By Elizabeth Sheehy

A new monthly feature, looking back through the archives to better see the future.

In August 1934, with little fanfare (or notice to Lyon Park Community Center membership), the Board of Governors approved “the building of a tennis court, croquet court, and horseshoe courts.” They stipulated that a committee would need to raise the funds and maintain the facilities, and agreed it would be removed if interest waned. A committee immediately set to work raising funds.  By September, opposition to the plan was in full force. A “Mass Meeting” was scheduled to hear both the pros and cons, asking members three questions:

1. Do you favor the construction of a tennis court on our Park?
2. Would you agree to have trees felled to make room for a court?
3. Will you actually use the court if established?

A petition was circulated, signed almost exclusively by those living along the park edge, which compared the scheme to the establishment of an amusement park, likely to become a public nuisance and damaging the park’s natural beauty. Some, in favor of the proposal, suggested that the four trees slated for removal were endangering the Community House. Ultimately, the BoG leadership decided not to move forward with the proposal, resulting in a few resignations.

It seems the lesson here is that one neighbor’s recreational vision is another’s nightmare, and that consensus in developing community space is important. That concept came into play during the planning of the Lyon Park Community House renovation, completed in 2015, as all decisions of the renovation committee were made by consensus rather than majority rule. Consensus requires more give-and-take, and a concerted effort to avoid winners and losers. The end result was a beautiful and functional building that works by all accounts for everyone. Just as in 1934, neighbors listened to each other, worked together to find suitable solutions to various concerns, and approved a plan that met the communities needs. And sometimes the correct strategy is to not move forward, as with the tennis courts. Perhaps in another 100 years, Lyon Parkers will look back on the renovation process of the early 21st century, as we can look back on the 1934 membership, to find lessons about building community.