Fort Tryon Park

The Daily Plant : Thursday, June 28, 2001

TWO PARKIES SAVE A LIFE

Everyday, Parkies citywide perform outstanding work. On June 13 Clinton Johnson, WEP Crew Chief and Cleveland Pearson, CPW for Manhattan's District 15 rescued park patron Enid A. Clarke at Randall's Island.

The two Parkies were returning home after dropping off their WEP participants and the WEP van at Randall's Island Garage when they noticed a white Nissan parked under a median and halfway into the flow of traffic. They approached the car and found Ms. Clarke semi-conscious and collapsed against her steering wheel. Mr. Johnson performed simple first aid while Mr. Pearson ran to the Garage and called EMS. Forty minutes later an ambulance from Lenox Hill Hospital arrived. By this time, Mr. Pearson and Mr. Johnson had revived Ms. Clarke. They assisted her into the ambulance, and proceeded to contact Ms. Clarke's children. Rather than leave her vehicle unattended, Mr. Johnson asked Ms. Clarke if he might drive her car to the hospital. Although it was past 7:30 p.m., both Parkies waited until Ms. Clarke's children arrived at the hospital. Then they left her and her car keys in good hands.

Two weeks later, after she'd recovered from a severe case of food poisoning, Ms. Clarke visited the Manhattan Borough Office to thank Parks. She wrote to Mr. Pearson and Mr. Johnson, "I just had to return to say 'Thank you' for tending to me when I was so very ill... Had it not been for your assistance, kindness, and dedication I might not have returned to my family...." When told of his staff's courageous actions, Manhattan Borough Commissioner Adrian (A-Train) Benepe remarked, "Clinton and Cleveland represent all Parkies at their finest: professional, thorough, and true lifesavers." Chris Lange, SPMO for District 15, who supervises the two men described Mr. Johnson who is new to the job, "He's pulling his weight, and doing the job. He's eager to learn, and he does the right thing." Of Mr. Clinton, a second generation Parkie of more than a decade, he said, "If people have problems, they come to him. He's not just a boss. He's always looking to help somebody."

By Thomas (Reed) Ching

CHILDREN AND COLONIALLY COSTUMED RANGERS HELP
THE HISTORIC HOUSE TRUST ANNOUNCE GRANTS AND GUIDES

On the morning of Wednesday, June 20, one could hear the strains of fife and drum music coming from behind the Old Stone House Historic Interpretive Center. Curious passers-by saw forty fourth-graders from P.S. 172 and P.S. 38 in Brooklyn exploring the house's exhibit room, making cornhusk dolls, tossing ribboned hoops in the air with sticks, and clomping around in wooden Dutch clogs alongside Urban Park Rangers in colonial costume.

The festivities were a precursor to the Historic House Trust press announcement that it will distribute a free copy of their recently published Children's Guide to Historic Houses in New York City Parks to every fourth-grade teacher and every elementary school library in the city. In addition, they announced a $25,000 grant from Brooklyn's Councilman Kenneth (Rising Star) Fisher to fund teacher training for fourth-grade teachers in New York City local history. Councilman Fisher has also granted an additional $25,000 to support field trips by children in Community School District 15 to the three Brooklyn house museums. Speaking at the ceremony were Commissioner Henry J. (StarQuest) Stern, Council Member Fisher, Superintendent Carmen (Wheat) Fariña of Community School District 15, and Mark G. (Integrity) Peters, President of Community School Board 15.
The Trust would also like to thank the following participants and supporters: Julius (Mirror) Spiegel, Brooklyn Borough Commissioner; Alex (Oiseau) Brash, Chief of the Urban Park Service; Sara (Whisperer) Hobel, Director of the Urban Park Rangers; Marty (Eagle Scout) Maher, Brooklyn Chief of Staff; Dorothy (Arlo) Siminski, Director of Brooklyn Special Events; Louise Verdemare, Director of Social Studies for Community School District 15; John (Hick) Talmage and Nicki (Llama) Britton from Councilman Fisher's office; PRM Lena (Stormy) Neglia; Charles Sanchez and Emily Brown of the Old Stone House; Cindy (Friendly) Lobel and Sean (Caveman) Sawyer of the Wyckoff House; Laura (Dropleaf) Correa and Michael Grillo of the Van Cortlandt House; Vivienne (Femmetie) Shaffer of the Lefferts Homestead; and Urban Park Rangers Kate (Kifaru) Mini, Matt (Homer) Symons, Shaleine Dean, Mara Pendergrass, Steve (Ramapo) Raphael, and Perry (Kestrel) Wargo. Special thanks go to the Brooklyn Special Events staff for all their help and hard work in setting up and breaking down the event.

By Karen (Jamaica Bay) Chia

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO IN THE PLANT
(Thursday, June 30, 1988)

HEATHER GARDEN OPENS WITH TEA PARTY

During a relaxed, sunny tea party late Tuesday, more than one hundred fifty Washington Heights residents and Parks officials gathered in Fort Tryon Park to celebrate the reopening of one of the horticultural delights of the city: the colorful Heather Garden.

Considered the largest and most beautiful of its kind on the East Coast, the Heather Garden has undergone a massive four-year, $225,000 in-house restoration to return it to its original 1927 design by Frederick Law Olmsted.

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"You don't raise heroes, you raise sons. And if you treat them like sons, they'll turn out to be heroes, even if it's just in your own eyes."

Walter M. Schirra Sr.