On a gray and slightly brisk Saturday morning, community members assembled at Ginder Field in Summit Hill to kick off a recreational restoration that will provide some much needed improvements to the area.

“Today we’re having a groundbreaking ceremony for the Ginder Field Rehabilitation Project, which is a project to revitalize the Ginder Field Park,” Summit Hill Recreation Commission president Jodi McAndrew said.The overall project, headed by the commission, will take place in three phases. Parts one and three were initiated on Saturday, and will include the installation of Americans with Disabilities Act accessible parking and walkways, a toddler play area with safety surfacing, bocce ball, volleyball, and horseshoe areas, a natural play area, benches, tree planting, and restoration of the classic fire truck play set.Funding was pooled together from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Park Rehabilitation and Development Grant and the 2015 and 2016 Small Communities Grants, totaling $80,000, along with Summit Hill Borough and private citizen donations in the amount of $40,000.“It’s very exciting. It seems like it’s been such a long process, and now we’re finally getting started. It’s going to be a slow process as we accumulate funds, but it’s getting started and it’s super exciting,” McAndrew said.Department of Community and Natural Resources’ representative Steve Ziegler commended the Summit Hill community for their extensive arboreal work.“As a lot of you know, green communities with trees make for healthy communities,” Ziegler said. “I’d just like to honor the Shade Tree Commission, and Summit Hill, for 12 years of being a tree city and keeping good trees growing in the community.”State Sen. John Yudichak (D-14) thanked the efforts of the involved groups in maintaining and revitalizing the historic area.“Today, we begin a new chapter in the history of Ginder Field, thanks to the Summit Hill Borough, and the Summit Hill Recreation Commission,” Yudichak said. “Together, we will continue a historical narrative that started when Philip Ginder discovered coal here in these mountainsides in 1791, and carries on to this day, as leaders in Harrisburg and here in Carbon County continue to work to ensure that Ginder Field remains the pride of Summit Hill for generations to come.”Commissioner Bill O’Gurek commended the efforts of the Commission, citing that successful agencies such as theirs have a sense of urgency and a dedication to get things done, and done well.Lorne Possinger, DCNR’s Recreation and Conservation Manager for Eastern Pennsylvania, shared a little anecdote about a trip to a park in Tamaqua where he encountered a young boy on a play set. Possinger was warned by the boy that the set was, in fact, his pirate ship, and that he was not permitted to board the ship. That got him to consider the incredible potential for Ginder Field, and what it could mean to children.“That got me to thinking about what’s going to be built here, and the way that we think about it,” Possinger said. “When we look at it, we look at swings and a little playground equipment. As adults, we may think about that and walk away, but we don’t give it a lot of thought. But for little kids, it can be a pirate ship, it can be a safari vehicle in the African Savannah. It can be a lot of different things for the little kids.”Following the speakers, more than a dozen children assembled for the ceremonial groundbreaking, complete with special hardhats and shovels that they got to keep.“It was fun,” Carlin Crampsie, 7, who is an avid park-goer, said.Mayor Paul McArdle was thrilled with the turnout of citizens for the groundbreaking, and looks forward to the difference the project will make for the community.“I played in this field when I was a kid, we all did,” Mayor Paul McArdle said. “It’s just great to see what they’re going to do now. It’s going to be nice to see a nice crowd here again, especially for the kids.”CleanupFollowing the groundbreaking event at Ginder Field, citizens and community group members stuck around to help tidy up the local parks.“This is our first year doing it, so we hope it goes really well,” organizer Elise Reabold said. “We’re trying to get the community to work together on the local parks here. We’re going to do some painting, spread some mulch, make it look good.”Volunteers included high school students putting in some community service hours, as well as members of Carbon Recovers, STEP Up, and Safer Streets for Tamaqua’s little feet.A fresh coat of mulch on Bill Black’s toddler play area and the memorial in Ludlow helped spruce up the parks, and provide added safety.“I want to help the community more, make the parks better, make it a whole new town,” Justin Juracka said.Prospective football player Zach Rossman said that he used to play in these parks as a kid, and wants to ensure that they are available for the next generation’s use.“Most of the families who move in now have little kids, and the first thing they want to do is look around the area for places to go. If it’s not looking very nice, they won’t want to bring their kids out.”Kara Dietrich, who works with Carbon Recovers and is a recovery specialist at Carbon-Monroe-Pike Drug and Alcohol Commission, was happy to get out and engage the community in a mutually beneficial project. Along with Todd Zimmerman of STEP Up, members of Safer Streets for Tamaqua’s Little Feet, and more, the team focused on Ludlow Park, applying some new mulch and fresh flowers, cleaning the monuments, and touching up the park gazebo.“It’s great to be able to partner up with the Summit Hill Rec Commission and be able to give back, and just to be able to show that we can come together as a community is pretty amazing. Safer Streets was able to come and help Carbon Recovers, it’s a team effort, that’s what it takes to get it together,” Dietrich said.Amanda Herman, also a member of Carbon Recovers, said she was happy to come out and clean up the park, especially the Ludlow veteran memorial, which was in dire need of some maintenance.“Part of the program is to help others, get out of ourselves and help the community, and be there for our fellow man. It’s awesome, I think we really did a great job,” Herman said, looking over the gleaming memorial, fresh soil, and new flowers.Along with the efforts of the park revitalization project, Saturday’s cleanup is setting the standard of top-notch recreation areas for Summit Hill, and residents are proud to pitch in to improve their community. “I am originally from Summit Hill, so this meant a lot to me,” Dietrich said. “To be able to be in my town, the park that I used to play in as a kid, to be able to give back was amazing.”