By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
On steamy summer afternoons like Thursday, children would have been playing in the wading pool at Mary Moss playground, a pool now empty of water but filled with memories.
With the pool as a backdrop, residents of the neighborhood — black and Latino — sat at tables eating hotdogs and drinking beverages at an event to bid it adieu. The town intends to rip the pool out as part of renovating and expanding the playground next year; it’s last day of use was July 30.
Local woman Bernadine Hines thought of having a “farewell party” for a pool that “served this community” since 1946. It had been the only pool that Princeton’s black community could use when the neighborhood was segregated, she said.
“And until it became desegregated, this is where our kids used to come and have recreation, whether it was swimming or playing in the playground,” she said.
The playground, commonly referred to as a park, has been in the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood for about 80 years. There is a connection that many who still live here feel toward it.
“This was the only playground we could go to,” said local historian Shirley Satterfield. “We learned how to wade in that little pool. We learned how to not be afraid of water. We learned water safety.”
She said the namesake of the playground, Ms. Moss, worked at the Princeton Nursery School and as a supervisor at the playground. She died in 1974.
The town plans to renovate and expand the playground starting in early spring to have it ready for next summer, said Councilwoman Jo S. Butler by phone on Thursday. The project cost has not been determined, an amount that will based on what features the town chooses for the playground and the accompanying water “spray-ground.”
For the older residents, the playground holds memories of their youth. Mary Trotman recalled coming to the pool as girl, the place where she learned how to swim.
“Change is sad,” she said.
Today, residents want to have input on how the new version of Mary Moss looks. A critical component for them is making sure that the history of the community is represented.
“But we want to make sure the historic piece is maintained in this playground,” Ms. Hines said. “And that means putting pieces of information of the history of the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood — we want them placed in here.”
