Kingfisher Wheatbelt Ambucs has proven itself as the little club that could.

With only 10 current members, the group has rallied an entire community to accomplish a giant goal – raise enough money construct a brand new, all-accessible playground at Kingfisher Park.

The Playground of Dreams is on the verge of becoming reality.

Chartered just over nine years ago, the group is part of a national organization dedicated to inspiring mobility and independence for area children and adults with physical limitations.

Current membership includes Erin Scammahorn, president; Terri Stake, vice president; Taryn Kuehn, treasurer; Bridget Keast, Jeff Wittrock, Heather Wittrock, Jenny Laudwig and Cindy Gore.

Initially, the group raised money to purchase, assemble and distribute “AmTrykes,” adaptive tricycles that have allowed more than 30 local residents to get around under their own steam – many for the first time.

And the group’s members also have never been afraid to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty – constructing wheelchair ramps and other residential adaptations.

Dreaming Big

But about seven years ago, the group started looking at local parks and the barriers each presented to children with limited mobility and decided that was a problem they needed to tackle.

They met with designer Clint Pitzer and a coworker from ACS Playground Adventures, a company that specializes in such equipment.

“The ideas just started flowing,” Scammahorn said. “The excitement definitely was present.”

It was a go-big-or-go-home moment.

Not satisfied with the idea of just adding one or two pieces of accessible equipment, the group worked with Pitzer to design an entirely new playground at Kingfisher Park that was accessible to children of all abilities.

And just like that, the Playground of Dreams was born.

Constructed on a unique, pour-in-place synthetic surface that is smooth enough to accommodate wheelchairs and walkers yet still shock-absorbing, the 14,000 square-foot playground includes 11,500 square feet of play space.

Laid out in a formation of interlocking circles separated by sidewalks, the play space includes all kinds of climbing, spinning, swinging, gliding, crawling pieces designed to be accessible to children of all abilities, as well as sensory equipment like kettle drums and xylophones.

No bell or whistle was omitted as the ambitious design evolved, and the anticipated price tag reflects that – more than $600,000 for the equipment and the special surface on which it is installed.

Ambucs hit the civic club circuit, carting around a computer-generated image of the proposed design and explaining their ideas.

Copies of the design were displayed around town, next to collection buckets, and in dribs and drabs, money started coming in.

Sluggish Collections

But collections were slow and the dream faded into the background of the otherwise busy lives of this small group of people, who included physical and speech therapists, medical personnel, special education teachers and parents of special needs children, among others.

More than four years in, less than a 10th of the cost had been raised when the club started another push.

The late Glenda Wolf, Kingfisher Public School special education director and one of the major proponents of the playground, Scammahorn and other members started another drive to make the project happen.

Reviving the Dream

Fundraising was re-energized in 2017 when Kingfisher city commissioners committed to matching all donations dollar-for-dollar, up to 50% of the total project cost.

“This jump-started us again, but we really got a boost last winter when John-sons of Kingfisher and Banc-First made large donations,” Scammahorn said.

And then the project was galvanized by a tragedy – Wolf’s death at the end of March.

Nearly $200,000 has been raised since then, mostly through memorial donations in Wolf’s name, Scammahorn said.

“This speaks volumes of how many people truly loved Glenda and what she meant to so many families in Kingfisher,” Scammahorn said. “Her vision – our vision – is finally coming true.”

Although large gifts and fundraisers helped, Scammahorn said the majority of the money came in the form of smaller donations, “from the people of Kingfisher, from their own pockets and from their savings.”

Kingfisher school students also organized a massive fundraiser in memory of Wolf, whose impact at KPS extended well beyond the special education department she directed for many years.

The crowning moment came Tuesday night when Ambucs representatives appeared at the city commission meeting with their $300,000 share figuratively in hand.

Commissioners passed another resolution honoring their financial commitment to reimburse up to 50% of the cost of the project’s construction, paying invoices as they are presented.

Mayor Steve Richards also took a moment to congratulate club members on achieving their hard-won goal, presenting them with a certificate of appreciation and leading a standing ovation from commissioners and members of the audience.

“This is something that should have been in Kingfisher Park a long time ago,” he said. “We’re very proud of you and what you’ve done and we’re glad to get involved.

“It’s a wonderful thing.”

Coming to Life

Ground-breaking and demolition of the existing playground is expected to begin Jan. 16, Scammahorn said.

Kingfisher Trails Inc. has already constructed sidewalks encircling the new playground area.

Surface construction and equipment installation will take two-three months, depending on the weather, with the new playground hopefully opening in late spring or early summer.

“We’re planning a grand opening and inviting the entire community to come celebrate with us,” Scammahorn said. “Their donations have made this happen and it’s truly a community project.”

Money is continuing to come in for the playground and Scammahorn told commissioners that everything above the cost of the playground itself will be used to construct handicap-accessible bathrooms, another cost-sharing project involving Ambucs and city funds.

Scammahorn said later that the bathrooms will have three stalls each for men and women, plus a family bathroom that will be wheelchair and walker accessible.

The bathrooms also will be available for baseball games at Homier stadium, she said.

After years of anticipation, Ambucs members aren’t the only ones excited to see this project actually taking shape.

A video shared on the Times & Free Press Face-book page of the playground’s final design had reached more than 5,000 people at press time Friday.

“We’re grateful for (designer) Clint for sticking with us through all the years and all our crazy requests,” Scammahorn said. “He never once said ‘no’ or ‘we’ll see,’ he just did it and made us feel comfortable about asking.”