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New Shullsburg playground equipment dedicated
Badger Park playground equip color
Pictured from L-R in front of the playground and stone dedicated in Sharon Leahy's memory are her daughterAngie Esteve Leahy, her husbandTom Leahy (donor), her sisterElane (Christopher) Murphy, her sonJay Leahy, her sisterConnie (Christopher) Cosgrove, her brotherNorbert Christopher and her daughterStephanie Leahy Trillo. -Photo by Tom Gunnell

The new playground equipment in Shullsburg’s Badger Park was dedicated on Sunday, May 25 while the donor and his family were in town.
    The playground equipment was donated by Tom Leahy, of Las Vegas, in honor and memory of his wife, Sharon (Christopher) Leahy for her love of children. Both Tom and Sharon were originally from the Shullsburg area and attended Shullsburg High School.
    The project began about a year ago, when Tom decided to make a contribution to the community where he and his wife had such fond memories, in Sharon’s honor and memory.
    Both Tom and Sharon grew up playing in Shullsburg’s Badger Park and their three children: Angie, Jay and Stephanie also would have played there when they visited their grandparents in Shullsburg.
During the dedication, Tom and Sharon’s grandchildren also got the opportunity to play on the new playground equipment dedicated in honor of their grandmother, making them the third generation of the family to play in Shullsburg’s Badger Park.
    In addition to the playground equipment, the project also included the contribution of lighting, benches, waste receptacles, landscaping and a large memorial stone engraved with the words: “This playground is dedicated in memory of Sharon Ann (Christopher) Leahy, Loving wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister and friend in honor of her great love of children.”
    Getting this project together was a huge collaborated effort from both the Leahy family as well as the community of Shullsburg.
    Tom and Sharon’s grandchildren were actually the ones who picked out the playground’s colors and design from several options, and the couple’s children wrote the dedication that appears on the memorial stone.
    Many community members from Shullsburg have put in donated hours getting the park prepared for the project and working with contractors and the Leahy family. Pam Paquette, one of those community members also said, “The city workers have really gone above and beyond to get it up and running, especially considering the time of year and all the regular work they have going on right now.”
 “It’s just such a wonderful addition to the park,” said Paquette of the new equipment.