“Working with children makes you remember the magic. It makes you remember what’s important. And what’s not.” — Ronald Naasko
Description:
This new playground is designed and built to ADA standards. Ron Naasko was a former resident of Corvallis and a Veteran of the Vietnam war. He spent a great deal of time along the Corvallis Riverfront, and enjoyed the atmosphere so much that he lived on the Riverfront. Ron enjoyed watching children play on the riverfront and was a strong advocate for a children’s playground somewhere along the riverfront.
Ronald Naasko Bio
A riverfront playground was a long-time dream of Corvallis resident Ronald Naasko.
Mr. Naasko, who lived downtown for many years and died in September 2011, was often seen strolling Riverfront Park in his wheelchair, picking up litter, and watching children play. He was a tireless advocate for the community, for children, and for the disabled.
He was so well known, he often couldn’t get too far along his beloved riverfront path before he heard a young voice call out, “Mr. Naasko! Mr. Naasko!” His face would light up and he would stop to chat, give out hugs, or rides in his wheelchair. He was patient and kind. Children loved him.
Mr. Naasko served in Vietnam with the U.S. Army’s First Cavalry Division until March 20, 1968 when he stepped on a landmine and lost both of his legs above the knee. He was 20 years old and spent the next 43 years in a wheelchair.
After the war, he dedicated himself to raising a family and public service. He worked as an administrator, building parks and playgrounds in Lakewood, Colorado before retiring to Corvallis in 1990. It was here that he began his true calling in life: teaching.
For more than 20 years, Mr. Naasko volunteered at the Old Mill Center for Children and Families, a local preschool that integrates special-needs children with typically developing children in the same classroom.
“I wanted to work with kids who need me,” said Mr. Naasko in a 2005Corvallis Gazette-Times article about his work at Old Mill. He wanted to show disabled kids that there are disabled adults, and that they’re just regular people.
“Naasko illustrates perfectly the philosophy of Old Mill Center,” said former director Bev Larson. “Everybody has challenges and strengths.”
Mr. Naasko wanted to teach all children to see past his wheelchair and view him as a real person. And he wanted them to be able to do the same when they meet other people who use wheelchairs – now and in the future.
Mr. Naasko did whatever was needed at Old Mill. He taught, he read, he washed tables, he wiped noses, and tied shoes. He listened and offered gentle words of advice. He often brought broken toys and bikes home to repair. He mentored many Corvallis children from preschool all the way through high school.
In addition to his work at Old Mill, Mr. Naasko tutored kids in reading at Mountain View Elementary School and taught religious education at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Corvallis (UUFC). He often wrote and spoke on behalf of veterans, and was an active member of Access Benton County, an organization that advocates for the physically disabled.
The Ronald Naasko Playground will be built at the Riverfront Park, next to the fountains where children play during the warm summer months. It will be designed and built to ADA standards.
It will be a playground for all children. Just as Mr. Naasko dreamed.
January ’18 Update:
Work will start in a couple of months on that project, which will be at Riverfront Park.
Ronald Naasko Playground Ribbon Cutting
This is scheduled for Saturday, August 4 at 3pm at the Riverfront Park, just south of the Fountain.