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Ahwahnee Hills Park on target

Elizabeth Gabriel

(Updated: Thursday, May 07, 2009, 10:56 AM)

"It's going to be great."

Don DeBernardi of Oakhurst Sunrise Rotary was talking about Ahwahnee Hills Park, which is ever closer to opening. Rotary spent $30,000 to build a softball and soccer field in the park.

He is not alone in his assessment about the quality of the park.

"I can't wait for other people to enjoy it," said Lori Gardner.

Gardner is the county's overseer for the park and an enthusiastic supporter of the space. She speaks fondly of her time spent there in the bucolic peace and quiet.

"It's really exciting to be a part of this," she said, adding she's eager to introduce the public.

"It's their park. We want to get it open so they can enjoy it."

And when will that be?

Best estimate, said Gardner, is July. There were some snags that delayed the hoped-for June opening, but things are going well.

Fern Facchino, chairman of the park committee, has been a constant contributor to the park's development.

"It's moving along," she said, "the county has really been working with us.

Rebecca Crise, a newer member of the park committee, has her own area of excitement. She is helping collect items for the park's interpretive center.

The committee is asking for donations of memorabilia from the Ahwahnee Tavern, the TB sanitarium or the boys school that previously occupied the property.

The items will go into the center to help explain the history of the 241-acre park.

If you have items for the interpretive center, call (559) 641-5151.

Part of the history is visible to anyone who visits there -- ruts from the stage that ran through there from Raymond to Wawona can still be found, and blacktop from Highway 49's route through the park run by the pond.

The county's Resource Management Agency -- the umbrella agency that includes planning, permits and building -- got word last week that money frozen in the state's funding crisis have been released and next on the list is restoration of the picturesque barn that sits on the property.

The RMA is reviewing plans for the pedestrian and equestrian trails and as soon as that is done -- possibly this week -- the county can go out for bid.

On a recent tour of the park with Facchino, the park's possibilities were evident.

The wildflowers were out, the grasses were green and the oaks were majestic.

Part of the purpose of the park is to let people enjoy the place without too much evidence of man's hand.

Some picnic and barbecue areas have been installed -- and more are on the way -- and benches have been strategically placed.

It's easy to imagine taking a book -- "Walden" maybe -- and sitting under a tree where it's almost impossible to remember that a major state highway is just beyond sight -- and, thankfully, sound.

One thing Facchino is happy about is the amount of community involvement and the upcoming opportunities for even more participation.

The Rotary-funded soccer and baseball fields are well under way. Volunteers have come forward for all sorts of tasks.

And there are people cutting trails -- hand-cutting mind you -- for a competitive cross country course, the Hiking Seniors are working with the volunteers, tractor work has been donated throughout the park, the local chapter of E- Clampus Vitus is planning a historical monument ... the list goes on and on.

And that doesn't even include the members of the park committee -- Patrice Jensen (an architect who has done extensive designing for the park) Sandy Brinley, Rebecca Crise, Dan Franceour, Tony Ward, Facchino and Gardner.