By Lindsey Ziliak
Pharos-Tribune
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Labor Day weekend may not mark the official end of summer, but many still consider it their chance for one last summer hurrah.
Some people may have used the long weekend to take a mini-vacation. Plenty, however, have remained in Logansport and were out and about Saturday afternoon enjoying the sunshine.
At Spencer Park kids climbed on jungle gyms and went down slides as parents watched from park benches or joined in the activities.
Nicole Braun of Logansport was at the park with her husband, two kids and nephew.
“The beautiful day brought us to the park. We’re trying to wear the kids out,” Braun said.
Braun added that she and her family usually don’t do much Labor Day weekend, but this year they’ve actually made plans. Monday the family will be attending the Blueberry Festival in Plymouth and Tuesday she’s taking the kids to the dairy farm in Fair Oaks.
On Saturday, however, it was just the park, and maybe ice cream, she said.
For Sandi Reynolds, Spencer Park was a trip down memory lane. Her family was visiting Logansport from Kingsport, Tenn.
“We’re visiting my mother,” Reynolds said. “When I was a little girl, we used to come to this park and play all of the time.”
She introduced the park to her best friend’s son.
“I’m keeping him this weekend because she just got married, but he’s wild. I need to wear him down some,” she said with a laugh.
Her family will try to find some races to watch this weekend.
“My husband used to race cars, and we like to watch it now. There’s not much [racing] in Tennesse, though,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds wasn’t prepared for the Indiana weather. It’s much cooler than she expected.
“We left weather that was in the 90s in Tennessee. This is a good day for kids to be in the park, though,” Reynolds said. “It’s not too hot for them.”
Janiene Downs of Logansport brought her son’s girlfriend and her children to the park as well, though they would have rather been somewhere else.
“We wanted to take the kids to a water park, but we couldn’t find a water park open in Indiana,” Downs said.
When she was a girl, Downs said the water parks were always open for Labor Day.
Being at the park was better than the alternative, though. Downs left her son at his grandmother’s house for a little remodeling.
“He’s going to spend his Labor Day remodeling my mother’s house,” Downs said.
Kaci Elpers took her daughter to the park on Friday but spent her Saturday at the Dentzel Carousel. Elpers was at the carousel for a family reunion. Her 11-month-old daughter Madalyn toddled up to the line for the carousel. Elpers said it would be her first ride there.
This is the last weekend for the Dentzel Carousel to be open. It closes after Monday.
Lindsey Ziliak is a staff writer at the Pharos-Tribune. She can be reached at 574-732-5148 or lindsey.ziliak@pharostribune.com.
