Downtown Drexel event to raise funding for shade in the park

Downtown Drexel Park is a beautiful place.

With a colorful mural highlighting Drexel’s history on the side of Nyna’s House restaurant as a backdrop, the park has comfortable benches, roomy picnic tables, a short walking trail, and a small amphitheater.

What it doesn’t have much of is shade.

No one is more aware of this lack of shade than one of Drexel’s most well-known and most beloved residents — Will Perkins.

Will likes to spend time in the park each day — reading his Bible, conversing with friends, and simply enjoying spending time out of doors.

The Grow With Drexel organization wants to put shade in the park, not by waiting years for trees to grow, but by installing “shades” similar to those over several benches on the Freedom Park walking trail.

Such an effort requires money, of course, and that’s where Will comes in.

No, he’s not going to write a fat check, but he will be the grand marshal, star attraction, and official Top Dog at Will’s Walk, scheduled for Saturday, April 19, from 10 a.m. to noon.

Will will lead all who show up and sign up on a 1-mile loop around Drexel, beginning and ending, of course, at Downtown Drexel Park.

The cost of registration for the walk will be $10 for those 6 and older and $5 for those 5 and younger.

According to the Grow With Drexel folks, each person who registers will receive a free pair of “shades” and also be eligible for prizes such as Drexel Christmas ornaments and several handmade stained glass lightcatcher hearts.

Drexel First Baptist will be hosting a free Easter egg hunt at the conclusion of the walk, featuring inflatables for kids and free hot dogs. Nyna’s Restaurant will also be open.

A Great Conversation

Will and I met in the park on Thursday morning and chatted for a while about the upcoming walk, both of us hoping a cloudy April sky would not begin to shower again.

Even if it had, however, Will’s personal sunshine would be impossible to repress.

A lot of folks might tell you that Will was dealt a bad hand by life. An automobile accident in 1983 when he was just 20 years left him in a coma for three weeks and with only a slim chance of survival when he awoke.

But, even though he has lived the last 32 years in a motorized wheelchair, his only mobility the limited use of his arms, he will tell you that, “No. I was not dealt a bad hand at all. I am very, very blessed.”

Asked how he maintains such a positive outlook, Will smiles and touches the Bible in his lap — a Bible which he often reads while sitting in the park, or outside the Drexel Post Office, or in the parking lot of the R.O. Huffman Center, which offers a beautiful view of High Peak Mountain.

“The main thing is my Bible and my faith in God,” he says quietly. “I honestly feel that I have a better life now than I did before the accident. I’m more satisfied, more at peace, more thankful for my blessings.”

One of those blessings is the acceptance he has found in the Drexel community. Everyone knows him, everyone loves him, and no one is ever too busy to pass up a few minutes visiting with “Mr. Will.”

Another ongoing source of joy for Will is the time he spends as a reading tutor with the students at Drexel Elementary School.

Will has served as a tutor at the school for close to 20 years now and rather than growing tired of the task, he says, “Those kids have got me so spoiled. They inspire me so much.

“I tell them, ‘If Will can do it, you can do it,’” he continued. “I listen to them, I encourage them, and I make sure they’re pronouncing their words correctly. It’s something I love doing.”

And the students, in turn, love him.

Nearly eight years ago, in the late spring of my last semester of teaching before my “retirement,” I rode the bus over to Drexel Elementary School with a group of seniors, dressed in their caps and gowns, for a walk through the school where they began their public education pathway.

As the bus made its way back to Draughn High School, we passed in front of the Drexel Post Office and sitting out front was Mr. Will.

Those two dozen seniors reacted like teenage girls in the 1960s spotting one of the Beatles. Yelling, screaming, and calls to “Stop the bus! It’s Mr. Will” ensued. And stop we did.

Even though we were due back at Draughn for the beginning of second period, we gave the students five minutes for those seniors to treat Mr. Will exactly like the hero he is.

As our conversation neared its end, I asked Will if he enjoyed having so many people who love him, care for him, and want to share the day with him?

“I enjoy living in Drexel,” he responded. “It’s an honor to be treated the way I am. But I also love my quiet time, my alone time, time when me and Lord can talk.”

And hopefully Will will soon be able to spend some of that quiet time, in the shade, at Downtown Drexel Park.