Researched and written by Cory Alderfer Souderton was grossly behind the times. Unlike other towns located along the Reading Railroad, there were no public parks for children to play safely. This, among other issues, was an unfortunate state of affairs. By the late 1800s, adults had begun creating numerous athletic, social, fraternal, and volunteer opportunities for themselves within Souderton and Telford. But no dedicated safe play space for children had yet been built. In 1921, nine-year-old Ernest Walter Hunsberger was killed by a car while riding his bike. Even after that loss, it was another three years — 1924 — before residents of Noble, East Broad, and South Front streets took matters into their own hands. With the help of their children, the adults sold refreshments that summer, raising money to purchase a sliding board to be placed on an empty lot on Noble Street. The many failed attempts to raise interest in organizing a Souderton Playground Association were one of the...
100 years of vision, courage, action, generosity
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