Vandals Strike Nelson Park

Vandals destroyed play equipment and a picnic table at Nelson Park, most likely overnight.

 “It just kind of gave us a kick in the teeth,’’ said June Lufkin, director of volunteers for the Nelson Memorial Library, 6 Prentice St.

A picnic table was destroyed, a wooden miniature fire truck was badly damaged and doors to a newly painted playhouse were torn off.

“This is just so rotten,’’ Lufkin said.

The table cannot be fixed. The wooden truck and playhouse need to be repaired. “We need someone to repair the damage,’’ she said.

The playhouses were recently painted at a cost of $100.

“One hundred dollars may not seem like much to some people, but it’s a lot of money to us,’’ she said.

The roots of Nelson Park, like some of the trees on the property, run deep.

Nelson Park and Memorial Library was a gift to the town in the will of Charles H. Nelson. The gift was made in memory of his father, Jasper S. Nelson, a pioneer in the creation of men’s dress shoes and a highly successful shoemaker in the 1800s, according to the library’s Web site.