PORT ANGELES — More than 37 years after her son’s death, Janet Young’s dream of a state-of-the-art playground in the park that bears his name has galvanized a community to action.
A dinner, dance party and benefit auction Sunday at the Elks Naval Lodge in Port Angeles raised $6,129, Young said, extending “a great big thank-you” to those who made the event a success.
“I do have to say that since this all started, I’ve gone through many emotions and a lot of memories,” Young said Wednesday.
“I had kind of taken those memories and emotions and shoved them underneath the rug,” she said.
Her son, Shane, was 9 when he was killed in a construction mishap in the Port Angeles park named Shane Park — which sits across from where Young still lives at 1331 W. Sixth St.
It’s been nearly eight months since an Aug. 25 Peninsula Daily News story on the 37th anniversary of Shane’s death told of Young’s desire to replace the park’s woefully inadequate playground equipment, which is only a baby slide.
Since last summer, Young and the rest of the Shane Park Playground Committee have raised $14,898 toward a goal of $130,000 for new equipment.
The Playcraft Systems playground would feature several slides, climbing areas, swings and safety surfaces. It would be wheelchair-accessible and sit on a cushioned safety surface in the park’s northeastern corner.
While the city of Port Angeles has set aside $60,000 in its 2011 budget for the project, the remainder must be raised before equipment is purchased.
More fundraisers are scheduled, including one this Sunday.
The four fundraising breakfasts are scheduled from 8:30 a.m. to noon this Sunday and May 8, May 29 and June 12 at the Port Angeles Masonic Temple, 622 S. Lincoln St.
The cost will be $5 for adults and $4 for children.
About 250 attended last Sunday’s dinner. Among those were members of Young’s family, who traveled from as far away as St. Louis.
Young saw her new great-granddaughter, who was exactly 3 weeks old that night, for the first time.
Shane’s schoolmates, now in their 40s, often recall memories of him that still stand out nearly four decades later.
Most of them “remember him laughing a lot, that he liked to joke and kid around, just little things like that that I think are really kind of cool,” Young said.
Shane was playing on an upright 4-foot-diameter concrete ring while the park was being built Aug. 13, 1973. It fell on him.
He was rescued by then-Assistant Public Works Director Paul Reed and an unidentified man but fell into a coma and died 12 days later.
Shane’s mother begins every day by sitting on her porch across from Shane Park.
“Every morning, I sit out there, I say my prayers and get my day started, every day with my first cup of coffee,” Young said.
Her son was fatally injured about 50 yards away.
“I do see it, but I don’t dwell on it,” Young said.
“It’s been so many years. I definitely haven’t forgotten.”
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-417-3536 or at paul.gottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
