By Jim Bloch
Cargill, owner of the former Diamond Crystal Salt Company in St. Clair, will give the city of St. Clair $300,000 over three years to build a splashpad and make other improvements to Klecha Park.
Company officials presented a mockup of a check to the recreation commission at the regular meeting of the city council, held Jan. 8.
The master plan for Klecha Park includes the splashpad, a new parking area, a new pathway that meets the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act, permanent bathrooms, a multi-use court, a playscape to replace the 30-year old playground equipment, improvements to an existing baseball field and a new picnic pavilion. The new play elements will include swings, a play structure for tots and a whirl, replacing the aging merry-go-round.
The park’s current infrastructure is sufficient to support the new developments, officials said.
The park, located on Goffe Street east of Hillside Cemetery, is the only significant recreational area on the city’s south side.
Trice Hawkins, the city’s recreation director, estimated the overall cost of the renovations at $1 million.
The park is named for Joseph B. Klecha, who started St. Clair Little League in 1952, when the league consisted of four teams that played on Solis Field north of the city’s water plant on Adams Street. The league outgrew Solis Field and in 1956 moved to Klecha Park, named for Joe, which featured two ball diamonds. In 2010, SCLL moved to Legacy Field on Fred Moore Highway, home to nine fields, which now serve about 50 teams and 650 young athletes.
Klecha was born Oct. 18, 1920, in Detroit. He worked as the city harbormaster, participated in local sports and served as a district administrator in the state Little League. He coached in St. Clair Little League for 35 years. He died in 1990 at age 69.
“It is our honor for Cargill to support something that is just down the road from us, in the shadow of our building and that has a place in our hearts for our area,” said Lee Westrick, Cargill processing superintendent, in a statement. “Our employees, including those that have retired, have been proud supporters of our community. Many of us remember our first base hit at the Klecha Park Ballfields. We are happy to provide funding to get the Klecha Park Project started.”
Diamond Crystal Salt was founded by Charles Moore in St. Clair in 1886. It was sold to General Foods in 1929, repurchased by the Moore family in 1953, sold to AKZO in 1987 and Cargill in 1997.
Jim Bloch is a freelance writer based in St. Clair, Michigan. Contact him at bloch.jim@gmail.com.
