Before the Parchment Community Library (start at the southwest corner of the library)
In 1930 Jacob Kindleberger, head of the Kalamazoo Vegetable Parchment Company (KVP), and his wife Lucinda gave 38 acres to the newly-formed village of Parchment to be used as "recreational fields." Where the library stands today was a playground. To the north was Community House. To the south, you can see Mr. Kindleberger's home - the white home behind The Fountains. To the west, KVP's flourishing paper mills could be seen on the other side of Riverview Drive. Look back to the east, and try to imagine the land that would become Kindleberger Park. Eroded hillsides, rocky fields, and cinder piles from the mill's coal-burning power plant were about to be transformed into what Mr. Kindleberger hoped would be the "best little park in Michigan."Photos: View of Community House and the land behind it from the KVP Smokestack in 1935; Kindleberger Park and the city of Parchment from the KVP Smokestack around 1934
Kindleberger Park Historic Marker
The State Historic Marker emphasizes that Kindleberger Park was part of a much larger vision for KVP and the village of Parchment. Mr. Kindleberger was determined that both the company and the village would be "models for the world." Kindleberger Park would become the "Crown Jewel" of Kindleberger's vision, but the community enjoyed other amenities as well. In 1922, for example, KVP built the Community House and hired a well-respected sociologist from Ohio to oversee community development.Photos: Kindleberger Park Historical Marker (south side); Kindleberger Park Historical Marker (north side); Historic Parchment; Community House Colored Postcard; Community House Front Door; WKZO broadcast of 1934 Orchestra Performance in Community House; Christmas Program in Community House
Tennis Court Area
The tennis court area was just one of many recreational opportunities available to Parchment residents in their new park! Shuffleboard and horseshoe areas, miles of walkways, sliding hills, a toboggan run, an ice-skating rink, and ball diamonds were among the offerings. Hundreds of trees planted atop Scout Hill created a shady spot to take in the view over the mill and the Kalamazoo River valley.Photos: Picnic Pavilions in Kindleberger Park; Postcard of view from Scout Hill in Kindleberger Park; Trees on Scout Hill provide a backdrop to the Kalamazoo Scottish Festival in 2022; Trees at the top of Scout Hill in 2023
Baseball Diamond
Beginning in 1916, KVP fielded baseball teams in both the industrial and city leagues. Competition was fierce, and at game time thousands of fans cheered on the home team from bleachers on the north side of the field. Mr. Kindleberger was determined to have the best baseball diamond in Michigan, and as the fame of the Kindleberger diamonds spread, well-known traveling teams played exhibition games in the park.The lower park was used for other events as well. The 4th of July celebration was a local favorite, and in 1939 the elaborate program drew in over 15,000 visitors.Photos: Vintage postcard of Kindleberger Park Baseball Diamond; 4th of July in Kindleberger Park; 4th of July Pageant in Kindleberger Park.[The next step is at the top of Scout Hill. There are several paths up to Scout Hill, some of which are steeper than others. Take whichever path works best for you.]
Scout Hill
The entire Parchment community played a part in Kindleberger Park's rapid development. KVP provided funds and labor, employing nearly 400 people during the depression years on various community building projects including the park. At time, Mr. Kindleberger called on local residents for help. At his request, a team of community members dug a long ditch to pipe water from the mill to the park. Others picked up fourteen truckloads of rocks strewn about on the future ball diamond. When the diamond was nearly complete, a group of citizens helped raise up the wooden bleachers. Even KVP customers and suppliers got into the act. 36 rustic log benches arrived in a train load of wood pulp from the Pacific northwest, and the Weyerhauser Corporation sent a 70-foot flagpole that was proudly installed at the back of the ball diamond. The grand opening took place in 1933 with a dedication ceremony held on June 17.Photos: Vintage postcard of the View from Scout Hill; View from Scout Hill 2023; Digging the ditch; Newspaper article about the history of the park with additional historic photos
Kindleberger Stage
The Kindleberger Stage area is a good place to think about the continued development of the park and its many amenities. The valley picnic shelters in the northeast corner of the park were added in 1935. The water tower was installed in 1937, while at the same time two new softball diamonds in the upper park opened for play. The stone "comfort station" in the lower park was built in the mid-1930s. The Stage at Kindleberger Park, completed in 2006, is one of the most important recent park additions. The Stage is now home to the Kindleberger Festival for the Performing Arts, begun in 1982 and continuing to the present day through the dedicated efforts of many community volunteers.Photos: The Stage at Kindleberger Park; Taking a bow at the 2022 Kindleberger Summer Festival of the Performing Arts; Historic photo of the Water Tower; Vintage postcard of KVP Girls Softball City Champions; the stone "Comfort Station" in the lower park
Parchment Little League Complex
Led by former KVP baseball star Fritz Black, the Parchment Little League began in 1955 and quickly drew in many participants. In the 1990s, a dedicated group of volunteers spearheaded a successful campaign to redesign both baseball and softball diamonds and to add parking facilities, fencing, new dugouts, and a concession stand to the Little League complex.Photos: Bellisle Little League Team; the 1956 Little League program book (four pages)
Director's Chair
In 1989, this oddly-shaped rock or chair was dedicated to Zen Campbell in honor of her work as the founder and long-time director of the Kindleberger Festival. Long known to local residents as a wishing chair, the Director's Chair was also considered to be a "lucky place" to sit down and make a wish.As you continue past the Director's Chair, look up toward Park Street, where you can see the former homes of several KVP officials. In Parchment's early years, Mr. Kindleberger and almost all other company executives lived in the community and participated in its development.Photos: Director's Chair; Plaque for Director's Chair; Installation of the plaque; scene from 1983 Kindleberger Summer Festival of the Performing Arts performance of Don Quixote de la Mancha; Following the Yellow Brick Road up Scout Hill in the 1986 performance of the Wizard of Oz; scene from 1989 performance of Camelot
Sunken Garden
Take a few minutes to sit and enjoy the beauty of the sunken garden! Originally much larger, the garden was designed by Battle Creek landscape architect T. Clifton Shephard and was filled with an array of ornamental trees, shrubs, roses, and other flowers. A decorative fish pond added charm. The garden area was a source of pride for Mr. Kindleberger, but of all the park amenities the garden was the most difficult to maintain. After KVP finally withdrew its support, the city was challenged to provide adequate garden upkeep. To solve that problem, several garden re-designs in the 1980s and 1990s attempted to simplify the plantings and ease maintenance concerns.In 2000, the Parchment Rotary Club built the gazebo that graces the east end of the garden, and soon the garden became a popular site for weddings and other gatherings. Beginning in 2017, a volunteer group dedicated to garden preservation and upkeep revitalized the garden with perennial plantings friendly to butterflies and other pollinators. These volunteers tend the garden throughout the growing season, insuring that the sunken garden continues to add beauty and serenity to this remarkably diverse community asset, and that Kindleberger Park remains, as Mr. Kindleberger hoped, "the best little park in Michigan."Photos: Vintage postcard of the flower bordered walk in Kindleberger Park; vintage postcard of the Sunken Garden; 2019 photo of the Sunken Garden; 2019 photo of the Sunken Garden Gazebo; spring photo of the Sunken Garden in 2022
