"Pioneer Park is truly the crown jewel of shared open spaces in our community"

David Gibson, Walla Walla resident

At the centre of this story is your father, Chuck Gibson, can you tell us more about who he was and his interest in table tennis?

Chuck “Coach” Gibson grew up near neighbourhood city parks that provided a variety of recreational opportunities including tennis, pickleball and ping pong. Chuck served in WWII, then graduated from the University of Southern California where he went on to teach at the community college level for over 35 years. Our family had a ping pong table on our patio in southern California, we would eat dinner on that patio every night and then play ping pong until well past dark. It was a challenge to see which one of my sisters or brother could get the most points against Coach, who would regularly have to remind us that “the person who wins, often just gets the ball back over the net one more time”. Our Dad was a human backboard! The backyard ping pong table was where we learned about what had gone on during the day, what news stories were important and what music was becoming popular. You might be late for dinner, but you would never miss the ping pong action!

Since their unveiling, how have the tables been received?

Since we installed our 2 POPP tables in Pioneer Park last year they have seen constant use. Friends will often meet for lunch in the park and then adjourn for a couple of games of ping pong before heading back to their jobs. Other users include a steady stream of students on their way home from school and pet owners out walking their dogs. Community members tend to congregate where they feel safe and where there is laughter, and in both cases the ping pong tables cater for that!

Describe Pioneer Park for anyone who has never had the chance to visit - what type of people are you likely to encounter on any given day, and what brings them to the park?

Pioneer Park is more than 100 years old at this point. It has an abundance of mature shade trees, walking paths, a prominent playground facility, duck ponds, an aviary and 6 pickleball courts. The park is located in the centre of town with residential housing and schools all within walking distance. Pioneer Park is the crown jewel of shared open spaces in our community!

What’s your favourite outcome you’ve seen as a result of this project?

I love the many ways that these tables have brought people together in the great outdoors - our local newspaper really helped us get the word out about the Ping Pong in the Park project. They had full-colour, front page images of children and families playing on the tables. We keep 8 paddles and 8 balls under each table... and in 3 months of use only 1 paddle has been misplaced! I love how this sport creates community, laughter and joy across all age groups. True to their word, the POPP tables are steadfast can certainly handle sun, rain, snow and frost. Big thanks go out to Walla Walla Parks and Recreation Dept, the community of Walla Walla and to “Coach” for working together to make this project happen!