Submitted by Tom Godbey
With the addition of the campfire pit at the picnic shelter built in my father's (LaMoyne Godbey) memory, I consider my project complete! I decided to do this project because my dad was a WWII veteran as well as a city council member for several years. Although I paid for and built the shelter, it was not without assistance. I would like to thank Craig Nussbum for hauling bucket load after bucket load of fill to level off the area and Jay Schleuter for helping me frame the corners and rafters so that I would have a sturdy structure. Last, but not least, Bill Henjum (formerly of B & B Construction) for coming out of retirement to give me input and help construct the roof. There is not a doubt in my mind that when I celebrate my 100th birthday in 2049, it will still be standing!
Therefore, I plan to hold an open house at the shelter located at the very north end of Splitrock City Park on Sunday, August 29th. Root beer floats will be served free of charge from 3:00-4:30 p.m. for everyone interested in attending. The road up there has been recently improved and there is plenty of parking. Don't forget to take notice of all of the other park improvements as well.
You might wonder why I have such an interest in the city park. Back when I was city commissioner of parks, and Garretson's most dedicated park ranger, Ed Koens, was still with us, we talked for hours about the wants and needs of the park. We had many ideas involving shelters, trails, campsites, etc. The plan was that when a project was completed, we would celebrate with an open house featuring free root beer floats. Sadly, Ed passed away before any of our plans could take shape so we never reached any of our goals. Therefore, this celebration of a project completed will be in Ed's memory as well.
I would love to see a good turnout for this open house! If you are in a hurry or have physical limitations, stop by for roadside service! Last but not least, I am making a request that our Garretson residents come up and make use of the shelter, the fire pit and the upright grill.
