You could say the Recreation Department’s Rec Station harkens back to the good old days when kids could be kids, riding their bikes to the neighborhood park and whiling away the day with their friends playing pickup games without adults telling them what to do.
Games like gaga ball, kick ball, tenney ball, pickleball, basketball and four square, drawing pictures with colored chalk on the pavement, and even just hanging out with friends in a shady spot are what you will see on any given summer day at Rec Station. Morning attendance, the daily popsicle break, and afternoon checkout are the only structured activities.
This summer, nearly 320 kids registered for the program. Rec Director Jimmy Olsen estimates that approximately 200 children come to the middle school every day to participate, even on days when temperatures top 100 degrees like they did the first week of the program.
“The first two or three days, we were straight out with the heat,” Olsen said. “We broke out the water slide and did arts and crafts inside to get the kids cooled off. We had them accessing the shade to keep everyone safe and comfortable and having fun.”
Retired pre-school teacher Nikki Louise Ferullo has been a counselor for 31 years.
“I started in 1995 when there were only a few kids at the middle school. Gradually we went to Huckleberry and people kept coming. We rented stuff to bring in and people kept coming. The programs just started to grow.”
Ferullo said she keeps coming back because she “loves the kids. I love seeing the kids play. There’s nothing better than that. It’s just a wonderful thing.
New this year is the resurrection of “graveyard,” a game in which kids lie still on the ground. The winner is the one who doesn’t crack.
“People are walking around and trying to get you to move. If you move, you’re out,” Ferullo said.
Michael Wein, aka “the guy with the bullhorn,” teaches 8th grade history at the middle school. He’s been with the program for more than 25 years and said graveyard, which is usually played after the popsicle break, has been a huge success.
“We used to play graveyard a long time ago and we decided to bring it back this year,” he said. “Post popsicles they’ve used up all their energy so it’s more of a quiet game. It’s huge. The winners get a double popsicle the next day, so they like that. Everything is going really well. The kids are playing nonstop from the time they get here and the time they leave.”
Counselor Emma Rose said graveyard always attracts a big crowd.
“It may be one of the biggest games we’ve ever done,” she said. “It’s really fun to play. We also do a staff round, which the kids really get into. The water slide, obviously, is also big.”
Tenney ball, pickleball, and 3v3 basketball tournaments are held everyday.
“It’s so great to see the staff organizing all the tournaments and kids just gravitate to whatever they want to play,” Wein said. “There are no rules as to what you have to play. They make all of their own choices. We are here to make sure everybody is safe and happy. We’re not here to structure their every move. Kids come and go as they please.”
Many of the counselors are high school students who attended Rec Station when they were kids. Rose, who will be leaving in a couple of weeks to start training with the Trinity College women’s soccer team, started coming to Rec as a camper then was a volunteer counselor freshman year and has been at it ever since. Her favorite part of working as a counselor is meeting the kids.
“I have made so many little friendships with the kids,” she said. “They have great memories so they remember your name. It’s really fun getting to know them and making these memories with them.”
Aislin McCormack, a rising senior at Lynnfield High and member of the indoor and outdoor track and field teams is in her third summer serving as a counselor. She also enjoys forming friendships with the campers.
“I just love being with all the kids and getting to do activities with them and build relationships with them,” McCormack said. “It’s fun to teach them how to interact with each other and solve their own problems.”
Stella Bruno, 10, a 5th grader at the middle school, has been coming to Rec Station since she was in kindergarten. She said she comes so she can be with all of her friends.
“It’s fun to hang out with them every day and do games and crafts and things with them,” she said. “It just keeps me busy.”
Olsen said the Rec Adventures program has also been going strong this summer. It offers day trips to popular kids’ attractions including Canobie Lake Park, Funtown Splashtown USA, Boda Borg, Fenway Park, and SkyZone.
“The kids seem to really enjoy it and the parents are sending their kids, so it’s been going really well this summer,” Olsen said. “As long as we can keep offering the programs that the kids want, I’m happy.”
