The more things change, the more they stay the same

When the Pointe Claire Parks Program opens this week, kids aged from six to 16 will be there, playing games, creating crafts, making friends, getting exercise and being part of a team, much as they have for the last 40 or so years.

It's a standard that has stood the test of time. The program is run all summer in five Pointe Claire parks, each serving a major section of the city: Cedar Park Heights, Valois, Northview, Kinsmen and Hermitage. The cost is good, too. It's absolutely free for residents, and from Monday to Friday, kids can spend their days playing outside in a supervised environment.

It's a formula that hasn't really changed that much over the years, Pointe Claire Mayor Bill McMurchie said.

"Children in that age group get a chance to spend time with other neighbourhood kids outside of a school setting, because you have neighbourhoods where kids are often split between two or more different schools. The program gives them the chance to socialize outside of that setting. Of course, children are wonderful to have around the house, but every parent can attest to the fact it's great to see children in an environment where they can spend time with other kids their own age," he said.

The program will open for the summer Monday morning, with action at all five parks getting underway at 9:30 a.m. Nothing much about the program has changed. It's still a no-frills recreation program devoid of video-game consoles, televisions and most any electronic gadgets, with a focus on recreation, co-operation and friendly competition. The parks match up against each other in challenges every week for bragging rights.

But the times, they are a-changin', and when Bob Dylan wrote those words in the late 1960s, there were few two-income families, and even fewer mothers who worked full-time outside the home, making the parks program one whose future is now very much in doubt, as demographics and economic realities set in.

The program is a drop-in one, so kids are free to come and go as they please, and the parks are closed over the lunch hour, meaning kids must make plans rather than be looked after. That's a tough pill for some two-parent households to swallow, so off the kids go to day camp.

It's a trend that shows no signs of slowing, but those who currently run it are confident that the nearly 800 kids who spent their summer at Pointe Claire parks will be back and bring friends with them.

"The parks program has been such a big part of my life growing up in Pointe Claire that it only seems natural that I would want to be a leader, and now, a supervisor, after I was too old for the program," said supervisor Karen Stewart, who spent her formative years at Valois Park.

"It's addictive," she said, grinning. "The kids love it, and eventually they grow up and become the leaders."

Stewart's co-supervisor is Kyle Miller, whose parents met as Pointe Claire Parks Program leaders years ago, and whose brother, Andrew, was a leader and a supervisor. He said for the kids who buy into the program, it's hard to ever pull them away. "It's a tradition; something you'll always be a part of, no matter how old you get," he said.

There's a second benefit to the program, McMurchie said, and it goes beyond kids making a lifetime of good memories.

"A number of our former park leaders, through their own effort, of course, ended up being leaders in the community, in the business world and in life. I think that is a second, very valuable trait of the parks program," he said.

The results speak for themselves. People like Miller's parents and brother, popular local teachers Chad Dixon, Laurie Corbett – whom some would argue are among the top leaders in the history of the program – and Jason Duke, people like paramedic Brad Wilson, who served a tour of duty in Iraq, and business leaders like Bob Cameron are all among the program's alumni who also served as leaders.

The current crop of leaders is cut from similar cloth, Stewart said. "I think that's important that the people who take the program the most to heart are the ones that are carrying on its traditions as leaders."

For more information on the Pointe Claire Parks Program, call co-ordinator Steve Garwood at 514-630-1214.