HELENA — There’s something new at Ryan Park—a playground, built with the help of the Helena community.
According to an email from Helena Babe Ruth Baseball Association president John Cochrane, it all started more than a year-and-a-half ago when the Helena Kiwanis Club approached the baseball association about putting some of their leftover funds toward building a playground.
But, building a playground is not cheap. According to Cochrane’s email, the baseball association was originally quoted $32,000 for playground equipment in 2020. By the time they ordered the equipment, the cost had gone up by $6,000. That’s not counting the cost of labor and materials for site prep.
That’s where the Helena community stepped in. Organizations, businesses and people chipped in money and time to help make the playground a reality. Along with the Kiwanis Club, the Helena Lions Club, Helena optimists, Larry Koehler Construction, Alvaro Freye, FenceCrafters, Missouri River Contractors, 4J’s, Loose Caboose, Draes, Montana Radio, Marks Lumber, Spieker Sprinklers, Macon Supplies, Sparrow Enterprises, Champion Concrete Pumping and Valley Sand and Gravel all helped out.
According to Cochrane, the project was a community effort, and now the playground is ready for kids to enjoy.
