The Fenstermacher Walking Trail and Exercise Campus, a community project, was dedicated and celebrated on Saturday, June 1.
Community members gathered in the park to see the final product of a project that has been months in the making.
‘There is a time when lawyers are speechless,’ said Rotarian Charles Haddad to kick off the dedication. ‘The trail and exercise equipment is here for you-the community-the use.’
Haddad stated that if we all took funds and pulled them together, we could do something major.
‘This would not have happened without Lion Roger and Rotarian Charles,’ said Jim Tribbett, Lion. ‘The park has benefited through efforts of these two.’
The two mile walking trail was made possible by the generous $100,000 endowment of Francis S. Fenstermacher to the Boyertown Lions Club and the Boyertown Rotary. The clubs, in turn, then donated those funds toward the design and construction of the campus, with the Pottstown Health & Wellness Foundation also contributing a grant of $35,000 toward the project. Members of the Boyertown Borough worked with the clubs in order to bring the project to completion.
Fenstermacher’s neice attended the dedication to see what he uncle’s money had accomplished.
‘When I used to visit Uncle Murph, I would ask how he was doing and he would give a thumbs up. I’m sure he would give this project a thumbs up,’ she said.
During the dedication, Haddad and Roger Lehmann conducted a transfers of the Fenstermacher Exercise Campus to the Borough of Boyertown.
‘It’s a wonderful addition to our community,’ said Borough Council President Frank Deery, thanking all members of the Lions Club and Rotary Club.
‘The community loves it; people talk about our park now. Thank you very much. It’s our park,’ said Mayor Marianne Deery.
During the ceremony, Haddad presented Lehmann with a plaque and declared him an honorary member of the Boyertown Rotary Club.
To conclude, Haddad posed a challenge to the crowd. He talked about a 99-year-old man of St. Johns who walks the trail using his walker. ‘Come out next Saturday to see if you can keep up with his stride,’ said Haddad. ‘The trail is here to be used.’
