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Former Elkton Mayor Alfred Tyson joins hands with Reva Weller after a park dedication ceremony on River Road in Elkton Wednesday. Reva Weller and her husband, Ron, are the previous owners of the park.
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ENLARGE
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Elkton Mayor Rebecca Swearingen poses with Reva and Ron Weller of Astor, Fla., during a park dedication at 525 River Road in Elkton Wednesday. The Wellers, who owned the land, donated $115,000 towards the new Elkton park.
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ELKTON — Dozens of people gathered Wednesday morning at a vacant recreational vehicle park that sits along the Umpqua River to watch 92-year-old Alfred Tyson scoop the first shovelful of dirt from the grounds of a future city park.
The ceremony was held to honor the man who served as Elkton’s mayor for 24 years, and officially name the old Buzzards Bay RV park as the site of the Alfred S. Tyson Park. The park sits on River Road, tucked between the Elkton RV Park and the high school’s agriculture fields.
One year ago the owners of Buzzards Bay, Ron and Reva Weller, told the city they were going to sell the small RV park and gave the city a chance to buy the land before opening it to the public. At the time, city officials didn’t know how the city could afford the property, but decided they would do everything they could to acquire the land, Mayor Rebecca Swearingen said.
“We sat down as a council with six months, no money and a rough draft idea,” Swearingen said.
City officials dreamed of turning the RV park into a city park for residents and travelers to enjoy. So City Manager Linda Higgins went to work writing grant applications — and her work paid off.
The city was awarded grants from the Port of Umpqua and the Oregon State Marine Board to purchase the land from the Wellers, who live in Astor, Fla. The Wellers also donated $115,000 to the city to cover the $290,000 price tag for the land, Higgins said. On Tuesday the city learned that it received a $102,200 grant from the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department that will be used to repave the parking area, build bathrooms and create a second park entrance, Higgins said.
Work at the park is set to start in mid-August. If all goes according to plan, by fishing season this November the six RV hook-up sites will become a new parking lot; the portable bathroom sitting at the far end of the park will be replaced by permanent public restrooms; and the few rickety picnic tables that remain at the park will be exchanged for brand new tables, Higgins said. The park already has a boat ramp, which will be open to the public, and the park will eventually be monitored by a host year-round, she said.
In addition to bringing open green space and river access to the community, the new park will also provide travelers with a place to stretch their legs and use the restroom before continuing their trips — issues travelers have brought to Swearingen’s attention in the past, she said.
Tyson’s more than two decades of dedication to the city made him an obvious person for whom to name the park, Swearingen said. Tyson, though, said he was surprised when he discovered that the park would be named after him.
“There wasn’t much I could do about it though, they already (named) it,” he said.
The ceremony Wednesday was the first time Tyson had returned to the city since his left leg and his hip broke early last year. Tyson was taken to a Eugene hospital and then directly to a retirement community.
“I still think of Elkton as my home,” Tyson said. “I didn’t leave willingly; I left in an ambulance.”
And the residents of Elkton were happy to have him back — even if just for the day.
“This is a wonderful, wonderful day for us,” Swearingen said.
• You can reach reporter Marissa Harshman at 957-4202 or by e-mail at mharshman@nrtoday.com.
The ceremony was held to honor the man who served as Elkton’s mayor for 24 years, and officially name the old Buzzards Bay RV park as the site of the Alfred S. Tyson Park. The park sits on River Road, tucked between the Elkton RV Park and the high school’s agriculture fields.
One year ago the owners of Buzzards Bay, Ron and Reva Weller, told the city they were going to sell the small RV park and gave the city a chance to buy the land before opening it to the public. At the time, city officials didn’t know how the city could afford the property, but decided they would do everything they could to acquire the land, Mayor Rebecca Swearingen said.
“We sat down as a council with six months, no money and a rough draft idea,” Swearingen said.
City officials dreamed of turning the RV park into a city park for residents and travelers to enjoy. So City Manager Linda Higgins went to work writing grant applications — and her work paid off.
The city was awarded grants from the Port of Umpqua and the Oregon State Marine Board to purchase the land from the Wellers, who live in Astor, Fla. The Wellers also donated $115,000 to the city to cover the $290,000 price tag for the land, Higgins said. On Tuesday the city learned that it received a $102,200 grant from the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department that will be used to repave the parking area, build bathrooms and create a second park entrance, Higgins said.
Work at the park is set to start in mid-August. If all goes according to plan, by fishing season this November the six RV hook-up sites will become a new parking lot; the portable bathroom sitting at the far end of the park will be replaced by permanent public restrooms; and the few rickety picnic tables that remain at the park will be exchanged for brand new tables, Higgins said. The park already has a boat ramp, which will be open to the public, and the park will eventually be monitored by a host year-round, she said.
In addition to bringing open green space and river access to the community, the new park will also provide travelers with a place to stretch their legs and use the restroom before continuing their trips — issues travelers have brought to Swearingen’s attention in the past, she said.
Tyson’s more than two decades of dedication to the city made him an obvious person for whom to name the park, Swearingen said. Tyson, though, said he was surprised when he discovered that the park would be named after him.
“There wasn’t much I could do about it though, they already (named) it,” he said.
The ceremony Wednesday was the first time Tyson had returned to the city since his left leg and his hip broke early last year. Tyson was taken to a Eugene hospital and then directly to a retirement community.
“I still think of Elkton as my home,” Tyson said. “I didn’t leave willingly; I left in an ambulance.”
And the residents of Elkton were happy to have him back — even if just for the day.
“This is a wonderful, wonderful day for us,” Swearingen said.
• You can reach reporter Marissa Harshman at 957-4202 or by e-mail at mharshman@nrtoday.com.
