Leader0720b

Page 1B • The Leader • July 20, 2013 • www.theleadernews.com

Let us spray: Splash playgrounds abound for good, clean fun by Betsy Denson betsy@theleadernews.com When you want to beat the heat but don’t have the energy or the inclination to shepherd your little ones around a swimming pool, sometimes a free city splash pad, or sprayground, is just the ticket. “I enjoy going to splash pads because I have kids of varied ages, two of whom are not yet swimmers,” said Barbie Wood. “They all have a good time.” It’s been a while since I was a regular on the splash pad scene, so I asked for some area feedback and also paid a visit to a few close to Leader readers.

Jaycee Park, 1300 Seamist (Timbergrove)

As one of the newest spraygrounds,

opened in May of 2011, the splash pad at Jaycee Park sees plenty of action. It was funded by H-E-B, in partnership with the Houston Parks & Recreation Department, the Houston Parks Board and Friends of Jaycee Park. The HPARD web site says that “the water facility’s timed spouts are surrounded by colorful, oversized butterﬂies and leaves in the paved surface, and there are benches around it for the enjoyment of parents who want to stay dry while watching their youthful charges run wild.” When I visited, there were about 10 kids frolicking in the spray. Shannon Sylve was there with her children and nephew from Spring Branch because her ﬁancé works nearby. She says that there aren’t any spraygrounds in her area.

My take: Deﬁnitely worth a trip. The park also features a playground, tennis and basketball courts. Bathrooms? No.

Montie Beach Park, 915 Northwood (Heights area between Airline Drive and I-45)

The Montie Beach water sprayground opened in 2006 and is another H-E-Bfunded project. The HPARD web site says that the splash pad’s “design includes a beach theme, including a palm island, a whale design in its colorful play surface sporting a spout spray at its hump, and multiple wave sprays that create a rolling ‘wave’ effect.” On Saturday I spoke with Jazmin Wisnowski who recently moved with her fam-

ily to Houston from McAllen. Her father-in-law lives nearby so she was familiar with the park and her children were grateful to have a place to cool off for a bit. My take: Not as new as the splash pad at Jaycee Park but still does the trick. The water is on The Jaycee Park sprayground has been a hit since it automatic control, so kids cannot opened in 2011 in Timbergrove. (Photo by Betsy Denson) start it at will. One con is that, parpad at T.C. Jester might be reason enough ticularly on weekends, the park has to make the trip on sweltering days. There a litter issue. Bathrooms? The adjacent community are several different jets on automatic center presumably has bathrooms, but it control, which are staggered. My take: It doesn’t have the bells and was locked when I was there on Saturday whistles of some of the other splash pads, afternoon. but it does offer a shade tarp. If you have kids of various ages, the older ones could T.C. Jester Pool, 4205 T.C. Jester An added beneﬁt to the pool, the splash swim while the little ones splash. Bathrooms? Yes

Family Stories

Get lost in a book this summer by Betsy Denson betsy@theleadernews.com

As the daughter of a librarian, I logged my fair share of hours in our local library. This was back in the dark ages, when libraries were primarily filled with books. And the section with 8-tracks and cassette tapes which was where I could indulge my budding Rick Springfield obsession. But I digress. It’s the books I really craved. Summertime was prime time for reading. The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell. The selection of paperbacks near the circulation desk full of really inappropriate books which I went for anyway. I don’t read as much today as I would like but I’m always interested in what other people are reading, the books they loved as kids, and the ones they enjoy coming back to every once in a while. Here’s a Leader reader roundup: Angela Pennington says she’s re-reading The Grapes of Wrath right now because “it puts things into perspective when the air is out and the Internet is down.” She also re-reads Rebecca often. “Summer reading is usually more intense reading, when school/busy time is time for mysteries and fluff,” she said. Her first love at Oak Forest Elementary was a book called The Bell Tower Mystery. “First column, second row of books in the fiction section,” she remembers. “I checked it out a million times. [It’s] out of print now, haven’t been able to find it in years.” Valencia Pellerin likes inspirational or self-reflection books such as The Purpose Driven Life or just about anything from Joyce Meyer. “As a child I loved Shel Silverstein. The Giving Tree, Where the Sidewalk Ends, A Light in the Attic were all amazing,” she said. Jeny Burrell allows herself more lowbrow literature during the summer, including the yearly offering by Mary Higgins Clark. Childhood favorites include The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes (“It’s definitely one of those that teaches you that you don’t know about a person until you walk in their shoes,” she says) and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Daughter Flinn is reading the Dear America series and working her way alphabetically through the A to Z Mysteries by Ron Roy as well as the author’s other series The Capitol Mysteries. Sue Schmidt and Megan Salch also say they keep it less serious during the summer, although Salch comes back to The Count of Monte Cristo every couple of years. “I read The Fault in our Stars and do think

Stephani Twyford on the set, producing an oral history. (Submitted photo) Wallace

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Take note and take notes by Cynthia Lescalleet For The Leader You know the drill. When the extended family gathers, the lore starts to ﬂy. You’ve likely heard it all before. (Well, most of it anyway.) Maybe you think you know the stories so well you’ll never forget them. Or perhaps you think that you’ll eventually capture the tales for posterity. Don’t wait. Get the elders talking and get them on the record. Whether written, recorded or on camera, urge family history documentarians and oral history experts.

Living through history

munity. He’s a frequent speaker on asking relatives for not just family tales, but the history they witnessed. “They’re historians and we’re not asking them the right questions,” he said in a “Recording Life Stories” presentation for a local Rotary Club. Here are some of the topics he suggested to get the conversation started -- or to keep it going once the best-spun family yarns have been told. Ask about: * Parents and grandparents, favorite relatives (and why they’re favor-

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