Rip Robertson is the Parks and Recreation Director for the City of Tucker. He brings to the job years of experience in Parks and Rec, as well as Public Works. Rip is a former Military Intelligence Analyst for the U.S. Army and is active with the Army Reserve.
Naming a park can be a complicated process. In my decades in Parks and Recreation I’ve seen new parks come online and everyone seems to have an idea for what the name should be. Some ideas are good, some are…well…unique. As we see here in Tucker, sometimes a park’s name just fits. Henderson Park sits along Henderson Road in the area settled by Greenville Henderson almost 200 years ago. Peters Park honors William McKinley Peters, one of the founding members of that particular community.
Other times, it’s a little more open ended. We assumed responsibility of Smoke Rise Park from DeKalb County back in 2018. They had named it long ago and, because of the location of the park in Tucker’s Smoke Rise community, you could say the name fit. But there were already a couple other parks that went by the name of “Smoke Rise”. Plus, the country club also bore the name. “Smoke Rise” almost became like “Peachtree” in other parts of metro Atlanta.
The same goes for Smoke Rise Bath & Racquet. This longtime staple of the Smoke Rise community came under city control just last year. We had our first, very successful swim season there last summer. People flocked to the tennis courts and the newly lined pickleball courts. Despite social distancing mandates, hundreds of families came out to enjoy these new public amenities. But there was still that name.
At the City Council meeting last month, our Mayor and Council took a big step; one that I think will resonate for years to come in the Smoke Rise community. They voted to name these parks in honor of a pair of community leaders who we recently lost. Smoke Rise Bath & Racquet will now be Rosenfeld Park. Bill Rosenfeld was a good man. He was someone who gave all he had for the betterment of the community. As a City Councilman, he worked closely with the Parks and Recreation Department on a number of initiatives, but the most notable one was the acquisition of Smoke Rise Bath & Racquet. As you know by now, we unfortunately lost Bill back in January at the age of 77. As we discussed ways to honor his legacy, I couldn’t think of anything more appropriate than putting his name on this park, which he advocated for so passionately.
Similarly, Council voted to name Smoke Rise Park after longtime Smoke Rise resident and visionary Bill Probst. I didn’t know Bill, but I’ve certainly heard stories. It’s pretty much agreed upon that it was Bill’s vision and expertise that helped lay the groundwork for the Smoke Rise community. He was a great neighbor, a great leader and left his imprint not just here in Tucker, but across metro Atlanta. Unfortunately, he passed away last year. Probst Park has a nice, alliterative ring to it, and the name will ensure that future generations of Tucker’s park users will know about the contributions this man made.
As with any major change, it will take time for us to retrain our brains to call these parks by their new names. But we’re helping with that. In the coming days and months, new signage will be coming to all our parks. Specifically, you’re going to see monument signs welcoming folks to “Rosenfeld Park” and “Probst Park”. And before you know it, pickleballers will be texting each other “Let’s meet up at Rosenfeld!” Hikers will congregate for wooded walks and declare “Some of the best hiking in Tucker is at Probst!”
These are positive changes, which I think further enhance what our Tucker Parks and Recreation system mean to the City.
