Hyde Park to get Playground
by Ben Hogwood

What do you get when you mix Ben & Jerry's and hard labor?
Well, for those who have tried it, the results will be different on
Thursday, September 23 when employees of Ben & Jerry's at Waterbury will
be coming to Hyde Park to install a community playground. The Hyde Park
recreation fields, comprised of three combination baseball, softball and
soccer fields, a walking path and the playground will be located on
McFarlane Road, just off of Garfield Road.
Julia Compagna, administrative officer for Hyde Park, said the Ben &
Jerry's team will be installing the playground equipment which was
previously removed from the former playground at Morrisville's Graded
School. While Hyde Park will be providing the equipment and material,
"they will be providing the sweat," said Compagna.
Chris Southworth, an employee of Ben & Jerry's, coordinates the
Community Action Project Day, where employees of the ice cream company
go into local communities and help out with projects. Hyde Park is one
of four locations where Ben & Jerry's will be helping.
Southworth said at least 15 employees will go to Hyde Park to erect the
new playground. Chores will include digging holes to anchor the
equipment, as well as putting up a chain link fence and doing some mulching.
Southworth said she wrote letters to several selectboards in the area
asking if there were any projects their employees could do for their
Community Action Project Day. Hyde Park was one of four that responded,
and though the town is further out than the employees normally visit,
several of them live in the Hyde Park area, said Southworth.
Southworth is expecting the project to take around six hours. If it
rains, the date will be moved to either Saturday, August 28 or Sunday,
August 29.