Now That's Old School - park and recreation profession - Brief Article

Parks & Recreation, Nov, 1999 by Lee Furr

An editorial in the July 1974 issue of Parks & Recreation magazine titled "The Movement Without a Name" epitomized the mood and passion of an era that both strove to rectify the rights of all people and attempted to preserve the environment. The goals of the park and recreation profession mirrored the nation's growing social and environmental consciousness. Park and recreation professionals, for example, created programs that included minorities and those with disabilities. Park planners designed parks and facilities to preserve energy and alleviate pollution in cities.

The author of the editorial writes, "[T]he signs of the times suggest a new role for the park and recreation movement in our society ... the park and recreation movement lacks an adequate word or phrase to define its mission. Is it comfortable to describe programs for the ill and handicapped that bring rich alternatives for self-fulfillment to many people who cannot share the satisfactions of the world of work as being part of a new `leisure ethic.' If recreation is redefined to take in such diverse elements as wilderness parks and the sense of achievement that comes from volunteer work in a hospital, what assurance is there that the special role of parks in defining mankind's relationship with nature will not be lost? How can the description of the park and recreation movement adequately express its commitment to deal forthrightly with such knotty social problems as juvenile delinquency, drugs, and vandalism? Prison reform, the regulation of subdivision development, air and water quality standards, urban transportation, the preservation of historic buildings and places, reading to the blind, lifetime sports ... are, in fact, the diversities of the park and recreation movement. To broaden the choices available to people and enlarge their freedom to choose -- these are our goals. To articulate this movement to the public and to enlist their commitment is our challenge."

The following list shows how the National Recreation and Park Association and the park and recreation profession mirrored the nation's strides to be inclusive and progressive in their reform movements.

1. In 1973 the American Park and Recreation Society presented its first women's scholarship, the purpose of which was to encourage women to seek additional specialized education necessary for advancing in their present positions. The professional scholarships paid for tuition, study material, directed interim readings, supplies, housing, and all meals during the fist year of coursework (January 1974, p. 71).

2. Olga Jackson's article "A Pollution Solution with Fringe Benefits" provided an example of how parks provided solutions to cities' pollution threats. Yellow House Canyon, in Lubbock, Texas, was used extensively for mining and dumping. The canyon also served as an automobile graveyard. The city's problems were compounded when sewage and storm waters gushed into the canyon and flowed into a nearby sewage disposal plant. In 1968 the Lubbock City Planning Department suggested building additional lakes to store and use the excessive wastewater. Sam L. Huddleston, a renowned planning consultant and park specialist, created a development plan for the Canyon Lakes project, which included "a 1,400-acre greenbelt connected by a chain of lakes and dams, recreation pavilions, picnic shelters, environmental study areas, children's play area in the sculpting of old caliche pits, and a bird sanctuary." Pollution problems were reduced by drilling 27 wells 1,000 feet deep at the southern end of the canyon, which picked up the water at 1,000 feet and ended the effluent overflow. The five lakes included a man-made waterfall, boating and launching facilities, a lease site for restaurants and hotels, a tourist plaza, a swamp for environmental study, and a ranch.

3. The National Conference on State Parks changed its name to the National Society for Park Resources (July 1974, p, 59)

4. A new division of NRPA was formed: the Women's and Minority Programs. Yvonne A. Washington, an African-American, was named the division's first director (November 1974, p. 36)

5. The Council on Accreditation was established in May 1975, sponsored by NRPA in cooperation with the American Association for Leisure and Recreation (January 1979, p. 8)