New playground for Greater Parkview Church daycare is immediate hit with kids

The Stafford house was the place to be for children growing up in one Greensburg neighborhood.

With six siblings and a pool, the West Pittsburgh Street home was always a busy place.

“All of the kids hung out here,” said Dorothy Gerhardt. “It was fun growing up here.”

Now, that childhood fun will continue with a new playground recently installed where the Stafford house once stood, next to Greater Parkview Church, for children who attend day care there. As soon as a red ribbon was cut Saturday, several children raced to the playset, jumping on the swings or climbing a ladder to one of the slides.

The playground will help them not only release energy, but develop, too, said Bishop Carl E. Jones Sr.

“Play is a natural part of kids,” he said. “It’s a natural part of their growing process.”

The playground was installed about a month ago with separate areas for toddlers and preschoolers at Each One Teach One Family Center.

The Stafford house, where Sarah and John Stafford and their six children lived, caught on fire several years ago and was later demolished. The property was sold to the church in 2010 and work has been ongoing to prepare the lot for the playground.

Jones said a final phase will be to pave an area outside the playground’s fence.

Kelly Faulisi’s 3-year-old daughter Gianna raced to the swings, her favorite, immediately Saturday. She has attended the center since she was 3 months old.

“All she talks about every day is this playground,” said Faulisi of West Newton.

The playground provides a new opportunity for children in 70 families who attend the center, said director Christina Stewart. It gives them a safe environment to learn, interact with other kids and develop motor skills.

The children who attend the center usually go on neighborhood walks or visit a nearby playground on Spring Street to get some outdoor time. Having the new option right in their backyard is much safer, Stewart said.

“This playground will provide hours of safe outdoor play for our youngsters,” she said.

Members of the Stafford family attended Saturday’s ribbon-cutting and stood in the spots where they had fun decades ago. A new group of children feet away enjoyed the same kind of play.

“The way it worked out is kind of neat,” said Robert Stafford, Gerhardt’s brother. “Now it’s going to be a playground forever.”