Barry Coulter
A park that bridges the generations of Cranbrook, more than a decade in the creation, was officially opened Tuesday, May 31, down at Western Financial Place.
Aimed at kids, families and seniors, the appropriately named Generations Park, just outside the arena, was at last completed recently, with final installation of equipment at the kids' portion of the playground.
Prior to the official ribbon-cutting ceremony, Pat Chisholm, co-ordinator of the pregnancy outreach and support service Bellies to Babies, said the impetus for the entire project came in 2005 from Ashley Jewett, a long-time volunteer for the program then know as Better Babies, who saw the need for a playground for pre-school-aged children.
Chisholm said Better Babies got support from both the City of Cranbrook and the stewards of the Rick Spooner Park (across 17th Ave. South), and following demolition of the old library in Balment Park, it was suggested the new park be located the appropriate high needs, high density area beside the Rec Plex, so as not to have to contend with the creek.
Once the seniors' exercise equipement was put in place, Chisholm said, the area became a true "generations" park.
Chisholm added that the park had become a special place for families to place memorials to children — "a space full of light, the perfect place to remember our babies," she has been told.
Chisholm also thanked the members of the Cranbrook Early Childhood Development Committee, for the ongoing commitment to the project over the years.