Scott City family donates $5,000 to build park pavilion

For years Don Roth had a humble request: for a pavilion to be built at the Scott City Park to accommodate customers of his Kiwanis Club's hamburger stand during the city's yearly Summerfest.

"He always talked about how he wished there was a pavilion over there for the customers," said Doris Roth, Don Roth's sister-in-law.

Roth died in 2005, before he could see that wish granted. But with the recent sale of the hardware store in Illmo that Roth owned for decades, the pavilion will finally be built.

This week the Roth family donated $5,000 to the Scott City Kiwanis Club, a group Don Roth served in for decades, for the construction of a new pavilion at the city park in honor of the late Roth Hardware owner.

Doris Roth said the donation was made possible by the recent sale of the hardware store to other members of the Roth family. Doris and her husband, Richard, Don's brother, operated the store from the time of Don's death to the time it was sold to other members of the family in December.

Kiwanis Club president Don Swanner said the club has wanted to obtain the money for a memorial pavilion in the park but funds have been hard to come by. Now the club will be able to build that pavilion.

Scott City Parks Department director Phyllis Crump said money for such improvements is hard to come by.

"The pavilions we have up there now are about 30 years old, so the extra money we have goes to maintaining them," Crump said.

The new pavilion will bring the total number of pavilions in the park to four.

The Roths, Swanner and Crump all said they hope the new structure is completed in time for the city's annual Summerfest, which has been moved up this year to June 1 and 2.

The pavilion will add another memorial in Scott City for Roth. The city already hosts a children's fishing day in his name, and last year the city council set aside May 7 as Donnie Roth Day.

msanders@semissourian.com

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