Park gifts

The Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department announced a fistful of donations last week that will improve the Shawnee Park Sports Complex.

Perhaps it should come as no surprise that the biggest of them came from the late B.W. Harrison. His estate left $40,000 for soccer fields and a shelter. If you'll recall, Harrison also made the donation that allowed Southeast Missouri State University to buy the former St. Vincent's Seminary that has been turned into an arts school known as the River Campus. His generosity is becoming legendary.

After the shelter was built, there was money left over from Harrison's gift to put toward a playground. In addition to the Harrison donation, the Cape Area Youth Soccer Association donated $5,000, and the Noon Optimist Club donated $25,000 for an elaborate playground complex. The playground will be a place for soccer players to play between games. The other playground at Shawnee Park is closer to the softball fields and is almost a quarter-mile from the soccer fields.

Once again, Cape Girardeau has shown its generosity. Our city is dotted with wonderful gifts from individuals and groups. It's hard to imagine Cape Girardeau without these donated park shelters, ball fields and playgrounds. The city's park revenue is limited. So much of our parks system depends on the generosity of the community. The cumulative gains of such contributions on Cape Girardeau are truly immeasurable.