Park ribbon cutting, dedication

Paul B. Leffler Rotary Park ribbon cutting set for May 19

To celebrate the Paul B. Leffler Rotary Park’s major upgrades, the City of Pittsburg and Pittsburg area Rotary clubs are coming together for a ribbon cutting and a special dedication ceremony.

The ribbon cutting, hosted by the Pittsburg Area Chamber of Commerce, will be at noon on Tuesday, May 19, at the park, located at 4th and Chestnut St., Pittsburg.

Upgrades were made possible by the generous support of the Pritchett Trust through the Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas and by the collaborative efforts of the Pittsburg Parks and Recreation Department (PPRD) and the Pittsburg Rotary clubs. Gifted in Sept. 2025, the grant allocated $25,000 to the park, providing brand-new playground equipment and improvements throughout.

“Thank you, Rotary members and CFSEK, for all your efforts in keeping this park a fun and safe place to play,” PPRD Director Kris Loy said.

The ceremony will include a special dedication for the late PPRD Director Toby Book, who passed away in Oct. 2025, will be presented during the ribbon cutting by the Rotary clubs.

“Our Rotary clubs, both Sunrise and Noon, would like to share our sincere appreciation for the hard work and support from Toby to make our parks a great place for children and families to enjoy,” Pittsburg Noon Rotary Past President Bryce Anderson said.

About Paul B. Leffler Rotary Park

The park is located at 4th and Chestnut St. and is open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. It has a basketball court, grill, playground, restrooms, pavilion and small sports fields. The park was adopted by the Pittsburg Noon Rotary Club.

The park was home to Forest Park School (1891-1951) and was originally named Forest Park. It was later renamed to honor local Rotarian Dr. Paul B. Leffler, who helped the Rotary club establish the park, which is maintained by the club to this day. Each year on their birthday, Rotary members are asked to donate one dollar for every year of their age, following Leffler, who donated $100 on his birthday each year.