By Jim Newell

Special to the Leader

Everyone who knew Helen Smith knew her as a tireless advocate and all-around champion for all things Oxford, especially Oxford’s youth.

Smith was a charter member of the Oxford Wildcat Booster Club and is part of the Oxford Wildcats Athletic Hall of Fame. There is a scholarship in her name at Oxford High School given every year to the most outstanding female athlete.

After graduating from Oxford High School in 1952 and then heading to Michigan State College (now Michigan State University), Smith returned to Oxford in 1954 and helped run the family business, the Oxford-based Smith Silo Co.

This summer, Oxford residents will have a new pocket park in which to play, exercise, gather and relax and spend quality time together.

For C.J. Carnacchio, Oxford Township Communications and Grant Coordinator, the project was a labor of love and a fitting tribute to Smith. He and Smith were friends from the time they met in 1999 until her death in 2015.

“Helen made it her personal mission to see that Oxford’s young people always received the financial and moral support they needed and deserved. Through her work with the Oxford Wildcat Booster Club and American Legion Post 108, she was committed to helping students succeed in the classroom, on the field and in the world after graduation,” Carnacchio said.

“Helen was Oxford. Her accomplishments, leadership and generosity helped shape and guide this community for more than six decades,” he said.

The 2,400-square-foot pocket park will be constructed on the grounds of Oxford Township Hall, between the parking lot and the safety path along Dunlap Road.

The park will include three pieces of ADA accessible play equipment for kids; two accessible exercise stations for adults and teens; an accessible pedestal table; a bicycle repair station; an 8-foot park bench; and an ADA-compliant engineered wood fiber surface. Sinclair Recreation, LLC, will install the GameTime brand equipment.

The total cost of the park is $96,695.25.

Carnacchio, who also designed the park, secured $58,750 in cash donations and $11,760.07 in-kind donations from 29 local businesses, organizations or individuals to pay for the park.

A $20,506.80 grant from the Four County Community Foundation completed the funding.

“Everyone I went to; they were just so supportive and so generous. I can’t express enough how grateful I am to them,” Carnacchio said. “They did it because they love Oxford. They did it because they saw the value of providing another park and recreational experience for the kids and the families in our community. And they did it because they recognized what Helen did for this community.

“This is a true community project. Without the donors, without the Four County Community Foundation this park wouldn’t be being built. This park wouldn’t be a reality,” Carnacchio said. “This is all being paid for through donations and grant money. This isn’t taxpayer money.”

Carnacchio credits Oxford Township Supervisor Jack Curtis with supporting the project from the start.

“I approached Supervisor Curtis in March 2022 and he told me to go for it, he loved it,” Carnacchio said. “Jack loves new ideas. He loves people to take initiative. He’s always enthusiastic but he was very enthusiastic about this park. And I had a lot of help at the township with this as far as the people who gave me input, I bounced ideas off, they advised me, they guided me.”

Carnacchio hopes to have the park “in the ground” this summer.

“I can’t make any guarantees on the timeline right now, but I’d like to see it open for the summer. I’d like to see it built in May and open by June.”

Once the park is completed, there will be a grand opening dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony with all of the donors, township staff and public invited. And then kids will have the opportunity to break-in the new park.

Carnacchio believes that the park is a perfect way to honor Smith’s commitment to Oxford and its youth.

“This (park) means so much to me. It’s such a great project, and I’m glad we’re honoring Helen in this way,” Carnacchio said. “My fear was her name could become just one of those names you hear in the community as time goes on because there are a lot of new people coming into the community. Our community is growing every day. And I was worried that there could come a day when no one knew who Helen Smith was or what she did for the community. And I didn’t want that to happen. I want Helen’s story to be told.”

At one end of the park, near the safety path along Dunlap Road, there will be a 2,000-pound boulder with a bronze plaque with Smith’s photo and brief biography that, hopefully, will serve as an inspiration to others.

“Not only is it going to be called the Helen Smith Park, but there’s going to be some information there where (visitors) can read and learn about who she was. So, it’s a way to preserve her memory, to honor her legacy and also hopefully inspire other people in the community going forward to step up and donate their time and give to people. Helen was a huge booster for this community. Whatever the community needed, she supported. Particularly when it came to young people.”