After years of planning and fundraising, the Reid Brewer Memorial Splash Park in Bushnell officially opened Saturday, Aug. 9. The splash park, located next to the city swimming pool in Veterans Park, honors the memory of Reid Brewer, a beloved local boy who passed away at age 7 from neuroblastoma.
The park’s groundbreaking took place on June 18, 2024, when Reid’s parents, Jim and Katie Brewer, along with Bushnell Mayor Robin Wilt and Alderman Lisa Webb, turned the soil with four golden shovels. At the time, the community hoped for a summer 2024 opening, but rising costs and construction challenges delayed the project.
The biggest hurdles in the splash park came up against included finding a location and raising enough money. The city ultimately donated the land, and the $100,000 project, which grew to $200,000, finally found the funding. Reid's grandpa Charlie Bowen and his wife Peggy were major donors as the project hit the home stretch.
As with everything these days, the price of goods for the project soared even in a year's time. Even with massive donated labor, the splash pad has at least $30,000 of cement, $3000 of river rock and $53,000 in actual splash park spraying fixtures.
The Brewer's say 'because it's so late in the summer and school is beginning again', they have decided to save the big Grand Opening of the splash park until next summer.
When asked what Reid would think of the final product, Brewer laughed and said 'I think he would love it. I think he would be right there with the kids, getting wet and having fun.'
Reid would be 15 years old now, as he passed away on August 6, 2017 at the age of 7. Reid was a child with a giant personality, who unfortunately was diagnosed with neuroblastoma at age four.
One of Reid's friends and fellow patient at St. Jude's Children's Hospital, Zach Larson traveled from LaHarpe to be present at the opening of the splash park that he knew his friend would have so enjoyed and been so proud of.
Brewer recalled how Reid was a curious child who loved Legos and building things, 'he no doubt would have wanted to be involved in the engineering aspect of the splash park. He would have wanted to know how it all worked.' And added that Reid would no doubt have stressed that the park needed to be accessible to all children including those in wheelchairs. The park is indeed built with five foot pathways so that children in wheelchairs can get soaked just like everyone else.
Jim Brewer talked about Reid's classmates, how he hopes that even though they are in high school now, that they will still come out and watch, even get wet, and remember the friend they knew.
Bushnell joins other Illinois communities like Abingdon, Monmouth, Galesburg, and Keokuk in investing in splash parks to provide safe, fun summer spaces for children. Brewer estimates the park will be open daily from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Labor Day. Water sensors that activate only when visitors are present will be self-explanatory for children and parents to operate.
The Brewer family’s charity will operate the splash park for one year before turning it over to the city. Soon two gazebos for shade will be added in two corners of the park.
“This splash park is a lasting investment in Bushnell’s children,” Jim Brewer said.
“It’s here forever and will be maintained for generations.” The Brewers hope that the new splash park will also encourage new people to come to Bushnell. They hope that when newcomers are in Bushnell, that they will also utilize the Bushnell Swimming Pool, which has struggled in recent years to keep up with maintenance and repairs. The Bushnell pool was built in /around 1960 by members of the VFW Post 1422 with assistance from local businesses and community members.
While visitors are in Bushnell, the Brewers also hope they will be hungry after using the splash park and going swimming and support local restaurants, such as Hardee's, the Highway Cafe, Archies or downtown to Rosey's Pizza.
Perhaps while they are in Bushnell they will need gas or pick up a few groceries.
A new sign bearing the park’s name has been installed at the entrance.
Though the Brewers prefer to honor volunteers privately, their gratitude is immense.
While this writer was leaving Veterans Park, I could not help but notice all of the other memorials. Having grown up in Bushnell, I am familiar with the stories of Bruce Sweeney and Fred Bertolino. Young men who went off to warone never found and one brought home to Bushnell to rest. Then there are the three beautiful little Ludlum girls, Jessica, Courtney and Megan, whose deaths were the inspiration for the wonderful 'Angels Playground' not far from the splash park and pool.
There are probably many more memorialized in Bushnell's beautifully maintained Veterans Memorial Park, and I by no means intend to exclude anyone.
And now we have the much anticipated memorial to a little seven year-old boy named Reid, who had the heart of a giant and a zest for living so intense he perhaps knew his time on this planet would be brief. So he had to get 'everything' in while he could.
To those names I've just mentioned above, and to the many I've probably forgotten, you all had a commonality.
That commonality is that you all had so much potential. Bruce, Fred, Jessica, Courtney, Megan and Reidand to the many others, your park is beautiful and it's just getting better. You will never be forgotten in Bushnell, Illinois.
