EEDC: How many parks do you oversee?
Lorraine Gould (LG): Right now, we have 14 various parks. We have an assortment of, what we would call, the community parks: they’re the bigger park such as Moton Park, Idlewild Park. RTC Park, etc. We have the Rail to Trail from end to end. Then we have the passive parks such as Thompson Park. We have neighborhood parks, like Chapel East and Stoney Ridge, and of course, the Sports Complex.
EEDC: That’s quite a lot of responsibility. What does it all entail?
LG: (Laughing) Patience. Seriously, though, I want to see things really safe. Safe and fun. I have a great staff, and I also work very closely with Public Works, who come in and cut the grass, raise the flags at the different parks, take care of the garbage. For instance, they went out to Moton Park when I needed them and took down the old play equipment, and got everything else smoothed out. They made it perfect.
The mayor and the council, and the engineering department are all important. And, of course, the people from the town of Easton are really awesome. Groups such as the Easton Rotary put up the gazebo at Idlewild years ago and maintain it. Lately, they’ve put in benches and expanded the area to make sure when it rains that the water goes where it needs to go.
The garden clubs are a huge help, and they make sure that their gardens are awesome. They’re right on top of them, keeping them going.
So many people want to help. For instance, I just worked with a bunch of nurses, doctors, and midwives planting some flowers in the Idlewild play area.
EEDC: How does something like that happen?
LG: Well, a young lady called me one day and mentioned that she took her kids to Idlewild Park and that her office wanted to do something as a community project, maybe there? So, we met one Saturday morning, and we went to work. Everybody got down and dirty, even the children.
Public Works came out and made sure that I had topsoil and mulch. Even the doctors came in with a truckload of everything—flowers, mulch, topsoil. It was great.
EEDC: If someone proposes making a change in the park, what does that involve??
LG: First thing is that I want to make sure that everybody is on board, all the documents are there, and all the i’s are dotted and the t’s crossed. Then it goes up before our Park Advisory Board, who analyze and deal with any questions and concerns. They want to make sure that it’s the right fit for the family-oriented things going on in our parks. They then send a recommendation to the mayor and council, who will either say yes or no. It then comes back to us, and we move forward.
EEDC: How long have you been doing this, and how did you get involved in this job?
LG: I guess being in the right place at the right time! It’s been 13-14 years. I’m very sports-oriented. And I was working for the town of Easton at the front office and helping out in the parks department when this job became available. So, I kind of kind of slid in.
EEDC: Are you an Easton resident?
LG: No, but my daughter is, and my granddaughter was a cheerleader at the Sports Complex when she was younger.
EEDC: How has technology changed what you do?
LG: Well, for one, I can control some of the lights remotely. We have two baseball/softball fields and two other fields that can be lit remotely. I can either do it on my phone or from my computer, I just go in, and I set the lights on a timer for the lights to come on and go off. Or if someone calls and asks me if I can turn on the lights, and I know who they are, I can just turn them on immediately.
EEDC: What other changes have you seen in the 13/14 years you’ve been doing this?
LG: I’ve seen a lot more teams forming. When I first started, it was baseball that needed the fields. But now, besides baseball, I’ve got softball, lacrosse, soccer, and football.
EEDC: Any new parks coming up?
LG: Right now, we’re working on opening up Easton Point Park. We’ve got a lot of work being done there. But it’s going to be open, hopefully, this summer. Also, during the summer, you’re going to see us replacing one of the play areas in Moton Park. Instead of having the mulch as a surface, this will be more like tile, similar to what’s in Idlewild in the play area. It’s going to be really lovely. I’m excited about that too. I’m excited about all the parks.
