'Four years ago, all we had was a rundown pavilion, a set of swings and a decrepit sandbox,' Sherry Bolha said of the playground near her home in Pleasant Unity. Drive into its newly paved parking lot today and you'll see a renovated pavilion and safe, new play equipment next to a resurfaced basketball court and walking path. You'll see a memorial brick walkway and monument, new picnic tables, benches and plantings. What you can't easily see is the pride this Unity Township community has taken in reviving its dilapidated playground. 'Many families here were concerned because we had no safe, suitable facilities for our children,' Bolha said. 'So we decided to do something about it.' In 1998, an ad hoc group of residents formed the Pleasant Unity Community Association and resurrected the village's Community Days celebration after a 30-year hiatus. The goal was to raise money to support the Pleasant Unity Volunteer Fire Department and to fix up the playground next door. The fourth annual Community Days celebration wrapped up Sunday. But it took more than a festival to resuscitate the playground, said Bolha, who serves as president of the Pleasant Unity Playground Association, an offshoot of the original community group. 'It took a lot of hard work by the whole community - the families, the businesses, everyone who even baked a cake for a fund raiser - to create this playground,' she said. Some grant money helped, too. The volunteer group's largest financial find was a $27,500 recycled tire grant from the state Department of Environmental Protection. That paid to resurface the basketball court, pavilion floor and part of the {1/3}-mile walking track with tiny rubber pellets chipped from old automobile tires. 'We used about 16 tons of the recycled material originally, but we bought more, probably close to 30 tons in all,' Bolha said. A handicapped access ramp also was installed with the DEP grant, she added. The association netted another $5,000 in state Department of Community and Economic Development funds for new playground equipment. A $3,000 Kiski-Conemaugh River Basin Alliance grant paid for 'beautification with natural products, like trees, shrubs and wooden tables and benches,' she said. Although Unity Township owns the roughly 2-acre playground parcel, which abuts the fire department's baseball field, 'the township didn't pay for any of the equipment or improvements,' Supervisor Michael O'Barto said. 'We only provided labor and equipment. It was the community that raised the money, and the people of Pleasant Unity really should be commended,' he said. 'They have created a haven for their children, a safe environment where they can walk and play and have fun.' Bolha said two local firms, Latrobe Construction Co. and Donegal Construction Co., also donated land, labor and materials to extend the playground's walking path with asphalt. Counting in-kind services and donated materials, plus contributions from area foundations, businesses and community fund raisers, the playground project has absorbed 'about $100,000,' she estimated. And it isn't finished yet. The group eventually hopes to install restrooms, a water fountain and additional lighting. 'It's an ongoing process,' Bolha said. 'But really want people to know this playground is here, and that we're always open to public input and new volunteers.'

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