(Spencer)—Two men are spearheading a project to relocate and restore the iconic rocket slide located in Spencer’s West Leach Park.
Paul Daniels says the structure holds a special place in the hearts of a lot of people in the area…(click here for comment.)
“One of the first things that comes out of people’s mouths when you mention it is, hey I played on that. I remember that. It brings up a lot of good memories and that’s one of the reasons that when we took on this project a lot of groups have tried in the past, it just hasn’t got anywhere and it’s just getting to the point where we’re either going to have to tear it down and just get rid of it or tear it down and move it to East Leach Park. That’s what we want to do and we want to restore it and do it the right way so many generations forward can enjoy the rocket slide.”
Todd Bredehoeft says the fact West Leach Park is subject to flooding from the nearby Little Sioux River is what has led to the need to relocate the rocket slide…(click here for comment.) “I guess with it being a flood area you know, they’ve taken all the existing equipment that was down there, just due to wear and tear with the water and stuff, and, you know, with the rocket being there and everything flooding you can’t let the kids play on it year around and it just does wear and tear to it, so just hoping now that we can move it, restore it and, you know, save it for another 40 years. I think it dates back to the late 60’s, so.”
Daniels says some of the inspiration for the project came from a show on the History Channel…(click here for comment.) “A lot of you who have maybe watched Rick’s Restoration out of Las Vegas, they recently did a rocket slide. So the excitement about it and the visibility is there for it right now. The cool part of it is is we have actually been in contact with, not with Rick with Rick’s Restoration but the guy who had it shipped out there to get done and it ended up going back to the city of Keokuk in Iowa here. He has actually agreed and will hopefully come out when we do our deconstruction day here in the next couple weeks and he’ll also have his plans which will be a huge help. So it’s going to be kind of exciting to have him involved with it as well.”
Daniels says to save on cost, the local group plans to do the restoration work on its own. But he says they’re going to need some help from the public…(click here for comment.) “It’s such an iconic piece and everyone’s, you know, knows where it is and has played on it most likely. The things we’re looking for from the community are supplies, donations of course are always helpful, time, tools, resources. There’s going to be a number of different things over time that we’ll ask for. Right now over the next couple of weeks weather-permitting, hopefully we’ll actually get going on the deconstruction part and then later on in the summer we’ll actually start the refurbishing process of it.”
Anyone interested in helping out or in donating materials toward the project should contact Del Ray Bredehoeft with the Spencer Parks and Recreation Department at (712) 580-7260.
