By Devon Cormier
Staff Writer

Maria Johnson remembers trekking around to local businesses, with a two-month-old on her hip, asking for donations. Johnson was trying to get together some money to open a playground in Hooksett, and before she knew it, she had $50,000.

SLIDE TO NOWHERE –The Kids Kaboose train depot still stands, but the slide was already disassembled by March 25. Despite being only 12 years old, the once state-of-the-art playground no longer meets safety codes and must be updated. (Devon Cormier Photo)

The Kids Kaboose playground was born in 1993. Johnson can still make out her hand print in part of the concrete, but almost everything else is now gone.

"When this was built in 1993, it was the Taj Mahal of playgrounds," said Highway Manager Dale Hemeon. "But in today's standards, it just doesn't have the proper equipment."

A recently settled lawsuit forced the Hooksett Town Council to order Hemeon to take most of the playground down. Now, a spray-painted sign signals the closing of the playground, and piles of debris and pieces of the playground lay on the frozen ground in place of the castle, slide bar and the Indian climbing wall.

The only things remaining from 1993 are some swings, a piece of the dragon, a slide and the rocket ship. Johnson said she is deeply saddened and disappointed by the closing, but she hopes the generosity of the town will return as quickly as it came in 1993.

"We.re looking for donations with plastic stuff," Johnson said. "We need more maintenance free stuff that is up to current standards."

Hemeon said the drastic change in playground standards made it possible for injuries to turn into lawsuits. Although not unsafe, the playground just wasn't even close to being up to code, he said.

It will take another few weeks to clear most of the playground equipment out of Kids Kaboose, then Hemeon will start removing the wooden decking and putting in pavement. Hemeon hopes to have the playground reopened by mid-April, but it will remain fairly bare until the Friends of Kids Kaboose can get some money to build the playground back up.

"We're tearing down almost everything right now," Hemeon said. "We were ordered by the council to take it apart. We want to replace it all but we don't have the money."

Johnson cleared away snow to locate her hand print in the concrete by the playground's entrance, but otherwise, it is unrecognizable from what it once was.

"I had three kids and we used to travel to other towns to use their playgrounds," Johnson said. "We raised $50,000, but now it just isn't up to code anymore."

Johnson said she will accept donations written out to the Friends of Kids Kaboose at her home at 8 Sunburst Lane, Hooksett. Until she gets some donations, though, the park will remain barren.

Hemeon said despite the closed signs, people are still coming to the playground and ducking the caution tape to gain entry. He hopes to open again soon and he has faith that people will remain loyal to the playground until it can get revamped under the new standards.