Advocates Look to Future at Treasured Devoe Park By ROBERT WADDELL
"This is a green patch in the community where we can take a breather from the city," said Jincy Kelly, one of the Friends of Devoe Park. She said that in the last two-and-a-half years she has s spent many Saturdays planting and tending to Devoe Park's greenery.
"This is truly a community park," agreed Dorothy Lewandowski, the borough's Parks commissioner. "You can exercise, walk the perimeter of the park, shoot hoops or rest on the grass and enjoy the quiet of the park." Vonseckendorff said that through the efforts of Friends of Devoe Park, the group received a grant to do a soil erosion control project on the eastern edge of the park. Erosion causes soil to be pushed away, exposing tree roots and clearing off top soil. This leaves areas with dusty patches and little grass. "We brought in 40 cubic yards of top soil compost," Vonseckendorff said. "The Parks Department came in with their front end loaders and spread it around. Then the Boy Scouts came in and lay down erosion meshing. Then the grass seed will be inserted into the soil with water called hydroseeding." Thanks to this work, in two years Devoe Park will have a richer, thicker lawn, Vonseckendorff said. Another Friends of Devoe Park priority is moving the park's basketball court. Devoe Park is separated by the court at its center and there are large trees on the perimeter of the court that park advocates consider dangerous. The concrete court will be moved to the Father Zeiser Place side of the park conjoining the two grassy areas, which will create one long lawn at Devoe Park's center. "Aesthetically, it makes more sense," Kelly said. Margaret Johnson, a Parks Department spokeswoman, confirmed that there is $470,000 in the budget this year for the project. Though there is not yet an official start date, Johnson said work would probably begin soon. Friends of Devoe Park began almost seven years ago. Vonseckendorff, a computer consultant, took over leadership of the group when a longtime volunteer moved away. During a tour of the park in July, a group of boys on bikes asked Vonseckendorff when the Devoe 100, a remote control car race, would take place. (It takes place the last Saturday in August.) He stood by an area where Friends of Devoe Park, with the Boy Scouts, had weeded, tilled and planted trees. "I always have kids saying 'when are we going to do something else here?'" he said. Vonseckendorff and Kelly are active members of His Glory Bible Fellowship Church in the area but they emphasize that Friends of Devoe Park is a totally non-religious group and they encourage all to participate. "One of the goals is to make the park a better place, but another one of the things I want to see is that the park is a place where people come together in the community," Vonseckendorff said. "As they meet, they enrich each other's lives. That's a personal goal." "I see a park that's nowhere as nice as it should be," Vonseckendorff added. "A lot of people in this community don't even bother coming to this park, but I want a park that's nice and green with a thick lawn, that doesn't have a dust bowl in the center. I want a park that's for everyone." Captions: Jincy Kelly and Paul Vonseckendorff are core members of the Friends of Devoe Park, a volunteer advocacy group. The Parks Department will soon relocate this basketball court from the middle of Devoe Park to its northern edge. Advocates say the court divides the park in two and that large trees are dangerous to players.
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Last October, Paul
Vonseckendorff, director of Friends of Devoe Park, a volunteer
organization, planted tulip and daffodil bulbs with about 20 of his
University Heights neighbors. This past spring, winter seemed to not
go away, but that didn't deter the Devoe Park flowers. They were in
full bloom through a cover of snow to the astonishment of
Vonseckendorff and his fellow park preservationists. It's turned out
to be something of a metaphor for those who love the park and never
give up.
Kelly and Vonseckendorff consider Devoe Park, with two children's
playgrounds, a basketball court, grassy hills and residents sunning
themselves in the summer, an oasis in the middle of University
Heights.