Recreation programs still growing in Brewer

It started out with T-ball and then progressed to soccer. Then it was the summer program, and then the after-school program.

The Carr family in Brewer has spent many years participating in Brewer Parks and Recreation Department programs. Having fun is just one of the benefits to his three children, said Joe Carr.

"Their experiences have been so positive in many ways," he said. "It has exposed them to the programs and people around them, which has made my children more well-rounded and more physically fit."

Joe and Ellen Carr have lived in Brewer for 16 years. Their children - Brendan, 15, Colleen, 13, and Brian, 11 - have spent countless hours participating in all sorts of parks and recreation programs.

"This has been a great place to live, and the rec department is one of the reasons," Carr said.

Parks and Recreation has been a full-time department in Brewer since 1968. The department's leaders recently took time to take a look back on the department's history and reveal what residents can look forward to in the future.

"We're into our 35th year as a full-time department," said director Kenneth Hanscom. "Basically it was a summertime play-group program offered in the 1960s. Obviously they saw a need to grow the program and expand. The first full-time director was hired in 1968."

The department started out with two full-time positions and now has seven.

Carr, who is employed as the spokesperson for the University of Maine , said it's these people who are the backbone of the operation.

"The first thing that comes to mind when I think of the program is the quality of people on the staff," he said. "Consistently, they've been top-notch people who really care about the children."

Everyone from Hanscom down to the volunteers who help out should be acknowledged for their hard work, said Carr.

Hanscom said he likes to think of the program as a way to bring everyone in the community together.

"We feel active participation for all people is vital to promoting and maintaining good health and wellness," said Hanscom. "Recreation and leisure activities positively impact mental health by reducing anxiety and stress and by increasing self-esteem."

Soon after the department's inception, a summer basketball program began. A teen center was later added at the Brewer Auditorium, and the outdoor public pool was opened in the 1950s.

"As late as 1988, the city swimming pool was filled in June, and every two weeks that pool was drained, cleaned and refilled. Now we have a filter system," said Hanscom. "We're looking, in the next five or six years, to replace the outdoor pool."

The projected cost of a new pool is around $800,000.

"We do see this as a need - a new, possibly indoor, facility," said Michael Martin, recreation supervisor for the department. "Last summer we had roughly 10,500 [pool] users."

Eighty-five to 90 programs are offered each year, said Martin.

"We've tried to get out of the traditional sports and offer a scrapbook of programs such as walking and baton [twirling]," he said. "We've tried arts and crafts to try and include everybody. We're trying to make this a community center."

A copyright story from the Bangor Daily News by Nok-Noi Hauger, Of the NEWS Staff: Monday, December 15, 2003.