It
к
a
beautiful driveway. It was const rue tod
