NORTHAMPTON — Dozens of people gathered for a jovial celebration at Congregation B’nai Israel on Friday evening for the grand opening of the Peggy Walker Memorial Playground and Outdoor Classroom.
Peggy Walker was a longtime preschool teacher at the synagogue, 253 Prospect St., who died of pancreatic cancer in November 2014.
Lauren Weinsier and Rachel Hannah, who both sit on the congregation’s board of directors, stood before a crowd of about three dozen. This was a moment that had been about a year in the making. The event Friday was held right on the heels of the Jewish custom, Shabbat, which marks the end of a week and is observed just before sundown on Fridays.
Last fall, the two came up with the concept of the memorial playground.
The two board members set out to raise the funds necessary to make the idea of the memorial playground — which is made entirely of recycled materials — a reality. That sum was about $20,000.
They were able to raise the majority of the funds, the board members said, through the Valley Gives program sponsored by the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts. Once a year, the foundation invites community members to donate to local nonprofits and charitable organizations. The event, called Valley Gives Day, was May 3 this year.
On Friday, Rabbi Justin David welcomed the people crowded around the newly constructed playground.
“This is so beautiful,” David said, looking at the crowd, then to the playground, “in particular because Peggy is the most playful person I’ve ever met.”
She understood that children learned best when they were playing, he added.
Also in attendance was Walker’s husband, Jim Walker, who said Friday happened to mark his and Peggy’s 43rd wedding anniversary.
“She was somebody that really was totally involved in her community,” Walker told the crowd. “I’m just thankful I’ll be able to come here for a long, long time and see a memorial to her.”
As children at the event continued to run and play all around them, Hannah told spectators that the playground was about more than providing the synagogue’s children with a new play space — it was also about fostering a sense of community.
“Synagogue spaces create footing for a community, and they are always filled with memories of those who were here before us,” Hannah said, as her 6-year-old son, Gave, tugged and kissed her right arm. “This space is no different.”
She continued, “Today we are honoring Peggy Walker with the installation of this playground structure while, in doing so, we also recall the memory of Robin Zimmerman.”
She was an active synagogue member for whom the previous playground was named. It was a wooden structure that had become weathered after three decades of use.
Folks at the ceremony cheered and clapped and cried as Weinsier and Hannah snipped the royal blue, grand-opening ribbon stretched across a portion of the playground.
After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Weinsier and Hannah recalled their memories of Peggy Walker and recalled how she had welcomed them into the synagogue’s community.
“She was always dressed up in costumes, rewriting songs,” Hannah said. “She was a lyricist.”
“She helped shepherd us into a new way of understanding our roles as parents to young children,” Weinsier added, “and she was incredibly playful.”
Michael Majchrowicz can be reached at mmajchrowicz@gazettenet.com.