BROOKINGS – A whole section of town underwent wholesale renovations earlier this summer, thanks to Chris Larson with help from family and others.
Safety Town is a Brookings institution that started 36 years ago and teaches young kids important safety tips from street activities to animal safety. The “buildings” were painted to look like shops and places like police and fire stations; they are stored and used from year to year, said Larson, office manager with the Brookings Police Department.
Safety Town has gotten makeovers in the past, Larson said, the last time being about eight years ago.
She knew something had to be done when the buildings were pulled out of storage for this summer’s sessions.
“They were unrecognizable, damaged,” Larson recalled.
It’s not just that the buildings didn’t look pretty; they had deteriorated to the point of being dangerous.
“For the older buildings, there were four sheets of plywood for one building (set up like a box). The officers would have a hard time getting them up, and they were falling apart because they were hinged,” Larson said. “The hinges were coming apart and we didn’t want them to fall on the kids or anything like that, so we needed to fix it before somebody got hurt.”
Instead of the four-sheet box shape, the buildings were renovated to have one sheet of 4x8 plywood that is held up by “L” shaped stands so it will be easier for the officers to set up and take down.
Paint the town
Once construction was complete, the plywood needed to be turned into the “town” of Safety Town and Larson grabbed a paintbrush.
“I’ve been painting for – well, as old as (daughter) Nicole is – 17 years now,” Larson said.
She’s painted props for the Brookings Figure Skating Club’s ice show with help from Nicole and Larson’s sister, Melissa Walsh.
“I said ‘Hey, I need some help,’” Larson said laughing. “This isn’t their first rodeo.”
“I didn’t have to ask my daughter. My daughter’s like, ‘Count me in.’ I called my sister, and she’s there any time I need her,” Larson said.
They have a system by now.
“I just put (the drawing) on there and then I tell them to paint by the numbers and I have pictures for them,” Larson said.
She gave them a little extra incentive.
“I told them I would feed them,” she said with a laugh.
The trio had 10 buildings to paint and no time to waste, so they started after work on a Friday and worked until 1 a.m. Saturday. They hit it again from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and wrapped it up about 5 p.m. Sunday.
“I work ‘em hard,” Larson said with a laugh. “I work ‘em hard, but they’re used to that.”
They could go fast because Larson had a game plan.
“I knew what I wanted,” she said of the designs. “I wanted to keep some of them the same, but just have a different look to them this year. We kept with the same fire and police and hospital and church, but we also wanted something ‘kids’ and my sister, she said ‘How about a candy store?’
“I said that’s a fabulous idea and I told her ‘You’re doing that one; you’re doing everything, I’m not outlining it, I’m not doing anything of it, it’s all yours,’” Larson said.
Walsh answered her sister’s challenge.
“She’s really proud of that, the candy store one,” Larson said.
Nicole got her own moment to shine.
“My daughter was the one who did the dentist one,” Larson said, adding Nicole tried to think of what the kids would like and incorporate it into the design. “She wanted to give it an update, absolutely.”
For all the work they did, “They had fun,” Larson said.
Other work necessary
Her family’s volunteering helped out, but Larson still had some bills to pay. Some funding came from her budget, but it costs a lot just to keep Safety Town running.
“I’m looking for a lot of help because Safety Town is a non-profit,” she said. “I asked for donations the beginning of the year, (and) Brookings is very generous. A lot of businesses helped put this program on.
“We did get the supplies from Lowe’s,” Larson said. “And they gave us half off all our supplies: the paint and the wood and the brushes. So that was a big help to us.”
She also got a grant for $2,500 from First Bank & Trust for a new trailer and is trying to line up a couple more grants to get the full $5,000 cost of the trailer. Right now, Safety Town is using a loaner trailer.
Sheehan’s in Watertown is custom-making the new trailer.
“They gave us a nice break on it,” Larson said.
She said they also need to replace the shed and the cars the kids ride during Safety Town activities.
“The seat belts are falling off, the steering wheels are older. So they’re gonna cost about $3,000 to replace those,” Larson said.
For those wanting to make a donation, checks should be made out to Safety Town and send to the Brookings Police Department, in care of Larson.
Lots of work, lots of reward
Larson knows Safety Town can have a big impact on the kids who attend.
“My daughter, she went through the program herself and she’s been an instructor,” Larson said, adding Nicole has always helped out in other ways, too. “She loves it, just loves it.”
That’s why Larson puts in all the work.
“I will do it again,” she said of painting the buildings.
“I love helping out these kids this time of year. I just love seeing all these kids and their faces,” Larson said.
Contact Jodelle Greiner at jgreiner@brookingsregister.com.
