Ribbon cutting at Money Creek Park Playground

Sunday, August 15, 2021, found the community of Money Creek coming together to dedicate the new playground at their community park. Sunday was a beautiful sunny summer day, a perfect day for friends to gather under the shade of the pavilion to chat and share rootbeer floats. Kids had ample opportunity to make use of the new playground and get their faces painted. At 2 p.m., Joan Redig, one of the original members of the Money Creek Park Committee, shared the story of the park’s creation, and then she, Eagle Scout Carter Jilk, and Township Board Chairman Dale Omodt performed the official ribbon cutting. 

Up until 2015, the park was just a big lawn at the town hall. When some road ditches were being cleaned out in the township, negotiations were completed to bring the free fill to the park area. Upon hearing that the local Alpine Nursery was closing, three of the newly-formed park committee went to the nursery and got seven trees saved for the park. Redig related that the township board was “very supportive from day one!” She noted that township supervisor Richard Torgeson had assured her the township would help financially if needed.

Looking for help in planting the trees, they contacted Boy Scouts Scoutmaster Arlyn Frauenkron for help. From this point forward, both Scoutmaster Frauenkron and Assistant Scoutmaster Terrie DeBoer were very involved with the park and playground. Frauenkron turned the task over to Jordan Langheinrich who was searching for an Eagle Scout project. Jordan created a detailed plan for the plantings for the committee’s approval and, in 2016, he and the scout troop planted the trees. 

The next project was the building of a pavilion; in 2017, Dustin Stampka, another Boy Scout, took on the pavilion and grass volleyball court for his Eagle Scout project. The park committee established a horseshoe pit the following year. 

With a goal of raising money for a playground, the committee conducted bake sales, plant sales, and other fundraising. DeBoer and Nikki Knutson worked on writing grants.

Donations and grants for the Money Creek Park Development included shade trees from the Arlin Falck Foundation; pavilion funding came from the Houston Lions Club; Money Creek Livewires 4-H Club, and Tri-County Electric/Operation Round Up (now MiEnergy). Donations from the following businesses and individuals  helped pay for the new playground equipment: KaBoom/Keurig Dr Pepper, Carl and Verna Schmidts, Gundersen Health Care, April Carrier Agency, State Farm Insurance/Micah Hanson, Acentek, and the Iris Garden Club of Houston. 

Township supervisor Wayne Meyer first brought up the idea of obtaining the Global Motion element of the playground. Global Motion is similar to a merry-go-round, but is globe shaped with access for children with disabilities in the lower level, two seating levels, and 14 nets to climb on. It spins easily at a lower speed for safety. Global Motion was purchased from Flagship Play and made to order by Landscape Structures Company. The company helped the committee, which included Ethan Knutson representing the young people, plan and design their playground. The playground has a set of swings, a separate round, flat swing capable of holding several children, as well as the Global Motion. Several men who had helped with the installation commented that they knew it was safely secured; a concrete cube of 4x4x4 feet holds the base of the structure. 

When the city of Houston was putting in their new playground, they had asked the Boy Scouts to help. Ultimately, a deal was struck — in April of 2018, Carter Jilk, who was working on his Eagle Scout project, led the Boy Scouts in taking down a playground structure in Houston in return for the structure. In 2019, that structure was reassembled and repurposed as the Money Creek community volunteers created their own playground. This resulted in a savings of nearly $30,000 for the group. 

Other recent additions to the park include a basketball hoop installed by Rich and Mary Nelson and Terrie and Dick DeBoer. 

The new park and playground create the perfect place for people of all ages in the Money Creek area to come together, enjoy the outdoors, and each other’s company — just what the committee was hoping for when they organized many years ago. All the hard work has paid off!