Holly Oak Park to celebrate 63 years

Dustin George, The Shelby Star
·2 min read
From left, Khadyn Daniels, Bryan Ross Jr., and Kierra Ross play at the Holly Oak Park playground in this Star file photo.
From left, Khadyn Daniels, Bryan Ross Jr., and Kierra Ross play at the Holly Oak Park playground in this Star file photo.

For 63 years Holly Oak Park has stood as a recreational center, a community gathering place and a sporting complex for the residents of Shelby.

On Saturday, July 23, the park will host its 63rd anniversary. A celebration of the occasion will feature a car show, puppet show, pop up shops, lawn games, music and food.

"This is our annual reunion event. These have been very popular with the community in the past," said Jimmy Poole, park supervisor.

Annual park reunions are meant to honor the generations of families who have come to the park to fish, learn to swim or play sports, Poole said.

"It has come a tremendously long way over the last 63 years," he said.

Holly Oak Park will celebrate 63 years of operation this month.
Holly Oak Park will celebrate 63 years of operation this month.

The origins of Holly Oak Park can actually be traced back to the 1940s, when the city of Shelby was looking for a segregated recreational facility for Black residents to use. The city invested $50,000 into a small building near where the baseball fields sit today, and the park has naturally grown in the decades since.

What is now the park's primary building, the Clarence M. Palmer facility, was opened in 1959.

"We've continued to grow. We have grown a lot in the five years since I got here. We have a basketball league with 10 teams that meets every Monday, and we average probably 150 to 200 people who come just to watch those games," he said. "We have a softball program for adults that is coming back soon. We have a Silver Sneakers program that we partner with the YMCA and New Ellis Baptist Church."

Poole added many of the programs thriving today were started years ago but had seen dips in membership, but have grown again in the last year.

In June the park hosted a Juneteenth celebration, which drew more than 100 people. Poole hopes to make that event an annual occurrence and to see similar support for the 63rd anniversary.

The party starts 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 23, at the park off of Earl Road. For information, call 704-484-6824.

This article originally appeared on The Shelby Star: Shelby park invites community to celebrate 63rd birthday