Goodbye Dear Playground Tower

So those of you who have been to the Haws home have probably noticed the playground.  Many of you grew up playing on it all summer long.  My grandparents (Barrett and Marie) had the wise idea to take the lot next to my parents house and make it a playground so some 28 (I'm not sure the date... I'll look it up and report back) years ago they built a tower with a slide and balance beam and swings and sandbox and jiggly bridge (not sure what that is really called) and a tire swing.  It was pretty sweet and we all love it.  Over the years parts have broken down and been removed (balance beam, swings, tire swing) but the tower and super tall, long slide remained.  Several years ago Grandma Marie added some tubes mounted to brackets (like a scope) that you could look though to see the various landmarks around Hooper.

Barrett and Marie by the new playground. (That cute little guy in the blue cap just over Grandpa Barrett's right shoulder is me.  Emily is just above Grandma Marie.  I am pretty sure the little blond girl is Stalee and JB is on the slide.)  Thanks Nat for the pic.

I turn 30 tomorrow and it was a fixture in my childhood as long as I can remember (in fact it the first of my many some concussions happened because I fell from the top of the slide.Well today it came to an end!  Unfortunately unprotected wood does not last forever in the Utah environment and it got to the point where it was no longer safe for kids.  So today, my Dad took his chain saw and weakened the main columns and pulled the tower down.

The slide (as you can see) is still standing but the tower we all remember is gone.

I'm sure that some of us are saddened by this loss.  I wish my Barrett would have gotten a chance to enjoy it, but at the same time I am not sure I would have let him up there with the rotten wood like it was.

Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Haws for giving us such a wonderful place to grow and develop.