Forestville Youth Park History
Established 1960
Developed by Forestville Park Development, Inc.
A Nonprofit Corporation
Submitted by Frank L. Anderson 1989
In February 1960, a small group of Forestville citizens met as a Cub Scout Committee to finalize plans for the Annual Cub Scout Carnival held each year on the Forestville Elementary School grounds. This meeting was at the home of Mr. and Mr. Tolley, 1.5 miles south of town on Gravenstein Highway. At the conclusion of the meeting the group’s discussion strayed into the concerns and needs for some type of facility in the community that could serve as a center for all the youth and youth groups in the Forestville area.
From that small beginning the inspiration and enthusiasm began to grow. To keep it rolling the group met again about two weeks later at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Martin Lorenzo to further explore the possibility. The spirit picked up momentum and at the close of that meeting we decided we would meet again to: (1) choose a name for the organization, (2) find a permanent meeting place, (3) agree on a method of raising funds, and (4) to later determine just what kind of youth facility might be within our reach as an outcome of our success in fund raising.
The phones began to ring as we spread the word throughout the community and gossip circles. We rallied as many of the town’s community-minded citizens to the cause as we could reach, and invited them to attend the next meeting.
In early March 1960, we met at the old Firehouse. We were unaware at the time that it was to become our meeting headquarters for several years to come. Seventeen people attended that night and chose the name “Forestville Youth Betterment Association” for the new organization name. It was decided that Robert’s Rules of Order would prevail in conducting all meetings. “Andy” Anderson was asked to serve as chairman. That meeting has always been referred to as our first organizational meeting.
Forestville Youth Betterment Association
The first panel of Officers for the Forestville Youth Betterment Association was elected that night from the group of 17 that attended. We now had a president, vice-president, secretary and treasurer. Everyone in attendance kicked in $1.00, and our first bank account for $17.00 was opened. One of the decisions reached that night was that the fund raising event would be a chicken BBQ and carnival. It would be held on Memorial weekend Sunday, May 29, 1960. Now we needed to find a suitable location.
During the following three weeks we fanned out to find a location and finally accepted Mr. Paul Speer’s generous offer to let us use hi 1.5 acre sheep pasture on Mirabel Road, and we are still there today.
During the months of April and May, 1960, with only nine weeks to go, we promptly began to get ready for the big day. We tore out fences, started disking up the ground, dragged logs behind tractors to smooth the ground, graded out an entrance and exit from the highway for one-way traffic flow and we often held work party sessions at night after work until the wee hours of the morning and on weekends.
Additional citizens began to join ranks with us as the momentum continued to accelerate to a point where many of us unanimously agreed that we most certainly must be losing our ever-loving minds.
It was a lot like “Fulton’s Folly.” Not everyone in the community was convinced that we could attract enough attendance from outside the Forestville area to ever succeed financially. We were a little on the dumb side, however, and just didn’t have sense enough to know that it couldn’t be done. So we forged ahead.
We begged and borrowed (don’t recall we ever stole), using anything the neighbors dragged in. Big ranch-type BBQ grills from the Fred McMurray Ranch that I remember looked like a river raft built out of scrap iron, and tables and benches from the Russian River Sportsmen’s Club. We borrowed an outhouse for the ladies and the men used the sheep shed out back.
Concession stands were put up using anything (canvas, visquine, cheap plywood and sheet iron), and anyone available. We put up temporary electric wires and water hoses all over the place, and we suspended surplus parachutes over the table area. We put up brightly painted 4x8 signs along the highways in over half the county to bring in the customers. We ordered enough chickens, charcoal, other food supplies, paper plates, beer and soda pop to feed all of Forestville for the next six month. We were finally ready for the big day.
Except for the beautiful weather and the orange and white parachutes that floated gently in the light breeze over the table area, it was the most god awful looking mess that most nearly any of us ever seen in our whole life. It was a real blessing that hardly anyone in Forestville could even spell the word “aesthetics” in those days, and that Cal OSHA was yet to be born. One thing was for sure, it wouldn’t fly today. It all worked out okay and we cleared the hurdle that day for our first BBQ with a net profit of about $2600.00.
The whole town turned out to help that day. Many had battle scars as evidence of what had occurred during prior weeks such as; busted fingers, strained backs, weight loss, fatigue, you name it. But, the positive side was quite obvious. There were broad grins with lots of laughter. In fact, the whole town never laughed so hard all together in its history as it did that day.; There was a show of pride and camaraderie, and near the close of that day you could feel the vibrations. We were on a real roll now, and it was never going to end and everyone knew it.