Playgrounds in Central Mass and Beyond

Westminster_Elementary_School_Playground

Let me tell you what our playgrounds were like growing up in Central Mass in the 1970s. First, everything was made of metal, with no protective safety coating on any chains or bars. The only thing I remember being not metal were the seats of the swings. Speaking of the swingsets, anyone who went to Baldwinville Elementary School can correct me if I’m wrong or exaggerating, but I clearly remember the legs of the oversized swing sets being only partially attached to the concrete that was intended to hold them on the ground.

On top of that, the swingsets were very tall, requiring very long chains to get near the ground. This meant we could get going really high, at which point sometimes the leg of the swing set would lift off of the ground if you got going too high. If you jumped from the swing, there was no comfortable rubbery base, it was pea stones and you got hurt.

Two of my favorite things at the Baldwinville playgrounds were the monkey bars, which I’m sure would be deemed far too dangerous for today’s children. And the spinning device that we called the whirlybird (probably illegal by now). The teacher would stand there at the whirlybird and spin it and spin it, and we would all hang on for dear life. The faster, the better. When it finally stopped, I clearly remember walking away, occasionally falling down dizzy while trying to walk away.

One thing that wasn’t made of metal at our playgrounds, were the seesaws. The seesaws were made of untreated wood, dried after many years – – a real sliver factory. Also the seesaws were adjustable so if you wanted to put two kids on one end and one on the other end, you could adjust the untethered bracket in the center. The seesaws I remember were pretty long, which resulted in pretty good height when you were at the top. Sometimes the kid on the other end of the seesaw would jump off when they were down low, which would bring you crashing to the ground from up high. Good Times.

Here’s a list of today’s playgrounds in Central Mass.

Ashburnham
Ashburnham Library Playground and Band Stand, Ashburnham Center
Sweeney Playground, South Ashburnham

Ashby
Friends of Ashby Playground

Boylston
Hillside Complex
Manor Park

Clinton
Philbin Memorial Park
Savage Field

Fitchburg
Bartley-Nolan Park
Caldwell Park
Coggshall Park
Crocker Playground
Goodrich Playground
Green Corners ParkJoAnn “Mama” Fitz Memorial Playground
Howarth Park
Lowe Playground
Parkhill Park
Phillips Playground
Sadie Quatrale Park