In
1993 Darrah School, one of the oldest and most historic buildings remaining
in Mariposa, was condemned and scheduled to be torn down because it had
become unsafe. The school was built in 1878 and served Mariposa as
a place of learning until 1953. From 1953 to 1993 the building continued
to serve the community as a meeting place for Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts,
4H and many other civic groups as well as being used by private groups
for weddings, family reunions and other functions. The school also
served as a park since it was one of the few areas in the county with a
playground and a comfort station that was open to the public.
Not
wanting to lose such a treasured piece of Mariposa's history, our Kiwanis
Club purchased Darrah School from the County of Mariposa. We are
now renovating the building and bringing it up to current safety and accessibility
standards.
We
have hired Heart Land, an organization that provides living and working
opportunities for handicapped adults, to keep the grounds and restrooms
clean.
In
2002 a need in the community for a tot playground was recognized by a member
of Kiwanis. In 2003 a grant request was submitted for funds to replace
the old Darrah School playground with a playground for children under 5
years old. In December of 2003 work began on the state of the art
playground and the Kiwanis Tot Playground was officially opened on April
4, 2004. This is the only tot playground in Mariposa County that
is open to the public 7 days a week.
In
2001, a need was recognized in the county to update the training of our
local emergency response workers on how to deal with very young children
in accidents. In 2002, grants were written by a member of Kiwanis
to obtain funding from the Kiwanis foundation for training of 87 Mariposa
emergency response workers. Training began in late 2002 at Valley
Childrens Hospital in Madera. Training will continue as time allows
to get as many workers trained at no cost to them. In 2004, equipment
was delivered to equip the county emergency vehicles.
