Sunday, September 12, 2004
Radford University playground would please its namesake
The playground at Waldron Hall was dedicated in memory of Salem resident Gypsy Kropff, who died in 2001.
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Before she died, Gypsy Kropff told her husband that because he didn't give her flowers often when she was living, he shouldn't do so after she died.
At his wife's request, Joe Kropff asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Scottish Rite Freemasonry. He was a member of the organization, and his wife had served as secretary.
After Gypsy Kropff's death on Oct. 28, 2001, the $1,300 or so collected in her honor went toward building costs for a playground at Radford University's Waldron Hall. Construction began in May on the playground's wooden pirate ship that bears her name; the playground was dedicated in her memory during a ceremony July 13.
The playground serves as a therapeutic recreational facility for children with speech and hearing impairments.
"It was very emotional to see that in her memory," said Joe Kropff, a 62-year-old Salem resident.
That the structure was designed for children, he said, makes it even more special because his wife loved children and would have enjoyed seeing them play on the pirate ship. Gypsy Kropff worked as a teacher's aide at the former Andrew Lewis High School and at Salem High School, and also worked at Greenvale Nursery School.
The idea for the playground project originated when Shawsville resident George Dewese was driving through Salem and noticed boat-shaped structures on playgrounds.
Dewese, Joe Kropff's friend and fellow Scottish Rite member, liked the style of the playgrounds. He suggested that a similar facility be built in Radford because members of the Scottish Rite help with Radford University's Childhood Language Disorders program by funding scholarships for graduate students and sponsoring a summer language clinic there.
Gypsy Kropff died around the time Dewese conceived the project idea, so Dewese proposed that the playground be named after her. Additional money for the project came from people who donated money to "purchase" newly planted trees around the pirate ship. Their names are displayed in the playground.
"I think it's real nice," he said. "I think the kids will enjoy it."
Lynn Adams, playground project coordinator, said not only is the playground fun, but it will also allow children to use their newly acquired language skills outside a clinic setting.
Adams, an associate professor in the department of communication sciences and disorders at Radford, said she plans to eventually make the playground area an "intergenerational place" by building a gazebo.
She expects the pirate ship will be an integral part of language therapy.
"I fully expect people will be lining up to take kids out to use it," she said.
A video of the dedication ceremony for the playground can be viewed at www.radford.edu/NewsPub/video/ribboncuttingvid.html.
