By Nicholas Brown
Staff Writer

Hooksett Banner/Nicholas Brown Four-year-old Derek Moscillo hangs from one of the new structures at the renovated Kids Kaboose playground in Hooksett, which officially opened to the public on Saturday, April 23. It was closed for two years due to deteriorating equipment and a lawsuit.

Moments after the ribbons were snipped marking the grand reopening of Hooksett’s Kids Kaboose, the playground was teeming with smiling youngsters, none of whom were born when the play area initially opened in 1993.

And while few of the structures remain from the original playground, closed two years ago due to lawsuits and failing equipment, Kids Kaboose still promises to be an asset to the community.

“This is really the heartbeat of town,” said resident Peter Farwell. “I hope people know what they have here.”

Farwell, who made a motion to add $50,000 to the parks and recreation department budget at last year’s Town Meeting, joked, “I’m sorry the taxes went up.”

The Kids Kaboose reopening was on Saturday, April 23, and cutting the ribbons were Maria Johnson and Ron Proulx, both of whom were integral in getting the playground established 13 years ago.

“I love this. It looks nice,” said Johnson, who raised money for 18 months for the playground’s first opening and has been involved with Kids Kaboose since. “This is great for what Hooksett needs right now.”

Proulx remembered how much volunteer work went into the playground’s first incarnation.

“When we were done, the first time around, I thought there was something missing in my life,” he said.

Parks and recreation head Dale Hemeon led the ceremonies and gave special thanks to the parks crew, who put in long, unpaid hours revitalizing the playground with new equipment.

“Guys like this don’t get enough credit,” he said. “It’s nice to see that not everyone is greedy, that some guys really do care.”

Hemeon also thanked representatives from Hooksett’s Home Depot, which donated about $5,000 worth of brick for the park’s new retaining wall.

The new Kids Kaboose features prefabricated play equipment from Childscapes, and a circular walkway for strollers.

The only remaining play structure from the original playground is the U.S.A. rocket ship that was dedicated to Billy Lowney, who was killed by a dog, and whose parents were active in forming Kids Kaboose.

“The theme of Kids Kaboose was ‘a journey through time,’” said Johnson. “The rocket ship was kind of for the future, for Billy.”