TOP PHOTOS COURTESY OF METRO PARKS TACOMA / BOTTOM PHOTO BY JAMIE FORSYTHE

FUN IN THE PARK. (Inset photo) Children performed numerous plays decades ago in Lincoln Park. (Top photo) The stage platform was built in 1928. (Bottom photo) Local youth, ages 5-18 years, recently perform “High School Musical” in Wright Park as the culmination of a summer theater camp. More showings of the musical will take place this weekend, Aug. 17-19.

Metro Parks Tacoma turns 100 years

By Jamie Forsythe

Tacoma Weekly
Published on: August 16, 2007

In celebration of its centennial this year, Metro Parks Tacoma is going back to its roots and continuing the tradition of theater in the park.

Virginia Greening Nisker, 83, has fond memories of her childhood days participating in a theater program at Lincoln Park. "We had a play every week and practiced for it every day," she recalled. "The plays were held on Friday evenings. We usually had quite an audience, since there were so many young participants and all of the parents were the appreciative audience."

Crowds will once again be gathering at parks in Tacoma this weekend for the final showings of "High School Musical." This year, in conjunction with the Tacoma Little Theatre (TLT), the park district organized two six-week theater camps, which culminated in performances of this well-known production.

Amanda Westbrooke, TLT education director, said the youth, 5-18 years old, spent six weeks singing, dancing and acting in preparation for the 70-minute show.

The first camp performed the production July 31-Aug. 5, and the other has been performing it since Aug. 14. The last days to catch the production are at 7 p.m. Aug. 17 at Lincoln Park and at noon and 7 p.m. Aug. 18 at Titlow Park, with the final showing at TLT at 2 p.m. Aug. 19.

This year marks the first time there were two tours of the same show performed by two different groups of youth, according to Westbrooke. She noted the stage managers of the productions are all college students who grew up in the camp program.

This year, "High School Musical" was selected based on its popularity, Westbrooke noted. She described it as a "modern day 'Grease.'"

"It's full of tremendous dance numbers and tons of singing," she said, noting crowds of anywhere between 200-500 people come out to see the free productions in the parks.

Westbrooke said she appreciates the support Metro Parks has provided to TLT and the community as a whole. "Metro Parks is known in this community for putting on or developing programs that benefit families," she said, adding TLT shares that same vision and core values.

The marriage of Metro Parks and TLT is a good one, according to Westbrooke, as the park district has the space and TLT has the curriculum and instructors. "It's really a marriage made in heaven," she noted. "It's really wonderful for the kids."

Celebrating its centennial

When voters supported formation of the Metropolitan Park District of Tacoma in 1907, it became the first independent park agency in Washington state. At the time, the district consisted of nine parks known for their public gardens and green space. Today, Metro Parks Tacoma maintains 450 acres of developed parkland and more than 1,700 acres of open space. It also serves as a parent organization for the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium, Northwest Trek, Fort Nisqually, Seymour Conservatory, Meadow Park Golf Course and Tacoma Nature Center, among others.

Metro Parks Historic and Cultural Resource Manager Melissa McGinnis said the individuals who started the park district were visionaries and knew the importance of parks throughout the city. "People need a place to refresh themselves, a place to come to and get back to nature," she said.

"They'll be surprised and pleased," she commented, with the progress the district has made. "They'll be pleased with the incredible emphasis on recreation for children, and having a safe place for them."

Metro Parks Executive Director Jack Wilson, who was formerly a director of parks in Cincinnati, has been leading the park district for the last eight years. When Wilson came on board, he said, the district was faced with a number of challenges, including the constant funding problems. "It's interesting that 100 years ago, the park district was created partially in response to funding issues," he said, "and over the decades, there's always been the constant challenge."

However, he noted, the district is making progress and has stabilized its funding. In addition, Wilson explained that in the past, the park district was concerned about being all things to all people and was only providing "mediocre service at best. Our programs were stretched beyond our ability to provide quality programming."

He said the district has learned over time to allocate resources around its priorities. "We're now better positioned to do that," he added.

For the first time, Wilson noted, the district has a road map to follow – its strategic plan, which provides "a foundation to consider policy" and keeps in mind what the community's needs and desires are. When he came on board, Wilson anticipated it would take a year to develop the plan. In fact, it took a few years, but he was pleased with the outcome and the community input incorporated into it. "It's not Jack's plan or the district's plan; it's the community's plan," he said. "That's the beauty of this plan: it's customized for Tacoma and resonates with what Tacoma is looking for."

Planning is the key for the park district's continued success, according to Wilson. "It's thorough planning that will secure our future," he remarked.

"We're in a much stronger position today than we have been in the past,"

Metro Parks Commissioner Larry Dahl said. Wilson provided an "outside look" to the district. "He brought new ideas and outside-the-box thinking," Dahl added.

Role of Metro Parks

Though the district has grown during its first 100 years, offering public gardens remains a strong focus of its operations, according to Wilson.

Metro Parks Commissioner Victoria Woodards got involved, she said, simply because she loves parks. Woodards, who grew up in Tacoma, said her first job at 14 years old was as a playground assistant at McKinley Hill Park. "My first paycheck ever came from the park district," she said with a laugh.

The role of the park district, according to Woodards, is to "provide fun opportunities."

She explained the commissioners are in place to set policy in regards to what people in this community really want.

Dahl, who was born and raised in Tacoma, has always been a park user, he said. He was elected to the parks board in 1996. Since his election, Dahl noted, the park district has been able to stabilize employment, finances and services the public needs and provide the customer service they deserve. "It's always been an evolving system," Dahl commented. "It's never complete; we always have to keep moving forward."

Dahl would like the park district to be the type of organization the public needs. "As things change, we've got to change," Dahl said. Wilson believes the park district is becoming a "much more flexible organization to adapt and adjust to those changing circumstances."

"We can't be everything to everybody," Dahl acknowledged, "but we want to be the best we can be. We need to explore the opportunities and provide things people need."

Woodards said the park district has become more proactive than reactive.

Longtime employees

Kerry Phibbs currently is a park steward at the Tacoma Nature Center. He has worked for Metro Parks for four decades in various capacities, including as a crew leader, equipment operator and maintenance worker. He even remembers picking up paychecks down at the County-City Building and having to manually irrigate Wright Park.

Phibbs explained he would work the graveyard shift and have to reposition the sprinklers at Wright Park every couple of hours in the late 1960s. Over the years, he noted, Metro Parks has become more efficient and constantly re-evaluates its operations to see what it can do better.

He tried to retire once, but wound up coming back to work. "Tacoma parks are some of the best on the West Coast," Phibbs claimed.

Mary Hart-Furman is another park district employee who has gone through several title changes over the years. Presently, she is the recreation supervisor. Hart-Furman has worked for the district since 1977. Back then, she said, district staff had to do many things manually in ledger books, and now it's all done on computers.

Tim Hartman, the senior boathouse marina leader, has also worked for the park district for decades, starting in 1967 part-time at the age of 15. He grew up just two blocks away and got to know the marina complex when his father worked there.

He recalled checking out customers on a baby blue cash register with brass buttons. "It worked flawlessly," Hartman commented, noting computers can be frustrating to work with, especially with network problems.

He remembered the arson fire at the boathouse in the mid-'80s and how it nearly destroyed the whole operation. He said the retail shop had massive water damage from the fireboats that extinguished the fire. "There was talk about not rebuilding it," Hartman recalled, but the customers signed a petition. "They really pulled together and were the motivating force in getting it rebuilt."

Hartman described the operation now as a whole "different ballgame." Over the years, the park district has become "much more integrated," and he has to spend more and more time down at the headquarters building.

Hartman said there have been some ups and downs over the years, but overall, "Metro Parks is a great organization, and lots of good people work here. It's a great place to work."

Hart-Furman also said she enjoys working for Metro Parks. "I like the organization and the work I've done," she noted. She likes coming to work every day and doing something a little bit different. "I will leave when I'm not having fun anymore," remarked Hart-Furman, who could retire if she desired to.

Phibbs also said he thinks Metro Parks is a great place to work.

Hart-Furman attributed Metro Parks' success to its ability to evolve over time as needed. "We shouldn't be stagnant, but always changing and moving forward," she said, noting the park district's new strategic plan will help it do that.

Hartman noted the district took a "good long look at itself the last few years" and made the necessary changes. In the long run, he said, Metro Parks needs to be "more self-critical and more analytical." Hartman has been 'retire-able' for the last four years, but said he enjoys what he does.

What lies ahead?

Dahl sees the district continuing to improve as it spends the remainder of the $84.5 million bond measure and maintaining the support of local residents. "People realize they have a real gem in the park district," he remarked.

Woodards noted the park district really wants to become that service organization. "We're open to greater partnerships…we're open to finding ways to get stuff done," she said.

Partnership is one of the keys to remaining successful, according to Wilson.

"We can't do it alone," he said. "We contribute to the ultimate success and well-being of this community…but we need to go beyond our boundaries and develop relationships."

Metro Parks Tacoma currently partners with the city of Tacoma, Tacoma School District, and the Boys and Girls Clubs, among others.

Challenges that lie ahead include getting some green space in downtown Tacoma. "We have to be creative in how we find a way and creative in how we fund it," Woodards commented.

An area of improvement for the district is fundraising and sponsorships, according to Wilson. "We're not afraid to go back and fight for our fair share of the tax base," he said, "but we do want to challenge ourselves to find other sources outside of that."

Funding is the main challenge as the district moves forward. "We need adequate funding," Dahl said, "in order to do our principal core activities.

"We have to find a way we can do that in a consistent manner," he added. "We're trying to find a way we have more control over generating revenue."

In the future, Wilson noted, Metro Parks will need to get more sophisticated in regards to play. "It's about transforming the park district to what better meets the needs of today, and more importantly, tomorrow."

"We need to be smarter about how we're performing our work," he added. "We may need to look different in the future."