For more than a third of his life, 14-year-old Lucas Fritsche and his family have been working toward his dream of creating a playground where Lucas’s friends can all play together. And this week, that dream comes true.
The grand opening of Lucas & Friends Backyard Adventures All-Inclusive Playground is set for this Saturday, Oct. 30 at Robert J. Miget Park. The ribbon-cutting ceremony is at 10 am followed by food, drinks and ice cream — and lots of fun on the new playground equipment. The community is invited to the grand opening.
Lucas conceived the playground idea in 2016, when he was a third-grader at Perryville Elementary School. He noticed that his friends Arawn and Azriel, who use wheelchairs, couldn’t access all of the school playground equipment during recess. The idea of his friends’ exclusion weighed heavily on his heart, so Lucas,then 9, presented plans for a fully-accessible playground to the PES parents’ group. Soon, his idea for updated playground equipment at his school blossomed into a community effort to create a large accessible play area for everyone.
“We had no idea back then that Lucas’s idea for school playground improvements would someday lead us here,” said his mom Jennifer. “Lucas is a child with autism, so he’s able to focus on things that are important to him — and his friends and their happiness were important to him.”
And what’s important to Lucas is important to his family. His parents John and Jennifer, sister Halie and brother Landon, joined Lucas’s mission to build the playground. “We have an amazing committee, incredibly generous donors and a community that has supported us throughout the journey,” Jennifer said. She admits that there were times when the goal seemed impossible, but her prayers were always answered by the community. “We were raising money to build a playground during a pandemic when playgrounds were closed,” she recalled. “So there were questions and fears and, sometimes, even tears. But each time we’d face a challenge, our prayer was answered.”
The City of Perryville donated the land for the playground, which is located near the splash pad in Miget Park. The committee partnered with Unlimited Play, a non-profit organization that helps to plan, design and build fully accessible playgrounds. Lucas and Friends Backyard Adventure features a tree house, slalom slides, a rope bridge, periscope, vine climbers and sensory stations. The project cost about $500,000 and a second phase is planned which will include zip lines, swings and the “Quiet Grove,” an area where children who are overstimulated can relieve anxiety. “Sometimes playground activities and noises can be overwhelming for kids,” Jennifer said. “The Quiet Grove will be a place with fidgets and panels where kids can have a breather, and they don’t have to leave the playground because they are upset.”
Lucas, who is now in eighth grade at Perry County Middle School, said his favorite part of the playground is the tree house — and he is so happy to share it with his friends. On a recent evening, Lucas watched as children played on the playground of his dreams. “It’s really exciting,” he said. “It makes me so happy to see all kids playing together. At the grand opening, I’m going to play the song ‘The Best Day of My Life,’ because it really will be!”
Jennifer said she and John are also thrilled that the playground is being enjoyed. “It’s hard for us to put our feelings into words,” she said. “We certainly didn’t know what we were getting into when we started this journey, and we never expected it to be so rewarding. It was an indescribable moment when we opened the playground and the first children entered. One of the children’s father uses a wheelchair and to see him get to play with his child at this amazing place ... that’s why we made it. It’s wonderful.”
