Welcome back to this week’s post on why parks matter to Columbia Valley residents. This week, Jessica Bee shared memories of her and her friends from when she was a teenager.
When Jessica was 17 years old, roughly 11th grade, she and her friends were hanging out and figuring out what to do. They decided that it would be fun to get together and have a picnic. Jessica and her friends got together at the local park, and each of them brought a dish of food to share amongst themselves. Jessica remembers sitting, chatting, and eating on a picnic blanket with all of her friends for hours that night. The friends were able to talk about their lives and plans for the future – who is going to college, who would be working for their parents, and so on. They even brought a frisbee and got to run around laughing and playing with one another.
Jessica explained that she and her friends got together at their local parks frequently. Sometimes they would walk on the paths and talk about their lives. Other times they would climb on top of the monkey bars, during times when children were not using the playground equipment, and chat amongst themselves.
Jessica recognizes that she would not have had these experiences or fond memories with her friends if she did not have parks in her neighborhood. Jessica mentioned that she is still in contact with these friends from the memory today. She expressed that she would one day love to invite those same friends to Columbia Valley and have a picnic at her very own local park again.
Columbia Valley Park & Recreation District 