Its greatness is not its size


Its greatness is not its size

I want to commend the Vindi- cator for the recent editorial praising the new strategic plan of Mill Creek MetroParks. The park is a treasure that we should all support. However, your editorial contained a factual error. The myth that Mill Creek is “the second largest metropolitan park in the United States” may qualify as Youngstown’s most popular urban legend. But it simply isn’t true. Mill Creek doesn’t even crack the top four in northeast Ohio. Cleveland Metroparks is nearly five times larger, and Summit Metroparks is more than double Mill Creek’s 4,400 acres.

The greatness of Mill Creek MetroParks lies not in its size but in its diverse scenic features, recreational and educational opportunities, and historical significance. When voters approved Volney Rogers’s plan for the park in April 1891, Mill Creek became Ohio’s first township park district. That’s a fact worth celebrating. But please let us stop perpetuating the false belief that Mill Creek’s size has some national significance.

Rick Shale, Boardman

The writer is former member of the Mill Creek MetroParks Board of Park commissioners and with Carol Potter is a co-author of “Historic Mill Creek Park.”

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