Georgia kids create shanty town in absence of park
ST. SIMONS, Ga. — The destruction of Glynn Haven Baptist Church caused something of an uproar when the demolition crew did so without a permit and took all the lot’s trees down along with the church.
Children in the neighborhood, however, are making the best of a bad situation.
“[Children of Glynn Haven residents] always played there anyway when it was the church,” said Keith Wiggins, one of the empty lot’s neighbors.
Now just an empty dirt lot, the kids who once played on the church property have had to get a little more creative. Using empty wooden pallets, pieces of tarpaulin and other scraps found laying around, the resourceful youngsters have built a kids’ community of forts, foundations and walkways. They even put up a sign, proclaiming it their own “Shanty Town.”
“The kids have turned it into shanty town, and I’ve done what I can to help,” Wiggins said.
At times a focus of controversy, the lot is the potential site of 10 new houses. Residents of the Glynn Haven neighborhood on St. Simons Island, however, were hoping for something more community-oriented. The lot actually has the potential to be subdivided into 16 lots, according to county zoning records.
“There’s parks at both ends on the island, but there’s nothing in the center, and there’s more kids in Glynn Haven than there are in any other neighborhood,” Wiggins said.
There are a lot of kids in Glynn Haven, Wiggins said, estimating that there could be as many as 100 or more. Many of the parents in the neighborhood want a place their kids can play safely. The lot in question was once a perfect candidate.
“It wasn’t unusual for there to be 30 kids out there at once, and it’s just a dirt lot. If it was a park there would be more out there than that,” Wiggins said.
While the owner of the lot hasn’t asked them to stop or to keep off the property, Wiggins said the shanty town has been knocked down and rebuilt twice since its inception around the beginning of April.
“Somebody tore the whole thing down with a tractor. They rebuilt, and then somebody came by in the night and knocked them all down again,” Wiggins said. “They keep rebuilding and somebody keeps knocking them down.”
According to some, the number of children who will need a place to play is only going to grow.
“Glynn Haven is a turnaround neighborhood. We’re getting a lot of kids there now and everybody is a dog owner,” said Mike Earehart, another resident of Glynn Haven. “I’ve seen the neighborhood up and down, and I think it’s coming back. People are remodeling and fixing [houses] up. When young people come they bring kids.”
Terry LaVine, another nearby resident, is resigned to having new neighbors.
“I’d like to see them build nice homes, not shotgun homes. Of course what we all really want is a park, but I’m thinking realistically,” LaVine said.
Meg Haisten, owner of the Little Red School House childcare center located in Glynn Haven, said her business could seriously benefit from having more open space for the children to play.
“I’m so excited that people in the neighborhood have this interest,” Haisten said. “I’d do anything to be involved in it.”
Peter Murphy, the Glynn County Commission member representing St. Simons, said the county doesn’t have the resources at the moment to create a new park in the middle of the island.
“Increasingly land is being acquired for development on the island. Unfortunately there isn’t a good spot in Glynn Haven or closer that we could acquire for that,” Murphy said. “It would be terrific, but I don’t know where the land is going to come from unless someone’s going to donate the land to use for a park.”
He did say, however, the county would help if a park became a possibility.
“Obviously we’d do anything to fully facilitate that,” Murphy said.
Exactly when a subdivision plat for 10 houses on the old Glynn Haven Baptist Church lot will be considered by the Islands Planning Commission has not been announced.