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A manhole barrel serves as a tunnel-like entrance to the park. (Photo provided)

Lake Grove Park playground boasts a unique entrance

Former art teacher adorns concrete barrel with colorful scenes

Special to The Odessa File

ALPINE, Aug. 29 -- Openings of playgrounds at campgrounds usually interest guests but not those outside the facility.

The opening of a playground at Lake Grove Park generates interest because of its unique entrance: a 6-foot-diameter concrete barrel.

The park, a privately owned, 80-acre destination campground on County Road 6, is situated alongside Cayuta Lake, north of Odessa..

Murals painted on the barrel display local scenes. The barrel and mural represent a story that touches local companies and individuals who are not campers at the Park. The story starts at Zeiser Wilber Vault Company (ZWV), an Elmira-based company that makes concrete vaults and products for septic systems, including manholes.

A manhole barrel made of concrete was not taken on the project it was built for and therefore sat in ZWV’s seconds yard. In January 2014, retired physician Jim Allen, owner of Lake Grove Park LLC, was interested in creating a playground for the Park, but he wanted something unique. He met ZWV General Manager Jeremy Sherman, who suggested a tour of the seconds yard. There they found the 6-foot-diameter, 6-foot-long, 10,200-pound concrete barrel. Placed on its side the barrel could make the unique entrance that Jim wanted for the playground.

Unknowns were whether the barrel could be painted and whether the site for the playground would support the weight. The barrel’s transformation from a castaway at the seconds yard to an entrance mural at the playground took eight months and involved many individuals.

Site preparation for the playground at the Park fell to Brett and Benny Reynolds of Reynolds Logging and Lumber, Odessa. They cleared an area next to the Park's Red Roof Pavilion (RRP), graded it, and reinforced the ground to support the weight of the barrel. Mike Rounds of Montour Falls planted the lawn. Paint products came from Sherwin Williams in Horseheads. Its staff, along with technical experts consulted through the company’s website, recommended a specific concrete primer with a top coat of latex paint for color. The red color had to match the Park’s existing red used for the RRP and a green color used on the Park’s service buildings.

Abbe Raymond, a retired Horseheads School district art teacher, met Jim Allen through a camper at the Park. He showed Abbe pictures of scenes around the Park that could be incorporated in a mural painted on the barrel. From these pictures she made sketches of possible murals for the east and west sides and inside of the barrel.

Allen said that Abbe’s enthusiasm for painting on the curved surface of the barrel was a major factor in his decision to proceed with the entrance using the barrel. ZWV delivered the barrel to the Park in June, and Abbe started her work by first priming the concrete using the recommended products.

Painting on a flat mural presents viewers with objects that are all on the same focal distance. By contrast, painting on a barrel presents a curved surface with variable focal distances. For the murals on the outside, the barrel’s middle has a focal distance closer to the viewer than the top and bottom. For the mural on the inside the focal distance is reversed.

From July 11 until August 18, Abbe worked on the mural. After application of the primer she outlined the murals using sketches she had presented to Jim. The east-side mural featured scenes of Cayuta Lake. The west side mural featured scenes of Lake Helene, located adjacent to the Red Roof Pavilion. The inside mural gave the impression of a path through a stream with with deer and rabbits hiding in the surroundings.

Correcting the perspective of these three outlines to match the focal distance was the next step. Every day Abbe took pictures of her work, then studied them at home. From these pictures she identified those images that needed correction in the perspective. Once she made final corrections on the outlines, she started the detailed work of painting the individual images.

Campers at the Park watched her progress with interest. The completed murals offer eye catching views of both Lake Helene and Cayuta Lake. Golf carts, roads, hills, views of Lake Helene, recreational activities and boating on Cayuta Lake are common scenes in the Park and depicted on the outside murals.

The mural on the interior of the barrel invites the camper to step on the stones drawn on the imaginary stream On either side are thickets and trees hiding deer, with hills in the background.

On August 23, the Park had a dedication of the barrel. Abbe was honored speaker as she explained her work to the campers. Completing the mural presented her with new challenges that she had not previously encountered. The images on the inside of the barrel presented her with an added physical challenge of arching her back, rather than bending, while painting.

The playground is located in an area of the Park that uses Red as its theme color. In that area the existing structures are the Red Roof Pavilion, Red BarBeQue, and Red toilet. The name of the new facility is Playground Red, which also contains red playground equipment.

For visitors to the Park, Playground Red is in the Red Roof Pavilion area accessible by Woodchuck Way. As a marker, Abbe painted the nearby manhole with a woodchuck.

Since the Park is private property, visitors are asked to please call before entering. They can call the Park at 594-4790, or mail to PO Box 12, Alpine, NY 14805.

Photos in text:

From top: Looking through the barrel, whose interior is also painted: Abbe Raymond part way through the painting process; a manhole marker leading to the park entrance. (Photos provided)

Clearing of the park was accomplished by Reynolds Logging and Lumber of Odessa.
(Photo provided)

Abbe Raymond with her artistic creation on the day it was celebrated. (Photo provided)