Caledonia’s focus is on kids for over 40 summers

   Every summer, for over 40 years, Caledonia’s parks have come alive with the sound of kids’ laughter. As summer vacation begins, parents and kids can count on Hamilton and Washburn Parks to be the place to go for daytime activities. Best of all; the fun comes at no cost to families, something not many recreation programs are able to offer.

   The Village of Caledonia sponsors the successful summer recreation program at the two parks weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. On June 25, both parks opened their gates to dozens of children from the Cal-Mum school district. Each day, park supervisors are ready to help organize kickball games, homerun derbies and three on three basketball competitions. When it’s time to take a break and do quieter activities, there are organized arts and crafts available, as well. Hamilton Park activities are aimed at the younger children, kindergarten through fifth grade.

   If you are a park program kid in Caledonia, there is nothing quite as exciting as finally being old enough to move to the Washburn Park program. Washburn offers fun activities for preteens and teens. Two supervisors help organize tennis, ping pong and carom pool competitions for this age group. There are the traditional homerun derby (can you hit a wiffle ball out of the park and into the JCI lawn?) and world cup soccer tournaments. Once each summer, the parks throw a party that the whole family can enjoy, called the penny carnival. Kids can win fun prizes and candy with just a pocketful of pennies and everyone enjoys the great food served hot off the grill. The penny carnival has been a favorite of Cal-Mum families for as long as many adults can remember.

   Though Caledonia does not have a public swimming pool, swim lessons are available through the recreation program. Diane Carson, a certified Red Cross instructor, has contracted with the village for 23 years to provide individualized swim and water safety lessons to kids up through seventh grade. The swim program is very popular and Carson says an average of 190 children participate each summer in the Caledonia Recreation swim instruction program, at no cost. She admits that she has seen the families go full circle in her swim program. She now has the children of some of her students from years ago!

   There are two relatively new programs that there is a charge for; a volleyball and a tennis camp, both offered at a very minimal fee.

   Hamilton Park, located at the corner of Church and North Streets, was the only park in town until the 1960’s when Washburn Park was opened on the corners of Iroquois Road, Park Place and East Avenue. Mary Catherine Hamilton, a former village trustee and mayor but no relation to the Hamilton for which the park is named, recalls going to Hamilton Park during the 1950’s when Louise Oltmann was the park supervisor.

   "I wanted to play baseball with the boys but they didn’t like that idea. Louise told them, either Mary Catherine plays or nobody plays!"

   Hamilton’s mother, the late Helen Davison followed Oltmann as Hamilton Park supervisor beginning in the 1960’s. There is a bench named in her memory in the park.

   Hamilton later was elected to the village board in the mid-1970’s and successfully formed a recreation commission which ultimately made them eligible for grant and state funding. Caledonia resident and former elementary school teacher, Betty McClenney, was appointed to chair the Caledonia Recreation Commission. She’s served in that capacity ever since, now 31 years, and expanded her involvement to the New York State Division for Youth. Her experience with the contemporary issues facing youth today has enabled her to adjust Caledonia’s recreation offerings over the years to best suit the needs of parents and kids.

   "It’s important because I think kids are important. We must concern ourselves with their wellbeing. It’s our responsibility as a community to see that our kids have wholesome activities," McClenney remarked.

   A great deal of support comes from the village board who financially supports recreation and the DPW crew who work hard to get the parks ready to open and also maintain them all summer long, she said.

   Lindsey Peet is the director of recreation for the Village of Caledonia. She says there is a line up of great supervisors at each park who are ready to make the most of each day. Supervisors not only get involved in the kids activities, but also must be safety minded and well organized. New this year, the recreation commission hopes to coordinate with the Caledonia library so kids can participate in a summer reading program through regular visits to borrow books.

   "What we look for in a good park supervisor is someone who is interested in kids, someone who enjoys playing with the kids, who is willing to pitch a kick ball game but who will keep safety first and bring new ideas to our programs," Peet said.

   "It’s summer vacation and the kids will be lined up at the gates at 8:45 a.m. and not want to go home when we close at 4 p.m.," she remarked.