HARRIMAN, Tenn. — It all started with a bunch of locals who were raised in Harriman. The community saw how the Fred Davis Jr. Triangle Park sat soundless and wanted to revitalize its existence.
Alicia Harris, a councilwoman in Harriman, is one of the locals who is pushing for the change.
She grew up in the city and knows this place's ins and outs.
"This was a place that we all gathered in the summertime, as well as the fall time to play basketball to get on the merry-go-round to swing," Harris said.
Gregory Buckles, the business owner of Blindsinahurry, moved away to the big city for a few years. When his father died, he decided to move back to Harriman. His memories were vivid as he recalled his childhood in Triangle Park.
"[I] broke my arm [on] the monkey bars here, ran down the street theater. I lived down the street at the time and one of my cousins chipped my tooth with a Batman," Buckles said.
The years went by and a shift made those sounds of fun and laughter slightly fade. Harris said it didn't matter that it was summer and almost 100 degrees hot outside. She remembered the park was almost always filled with people.
"Years ago, drugs came in just like it did probably all over the state of Tennessee or all over the United States," Harris said. "That's why the park is not full because a lot of parents were afraid to bring their kids up here."
While police made efforts to protect the community and the park, the damage was done. The reputation was exceeding the good memories, yet, Harris has a good reason to believe in miracles and see a future for this park. She really knew what it was like to overcome a challenge.
"I had cancer back in 2019, multiple myeloma, multiple myeloma cancer, I had a stem cell transplant," she said.
Her biggest challenge was that she had to isolate herself from people during her fight to heal from cancer. Once the pandemic hit, she said isolation was prolonged.
Now alongside locals, like Margie Douglass Moore, a gospel singer in Harriman, they have a vision.
"They have their singing gospel singers perform here. Say if they want to have picnics, sometimes they bring picnics to this park," Moore said. "I'm old now, you know, but as a young child and as a teenager coming up this was just heaven to us."
Buckle said after she overcame cancer she decided to take action and try to help her community, so she ran for city council. Her role is to make sure the Parks and Recreation department stays on top of making sure the place has grass cut and maintains a clean environment.
"I learned that life is short. Don't be cheap. Give out you can give," Buckle said. "I want to give back what God gave me... He gave me life, so I want to give life to this park."
On Saturday, Aug. 5, Buckle is organizing a fundraising event with food and games to start the process of revitalizing the park. It will start from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Fred Davis Jr. Triangle Park.