Field Walk at McCulloch Park
Last Wednesday, July 10th, part of the Muncie Memories team (Ellie, Katie, Kitty, and Meredith) went on a fielwalk in McCulloch Park. Starting in the south end at the playground, we worked our way up to the north end to Centennial Ave and then back south again to the statue of George Foulke McCulloch, who the park was named after.
McCulloch, born in Lancaster, OH in 1855 moved to Muncie with his parents at the age of one and went on to found the Muncie Star, the Indianapolis Star, and the Terre Haute Star. In 1901. McCulloch moved away from Muncie and decided to donate 83 acres of his land to the city, entrusting it for the free use by its citizens.
Neighboring McCulloch Park on the east side of Doctor MLK Blvd is the Whitely Community, a historically black neighborhood, which was originally founded as its own city, Whitely Town, but William Needham Whitely from Ohio. Prior to McCulloch Park being a park, the land had been the site of the Whitely Harvesting Machine Company, but it had burned to the ground in 1894. Someone told me that part of the plant used to be where the baseball diamond now lives, but I also read that the company used to be where East Central Recycling is now. (Also significant, but adjacent to this discussion, is the controversy that surrounded the renaming of the street that is now Doctor MLK Blvd.)
During the 1920s, the park was segregated, with KKK meetings and cross burnings even taking place in the park. The south side of the park, which had, and still continues to have, the majority of the park’s amenities including the baseball diamond, bear pit, safety town, basketball court, sledding hill, playground, and more, was reserved for whites. The north side of the park was for blacks.
But the north side provided other unexpected moments of discovery. A couple shelters for sitting and gathering. Disc golf tee offs. An almost secret path to those less observant. The fire station where Hurley Goodall got his start as a firefighter. (A more thorough post for another day!)
Nature. A growing orchard. A buckeye tree. Not just for Ohio.
It’s evident that there is still a certain kind of segregation going on amongst parks. If we put McCulloch Park in comparison to the other park / green space we’ve conducted a fieldwalk in previously -- Minnetrista -- then, well, you’re looking at two entirely disparate entities. The bank account of one cannot be judged by the other. Experiencing these parks in their nuances and layers, brings up and renders palpable the ways in which we prioritize certain things over others, or certain places over other places.
But, no matter where we find ourselves, there we are. And, here are some thoughts and experiences from Katie, Kitty, and Ellie about the time we spent in McCulloch Park.
Two Sides of the Park - Katie
McCulloch Park is located primely in the Whitely community and surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the town activity. What’s interesting about the park is that it’s divided into two parts due to a road running through the middle. When visiting the two different sides, it was like we were exploring two different parks.
We began our fieldwalk at the south section of McCulloch Park and was pleasantly surprised at what we found. You can tell that most community gatherings happened on this side of the park. There was a variety of playground equipment that any kid would have a blast climbing all over. A little further to the left past the Go-kart track, lies a couple of basketball courts where we were entertained by the spirited game that was going. The park itself was filled with pastel colors, adding to the beauty of the place. It was disappointed that their Safety Town wasn’t up and running when we were there, but it was still interesting to see the layout of the fake city.
It was a surprise when we traveled to the other side of the park at how different the atmosphere was compared to the other. There was more of a quiet and peaceful feeling to the north side of the park. Nature was more predominate and there seemed to a lack of park structures when we were strolling through. It felt like this side of the park was more geared towards wildlife instead of the community aspects of a park-like the other side. Despite the strong presence of nature, it almost felt empty with the noticeable man-made structures being a shelter and scattered Frisbee Golf baskets throughout.
Though the two sides were quite different, it was interesting seeing how each side seemed to represent one of the main aspects that make up a park, community, and nature.
I’ve run through McCulloch Park plenty of times with the Ball State Cross Country team. However, this time, since we were walking at a much more leisurely pace, I was able to take in the scenery and did not have to worry about territorial gophers. When we arrived, I noticed a small girl and her mother at the playground. The girl watched our group walk through and decided she needed help on the merry-go-round. What could have been only about five minutes of pushing her on the merry-go-round quickly turned into 20 minutes of playing on the playground. This six year only was quick to point out all of the infrastructure problems of the older playground equipment. This included rusted metal that was chained together to allow the structure to stay put. I found this interesting that someone so young had already learned what the degradation of buildings looks like on sight. However, this didn’t deter her from enjoying her environment. She said that the new equipment was more fun but she was still excited to slide down the older slides. As she played, I looked around me at the crumbling bases and buildings of the park. It made me think about how old the park actually was. Eventually the playdate ended and I moved on with the group.
Further on, I came to a shelter. A lot of it either had racist graffiti on it or seemed to be slowly falling apart. Those features told me much about some of the characters who come to the park. It brought me a little bit of sadness because it’s such a beautiful area and it’s one of Muncie’s hidden treasures. But, maybe I’m beginning to understand how this park came to be in this state.
While I only know tidbits of Muncie history, I do know that the history of McCulloch Park wasn’t and isn’t always considered the safest. I’ve asked locals why that is, only to learn of dangers, such as pedophiles, that brought the park to an uncomfortable reputation. Growing up in a small town, I understand the importance of parks and hope that BSU students and locals come together to restore McCulloch Park in the future. Thank you for the beautiful park Muncie!
The markings with stories. - Ellie
No matter where you go, there will be some markings with stories that are left behind by people. There are so many stories that can be found through a simple walk to a park. On our fieldwalk through McCulloch Park, there were several markings with stories spotted throughout the trail. The markings were either hidden or easy to find. For example, I found a heart-shaped tag on the stone ground in a playground. I saw a half of caution tape, several broken pregnancy tests, a crumbled tie-dyed shirt, a forgotten black hoodie, weird graffiti, a crafty golden letter “A” on a green leaf, small carvings of phrases and names, a green Pringle can, and funky latex gloves. No matter how I found or spotted these markings, there is some part of me that is curious about the backstory of how the marking was left there.
The human mind will immediately try to make up stories or scenarios as to why these markings were left here. For an example, my mind made up scenarios for a heart-shaped tag I found. Perhaps someone proposing to their significant other with a stuff animal, or it was attached to a stuffed bear gifted to a child. Another case where my mind made up another story was for the broken pregnancy tests. One scenario was that someone told their partner that they were pregnant, and the reaction was negative, so they threw it on the ground. Or the pregnancy tests were actually from a happy event like a baby shower. Who knows what really happened with each of these markings?! All I know is that there are some funny or serious stories carried within each marking I found and recorded throughout the walk at McCulloch Park.
With that, I challenge Muncie Residents to go to McCulloch Park and send me pictures of what you can find at [email protected]! Remember not to touch what you see without protective gloves.
