Butch Remembers Lafayette’s Columbian Park

   When I was growing up, our family often went to Milligan Park in Crawfordsville for picnics with my Mom’s side of the family. The park is beautiful, with rolling hills and a small creek, and fireplaces for cookouts. There was some playground equipment for kids, but we preferred playing hide and seek, or sometimes croquet brought from home, or just running around the park and “exploring.” In the 1960s, they built a swimming pool, which was a great addition to the park.

  My Dad had two high school buddies who lived in Lafayette, and we visited with them quite often. They had children which were the same ages as my siblings and me, and sometimes our families met at Columbian Park. That park was not as scenic, but it had lots of fun things for kids to do. Their swimming pool was quite large, with hundreds of people there each day all through the summer months. In the middle of the park was a large pond, which they called the lagoon. A few people fished, while others bought tickets to navigate the pedal boats all around the pond. I tried that one time with my friend, but it took a lot of leg muscle power! There was quite a variety of playground equipment, but the most fun thing was the “curly slide,” which we played on the most.

   A miniature train, which could carry several paying passengers, ran all through the park. It was fun to ride, and it was refreshing to feel the breeze on a hot summer day. Bumper cars were quite fun. What a great way to learn how to drive . . . purposefully running your car into others! But of course there were always a few kids who just couldn’t get the hang of it and became stuck in a pack of other cars . . . and eventually had to summon the attendant for help.

  One of the most thrilling things for kids was the “turnpike,” which had miniature motorized cars to drive through a small course. I absolutely loved that, but it cost more, so I could usually only try that one time. A few times the motor might conk out, and the driver became stuck in traffic until someone came to help . . . a great way to learn about such predicaments that would occur later on in life. There was also a merry-go-round, tilt-a-whirl, and a helicopter ride . . . and a zoo.

   When we ran out of tickets, there was always the “monkey island” in the middle of the park. It had benches where we could relax and just watch the monkeys and their antics. People often threw popcorn and other “snacks” to them, even though they weren’t supposed to.

   Nearby was Lafayette’s famous Frozen Custard ice cream shop. Just about everyone made a trip there before leaving. It was so good! I always enjoyed the visits to Columbian Park. It’s still there today and has some new attractions to boot. When my oldest son retired from the Lafayette Police Department a few years ago, he became director of the park zoo!

John “Butch” Dale is a retired teacher and County Sheriff. He has also been the librarian at Darlington the past 37 years, and is a well-known artist and author of local history.