For more than 50 years, Children’s Park has held a special place in the heart of Valdese.
Dedicated in memory of five children lost in the tragic 1972 bomb shelter explosion, the park has become a place where families gather, children play, and community memories are made.
Children’s Park is ready for a new playground, updated restrooms and creek bank repair – both for stabilization and access for play.
$225,000 Goal by August 15
Please consider donating today for this project that will start in the fall.
Donor List – $177,150 raised – Goal $225,000
- Rostan Family Foundation – $100,000
- Rotary Club of Valdese – $55,000 (includes $500 each from Shawn Hamm, Sarah Griffin, Tom Troy, Beth Heile)
- Friends of the Valdese Rec – $20,000
- Jim & Linda Rostan $1,000
- Pat Zimmerman $1,000
- Ann & David Dickey $100
- In memory of Tina Brookes $50
Looking ahead – Future plans include improved connections to Valdese Lakeside Park, the Exit 111 area, and the Burke River Trail network, helping Children’s Park serve as both a neighborhood park and a gateway to Valdese’s growing recreation system. Read more
March 2022 – The family of the late Glenn Richard Zimmerman donated $4,500 for an interactive mural at Children’s Park to brighten up the park. Read more
June 2018 – Bimbo Bakeries placed new borders to contain mulch that will allow for new grassy areas. A sand box was created with the sand that had been the base of the playground. The picnic shelter was pressure washed. The entrance sign and railings were painted. The scorer’s table was painted. Read more
2016-2017 – FVR volunteers painted the shelter, restrooms, pressure washed. The parking lot was resurfaced, new picnic tables added, new batting cage.
1990s – Playground Equipment was installed in the
May 19, 1973 – Park dedicated (Plaque wrongly has tragedy date)
VALDESE, N. C., May 30 (UPI) — An explosion ripped apart a backyard bomb shelter in this western North Carolina hamlet tonight, killing five children and injuring another. The authorities assumed that a gas leak had caused the blast, which hurled bodies 50 feet. The first reports indicated that at least 10 children were playing inside the bomb shelter, which belonged to Ed Garrou, a hosiery company executive. But Mrs. Florence Garrou, his sister‐in‐law, said she believed the children were playing in the backyard of the house near the shelter. She said the shelter had been built by Mr. Garrou “during the Korean scare” about 60 feet behind the house. “It’s an authentic thing,” she said. “It’s been checked periodically and under control and usable since.” The dead children were identified as Anita Garrou, 12 years old, a daughter of the owner; Donald Robinson, 13; his sister, Regina, 10; Glorida Hammond, 12, and Mike Powell, 10. Bea iPicou, 10, a cousin of Anita, was reported in satisfactory condition at the Valdese General Hospital. Rescue workers searched the debris for three hours after the 7 P.M. blast before finding all the bodies.
Mike Legeros – On Tuesday evening, May 30, 1972, a backyard bomb shelter exploded in Valdese, NC. Five children playing on its steps were killed, and a sixth was injured in the blast. The cause was blamed on leaking gasoline vapors that were likely ignited from an electric spark, and perhaps triggered when one of the children flipped a light switch. The shelter was built by a textile executive during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. It measured 15-by-25 feet, was sunk into the side of a steep hill, and was located about 70 feet to the side of his $40,000 brick residence. The shelter was stocked a large amount of gasoline, for an electrical generator, and also included a 25-pound butane tank. The latter was found intact, and the cause thus shifted to the 550-gallon gasoline tank buried outside the shelter walls. A member of the Valdese Rescue Squad said that he felt his trailer home shake three-quarters of a mile away. When he arrived, the smell of gasoline fumes was strong. Others found puddles of gasoline inside the shelter. Rescue operations started at approximately 7:45 p.m., and continued for hours in drizzling rain conditions. Valdese and Morganton fire departments responded, along with rescue squads from Valdese and Burke County. Two backhoes were utilized to remove rock, dirt, and debris until each body was found. One of the victims was thrown approximately 300 feet, and was found by her mother. Most of the blast was directed downhill; the heavy roof of the shelter caved in, and buried the bodies of three victims. The deceased were aged 10, 10, 12, 12, and 13. They included the daughter of the shelter owner. Officials said that the shelter was still being maintained, with family friends frequently changing the water and food stored inside.