The Lumberjack

Issue date: 4/2/08 Section: Community

Media Credit: Stephanie Haller

Labor leader and activist Cesar Chavez once said, "When you have people together who believe in something very strongly… things happen."

Hammond Park in Eureka, Calif., saw things happen on Saturday - with over 450 volunteers dedicating their day to the building of a new playground for city children, all in the name of Cesar Chavez.

Hailed by Robert F. Kennedy as "one of the heroic figures of our time," civil rights activist Chavez lived his life through 10 core values. These values are printed on a plaque in the new Hammond Park playground: service to others, sacrifice, a preference to help the neediest, determination, nonviolence, acceptance, respect for life and the environment, community, knowledge, and innovation.

Amid cloudy skies and a strong breeze, volunteer teams helped in any way they could, by moving dirt, painting picnic tables, or simply registering volunteers. Songs such as the Beatles' "All You Need is Love" and the Police's "Message in a Bottle" blared from speakers as Michelle Hutchins, one of two local coordinators, called out that it was time for team Ninjas' lunch break.

Hammond Park is one of nine playgrounds and one skate park that organizers KaBOOM! and CaliforniaVolunteers built statewide on March 29 in honor of Cesar Chavez Day. While California celebrates the holiday, not all states enjoy the same governmental recognition.

The March 31 holiday is not a national holiday and is currently recognized in only eight states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Michigan, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, and Wisconsin.)

On Monday, March 31, presidential candidate Barack Obama (D-IL) expressed his support for the creation of a national holiday honoring Chavez's legacy. "From his beginnings as a farm worker picking lettuce and beets in the American Southwest, Cesar Chavez rose to help found the United Farm Workers, providing hundreds of thousands of people with better working conditions and the chance to live a better life. He proved what I have long believed - that together, ordinary people can do extraordinary things. When some said he could not organize farm workers and take on the growers, he said, 'Si Se Puede' - 'Yes We Can.' It's a philosophy of hope and aspiration that inspires us today," Obama said in a statement.

In commemoration of Chavez's legacy, each playground that was built on Saturday features a colorful mural of Chavez and a community garden, and every playground is handicap-accessible.

The turnout at Hammond Park was larger than expected, Hutchins said.

"We had to photocopy waivers," she said. After 450 volunteers, they stopped counting.

Volunteers were not just Eureka residents. A large number of Humboldt State University students and student organizations also turned out to lend their muscles to the cause.

Humboldt State's YES House was instrumental in Saturday's success, Hutchins said. An estimated 75 volunteers from the YES House participated in the effort. Members helped out in multiple areas, including staffing the safe area on the tennis courts, which offered volunteers a place for their children to safely play without fear of getting caught up in the construction.

"They were very well-received," Hutchins said. Wildlife senior and YES House volunteer Lindsey Payne said that they used this opportunity as the focus of their annual Serve-a-Thon.

"We get sponsored for doing a day of service," Payne said.

Representatives from Humboldt State Greek organizations were also present. They participated by digging trenches and moving play equipment.

"All of the Greeks are here," Lladira Baez, president of Gamma Alpha Omega, said after helping carry a large play structure to the playground site.

Humboldt State graduate Meghan Kogswell came out to volunteer with her friend, Humboldt State English senior Gayle Healy.

"I learned about it from the HSU Career Center," Kogswell said.

During the course of his life, Chavez crossed both geological and socio-economic borders to unite and inspire millions of Americans, with the goal of providing a voice to the disenfranchised. Chavez inspired others to come together and invoke change. Payne feels that the Hammond Park project was an example of how communities are continuing Chavez's legacy today.

"I think the project really exemplified what Cesar Chavez stood for because it was getting a large group of people together for a common cause and knowing that together we could all get it done," Payne said.

"We weren't just building a playground; we were building up our community and helping each other."

Eureka resident Sheri Parish hopes that the new playground she's helping build offers a safe place for children to play. As a neighbor to Hammond Park, Parish saw how the recent cleanup of Ross Park at 12th and M Streets has helped to cut down on the local crime.

"We're hoping to keep some of the night traffic out of here," Parish said.

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