SAVE THE DATES

Join us on Friday, March 18 from 11:00-1:00 for the season's first clean up of Goodwin Park.  Wear gloves and bring a litter pick if you have one.  Use the Maple Avenue entrance and park in the area near the playground.  We will meet there, divide into teams of two, and focus our efforts on the wooded areas adjacent to the roadway.  Refreshments will follow at the pond house.

We resume our regular monthly meetings on Monday, March 21 from 7:00-8:30 at the pond house.  All are welcome - please join us to learn what is in store for the coming season. 

Please send an email to mmcatee04@aol.com if you plan to help with clean up or if you have questions.  Thank you.

Cloud Dust 

Clouds shake white dust down,
All the trees turned to snowmen,
Their eyes made of ice.

by Writer Fox.

Why walk in Goodwin Park?

Charles Dickens wrote this about walking:  "The sum of the whole is this:walk and be happy; walk and be healthy.

Have you wondered?

Have you wondered what is happening with that tract of land just beyond the ball field?  You know the one - it used to be a gravel parking lot that was often used by thoughtless people as a dumping ground. At various time one might have seen old carpets, furniture, tires, even a burned out car!  The Friends of Goodwin Park, along with the city department of public works (DPW), is turning that "parking lot" into a bit of "paradise." Progress to date includes removing the old gravel and asphalt, removing the weeds and planting winter rye as a cover crop.  In the spring, we will plow under the winter rye and either plant one more season of rye or, if the ground is ready, sow seeds to create a meadow - one that will require minimal maintenance but will attract birds, butterflies, bees and other small critters.  And that's a good thing.

Restored Hartford Golf Course Gives Public a Place to Play, Jobs for Residents

Thanks, WNPR for this wonderful piece. And of course, the accompanying video:

MassLive.com: Goodwin Park, Keney Park on Course for Stunning Revival

Hartford municipals Goodwin Park, Keney Park on course for stunning revival - MassLive.com

In the South End, Goodwin Park GC is open and fully-operational as a playable, but challenging 27-hole daily-fee facility.

To the north, Keney Park GC is undergoing a massive renovation with plans to open nine of its 18 holes this summer and the rest a month later.

"This has all been a team effort, the city has rallied around this . . . and we have great momentum,'' said Tom Baptist, who is responsible for day-to-day oversight of golf operations as superintendent of Public Works in Hartford.

Segarra Touts Investments, Growth In State Of City Speech

Hartford Courant article, here.

...Instead, Segarra focused on long-term investments in all corners of the city, from $700,000 to rehabilitate the Goodwin Park golf course in the South End to a proposed $68 million in this year's capital improvement budget toward future renovations at M.L. King School in north Hartford...