Last July, Amy Barkley sat on a bench in Zelienople's Community Park watching the groundbreaking for a skate park honoring her husband's late son and two of his friends.

At the time, she said she wanted to come back in two years and see “a bunch of new kids that we don't know skating.”

Now, nearly a year after ground was broken, Barkley has the chance to see it in use. She goes to the park frequently to watch skaters and bikers using it. The other evening, she saw a 7-year-old riding a new bike in there with his father — an apropos use of the space, she thought.

“To me, that's what it's all about,” Barkley said. “There's a dad and his son, creating memories, enjoying the park. Here's a child (who) was introduced to it and, for the next 10 years, is going to use that park.”

While it is yet to be officially dedicated, Zelienople Memorial Skate Park — called the “For-the-Dream Park” by a number of people due to its motto — is now open.

Before it even officially opened to the public, borough manager Don Pepe said teens and adults climbed over construction fences to make use of the decade-long project that stemmed from a senior project by Trevor Barkley who, along with his friends Sam Bucci and Elijah Lunsford, died in a 2010 vehicle accident.

“Considering the fact it was physically done, we wanted it to be open and ... they were there anyway,” Pepe said. “We wanted to take the construction fences down and let them in there. I'm glad it's done; I'm glad it's being used.”

Joe Conklin, an Evans City resident who has been riding a skateboard since he was young, skates at the park every morning.

“It is, honestly, a dream skate park for Zelienople, a small little town,” Conklin said. “I think it's great to have another addition to bring the community together.”

Conklin said rain won't stop him from going to the park — “I'll bring towels and dry off,” he said. Like many others, he calls it the “For-the-Dream Park,” a motto drawn up to honor Trevor Barkley, Bucci and Lunsford.

“I think the whole story itself, these three skaters who passed away ... it's a good name for it,” he said.

Park as memorial

The idea behind the skate park hatched as Trevor Barkley's senior project at Seneca Valley. But on Jan. 27, 2010, after he worked on the plans for the park, a vehicle carrying him, Bucci and Lunsford slid off the road and into a lake, killing all three teens.

Jeff Barkley picked up the project where his son left off with help from dozens of volunteers, including Trevor's mother, Linda Gass. The group eventually landed a $200,000 grant from the state's Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and a $10,000 contribution from the Tony Hawk Foundation to help finance the park's construction.

Donations and proceeds from Lenten fish fries helped fund much of the rest of the park. With skate park officials saying in October they might face a shortfall, the borough pitched in and loaned the group $30,000 to bridge the gap. Of that amount, about $10,000 was made as a contribution not needing to be repaid.

After nine years of working to finish his son's dream, Jeff Barkley died in November 2018, less than a year before last year's official groundbreaking. Amy Barkley and the other skate park officials picked up from Jeff Barkley's notes, spearheading the project to completion.

Now, with Trevor's dream and a decade of hard work finished, Barkley said she sees the park as an appropriate memorial to Trevor's senior project.

“Our thought was there was something that was needed in the park, and the amount of use that it's getting totally validates that,” she said. “I was there the other evening, and I was just watching people skate, of all ages, and when I counted there were more than 25 people at that time.”

A growing tribute

While the vast majority of work on the project is completed — all told, a nearly $600,000 endeavor — some work remains to be done.

Pepe said the borough still plans to hold a formal dedication of the park and to construct some signage indicating to visitors “the reason why the skate park was built.”

A fitting finish to the project that started with Trevor Barkley's senior project a decade ago. But the project's formal start, which began with tragedy, should not — and does not — put a damper on the mood in the park, Amy Barkley said. His project was to create a skate park residents and visitors could use and enjoy themselves in, she added.

“It is exactly that,” Barkley said.

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