Portsmouth renames a park for former mayor
PORTSMOUTH — Alveria Griffin has fond memories of the park in Portsmouth’s Mt. Hermon neighborhood.
In the 1950s, it was a hub of the Portsmouth youth social scene, where kids spent much of their summer day doing crafts, playing sports and hanging out. At night, the tennis courts would become a roller rink and, Griffin recalled, “the fellas would ask for your hand like it was a dance.” She grew up in the neighborhood and also spent plenty of time there as a teenager with her eventual husband, Bernard Griffin.
He died in 2013 after a long career that included service in civic leagues and community groups, as a member of the School Board and City Council and briefly as interim mayor in 2010.
To honor that service, the City Council voted recently to rename the park at 901 Florida Ave. — until now called Mt. Hermon Park — as Bernard D. Griffin Sr. Park.
Tyrone Hines, one of the people who urged the change, said it was an appropriate way to honor a man who always supported the city’s parks, recreation centers and sports leagues.
Hines recalled approaching Griffin 25 or 30 years ago for some help with adding concession stands and fixing up the baseball fields at the Joseph E. Parker Recreation Center, about a mile away from the park that will now bear Griffin’s name. Hines went back to him numerous times for help starting or supporting youth and athletic programs, particularly in Mt. Hermon.
Griffin’s response, Hines said, was always yes: “He was just about an angel.”
By night, Griffin was an elected official and served on a bevy of boards and civic organizations. For his day job, he was a teacher in Chesapeake public schools who coached various sports.
Hines said Mt. Hermon park was a gathering place for the community, a place for organizations to have meetings and people to have get-togethers.
Not long after their days roller skating at then-Mt. Hermon Park, Alveria Griffin said her husband was becoming an activist “before they had a word for it.” She said that over the years, Griffin had opportunities outside of Portsmouth, but he refused to leave. She recalled him saying, “If I can make change, I’d like to make it in my city.”
Beyond helping with various projects, Hines said Griffin taught him how to make change in the community and introduced him to the people and groups that
could help as well. “He guided me through the process,” Hines said.
Above all else, Hines said, Griffin was a good man who treated everyone around him with kindness.
Outgoing Mayor John Rowe, a former city manager who grew up in Portsmouth, said Griffin was one of the nicest people he’s ever known and had a deep passion for giving and serving in Portsmouth. Rowe said Griffin served as a peacemaker on the council and looked for middle ground between two sides.
With the council’s vote on the park, Rowe said the name is offi
cially changed, although there’s no sign posted yet. He hopes for there to be a public ceremony to commemorate the new name, but the pandemic makes planning that type of event difficult.
A report on the park from the city’s parks and recreation department states that the sign would include park rules and regulations and cost up to $5,000. The park is slated for renovation, and the sign could be included in the cost of that project, the report says.