Grand Re-Opening Celebrates Winnetka Playground's Journey To Ghana

WINNETKA, IL — At a grand reopening ceremony last week at Nick Corwin Park, local officials acknowledged the efforts of the Winnetka Eagle Scout who led the effort to send the playground's old equipment to West Africa.

Jake Claybrook, a member of Troop 18, helped arrange for the old equipment to be dismantled, shipped and reconstructed at an after-school enrichment program in the western region of Ghana as part of his Eagle Scout project, district officials said.

Claybrook's mother, former Winnetka Park District Commissioner Teresa Claybrook, described the experience of rebuilding the old playground thousands of miles away.

"Most of the children in Ghana had never played on a playground before. They had never even seen one," Teresa Claybrook said in a statement.

"On the last day, as the playground was coming together, the entire community came and surrounded us as we worked to put the finishing touches on their new playground," she said. "It was truly remarkable to feel the excitement in their community and know that those kids would experience playing on a playground equipment for the first time in their lives.”

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The old playground equipment had been installed in 1999 and was replaced to meet current safety standards, according the park district.

Nick Corwin Park, located at 1550 Edgewood Lane, was acquired by the park district from Winnetka School District 36 in 1953.

It was formerly known as Edgewood Park before a divided Winnetka Park District board voted to rename it five months after Laurie Dann fatally shot Corwin in his 2nd grade classroom at Hubbard Woods School in 1988.

Winnetka resident and former FBI agent Phil Andrew, who survived after being taken hostage and shot by Dann, praised the project at the playground's reopening event.

"Giving back to a community in Ghana is a beautiful example of the positive ripple that can come from capturing the joyous life that Nicky Corwin was in the midst of living and seeing that cascade through our community and across the ocean into Ghana," Andrew said.

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"To stand here today and hear about kids going to school, just so they can play on a playground, is so impactful and embodies the essence of what this park was built on," he added.

And Linda Corwin, Nick's mother, said the support of the community was very meaningful.

"I hope that the families in Ghana and in Winnetka experience the joy that Nick brought to us," she said. "Nick loved people, and I love all of you, the very special Village of Winnetka."