Wakefield Park

city park of

My parents brought me and my brothers sledding here one winter.
Once I biked around the neighborhood along both sides of the lake.
On mornings after the 4th of July, I would walk to the park with my brothers or friends to search for unused fire crackers.
I remember one year sitting in the car waiting to see the fireworks.
This park had an open drain I explored a few times with friends.
In one exploration I cut my foot from glass.
My friend John Shingler ripped his shirt off so I could use it wrap my foot.
I needed stitches.
Even today, there is a part of my toe I cannot feel.
Some years later I returned with my brother and friend to explore the old drain in the park. The drain was gated.

Sarah Wakefield Lake (and Wakefield Park) (maplewoodmn.gov) One of Maplewood’s most famous residents arrived around 1874. Sarah (Brown) Wakefield purchased a tract of land on the western shore of the lake that is named after her.

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Genesis 1:28 NIV