By John Balch
News-Leader staff
KIRBY – It was a big day Friday, March 14 at Daisy State Park when a special ceremony was held to officially open the park’s brand new visitor center and playground.
The event was attended by dozens of community members, longtime visitors to the park, and local and state officials, including Shea Lewis, secretary of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism and Jeff King, director of state parks.
“This is an exciting day for Daisy State Park and the many visitors who come here each year to experience the beauty of Lake Greeson and the surrounding Ouachita Mountains,” Lewis told the crowd gathered outside the new center.
The new visitor center replaces the old 450-square foot one built in 1973.
“The new visitor center and playground further our mission of providing high-quality outdoor recreation and education for all who visit.”
Park Superintendent Nathan Fort, in his second year at the park, could barely contain his excitement and emotions when opening the ceremony and thanking those in attendance, which included members of the newly-elected Kirby Elementary School Student Council.
Fort said the park is growing and the new center and playground will play a big part in enhancing the experience, not only for campers but the locals who enjoy the park and playground.
Many people were recognized during the event, from those who designed and built the additions to those who currently operate the park. Also in attendance was local Sandra Pinson, who was recognized for working as park office manager for close to 30 years and who wore a vintage T-shirt Friday that read: “Daisy State Park, Roam Free, 1955.”
Shelia Newman of Mount Pleasant, Texas, who has been camping at the park with family and friends for 55 years, was invited to speak on Friday. Newman is credited with forming a “camper’s reunion” that gathers every October and has for the last 35 years.
Newman, who knows all the former and current staff by name, reminisced about the days of tent-camping at the park when things were a little more primitive. She said in the early days that an electrical line was strung through the trees with light bulbs placed along the line for campers. Newman claimed there is still a piece of the old electrical line sticking out of a tree on site #85, her favorite spot in the park.
“We’ve meet so many friends here,” Newman said about her time at the park, which she described as safe, comfortable, serene and clean. “We have seen this park progress and look at it now.”
Superintendent Fort closed out the event before tours of the new facilities started and lunch was served. “Memories are made here, generations are coming back even more, and the commitment to outdoor recreation, well, it’s just getting started here at Daisy State Park.
Daisy State Park is situated on the northern shoreline of 7,000-acre Lake Greeson in southwest Arkansas.
The clear water and Ouachita Mountains scenery make the park a favorite of campers seeking water sports and fishing. Daisy is the eighth state park established in Arkansas, according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas.
Lake Greeson was created in 1950 when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers placed a dam on the Little Missouri River some six miles north of Murfreesboro (Pike County).
The lake was created for flood control and hydroelectric power generation.
The land for Daisy State Park, consisting of 272 acres, was acquired by the state and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on March 22, 1955.
Former state representative Pete Austin, a lifetime resident of Pike County, was a leading advocate for the creation of the park.
