As crews work on the project Tuesday, mom Denise Haldeman (bottom left) hugs 5-year-old son Daniel (ce
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There was still a stubborn early-morning mist shrouding the area where crews would soon be working.
But it was still easy for Denise Haldeman, who said the whole effort was "more than a playground to me," to see what the finished site is going to be.
A place for kids from all over, a place where kids without disabilities "will be able to play side-by-side with kids who have disabilities, and vice versa," as she said.
At the site where a playground this week is literally rising from Manor Township farmland, volunteer Benjamin Mummau was ready to go at dawn this morning.
"All of this work is for Daniel, and all for the other kids ... so it's really for a good purpose," said the 29-year-old Mummau, who works for Landisville's Harper Tree Service, which gave him the time off to volunteer.
Denise Haldeman is the mom of Daniel, who's now 5, and this week, she is marking one of the last stages of her 2-year-old dream.
Starting Tuesday, continuing today and running through Sunday, a team of professionals and some 1,500 volunteers is putting together a playground south of Mountville called "Daniel's Den."
Being built behind Manor Church along Central Manor Road, the new playground will offer a potpourri of play for the smallest people, with or without disabilities.
It's being built thanks to the land being by donated by the church itself, the work of the volunteers, and a large fundraising effort that could still use just a little more help.
"There are so many kids, in Lancaster County alone, who are going to benefit," Haldeman said Tuesday, describing some of the special touches the playground will have for kids who happen to be in wheelchairs or have disabilities.
It will be equipped entirely with ramps, she said, with no steps to navigate.
And there will be other things like high-backed seats on the swings and a "poured-in rubber" track-like surface that will make it easier for wheelchairs, she said.
"This is more than a playground to me ... it's the whole community coming together and supporting all kids," she said.
Despite the high number of volunteers, the effort could always use more, and Haldeman points out that the playground will not be ready for use right away when the work's done Sunday.
Haldeman said it all started two-plus years ago, after she had tried to take Daniel, who has cerebral palsy, to a traditional playground.
"I realized they just weren't accessible, what with a wheelchair, the mulch, the stones, the steps and everything," so she contacted the Special Kids Network, an organization that helps parents of kids with disabilities.
"They said, 'Why don't you start looking to build one?' " meaning a playground that would accommodate all kids.
The project has taken on a life of its own, and Haldeman definitely wants to thank her family —!\qalong with Daniel, her husband Dennis, 12-year-old daughter Dana and 9-year-old son Dylan — for being so understanding.
"They're excited ... everybody's excited," she said. "Our family has been sacrificing a lot since I've been so involved in this."
Dennis is one of 15 construction captains on the job this week for the work, which is spread over three shifts from early morning to early evening.
Officials from the Manor Church, formerly known as Manor Brethren In Christ Church, called Haldeman and offered the land for Daniel's Den after reading a newspaper article about her dream.
Many Lancaster County companies have donated tools for the effort.
Haldeman said that organizers "have been so blessed with the support the community has given us, and churches in the local community have come through, too," providing things like the dozen or so meals this week for the workers.
"We're talking home-cooked meals, too," Haldeman said. "You'd get a little tired of pizza."
Haldeman, of Centerville, can envision parents of children with disabilities coming from places like New Holland, Ephrata and other spots so their kids can enjoy Daniel's Den.
The firm Leathers and Associates of Ithaca, N.Y., which has built more than 1,600 playgrounds worldwide, is overseeing the whole Daniel's Den project.
Haldeman said at mid-afternoon Tuesday, "When we were here this morning, (the playground land) was just flat ... there were no boards out there at all, so it's amazing what we've done in just half a day."
The project is costing $375,000, and they still need to raise nearly $160,000, Haldeman said — $105,000 for the poured-in rubber surface, and they still owe $50,000 for the materials.
There will be an official opening and celebration once the money is raised and the rubber surface is poured, Haldeman said.
But the work and fundraising will be worth it, she added, when Daniel and other kids will be able to play, with no obstacles.
(To donate tax-deductible gifts to the project, mail checks — payable to TFEC, or The Foundation for Enhancing Communities, with Daniel's Den in the memo line — to Daniel's Den Playground, P.O. Box 501, Mountville, PA 17554-0501.)
And volunteers — everyone from carpenters to construction workers, food servers and other helpers — are asked to contact Deb Franssen at 872-6013.
To learn more about the project, visit
www.danielsdenplayground.org or call Ken Hussar at 898-0024.
Staff writer David O'Connor can be reached at doconnor@LNPnews.com or 481-6033.
