SPRINGFIELD, MO — The Springfield Reunion Club, in partnership with the Springfield-Greene County Park Board, hosts the Park Day Reunion at Silver Springs Park, 1100 N. Hampton, as well as other locations around the area, August 4-6.  

The annual reunion takes place the first weekend of August, bringing together friends and family from Springfield and around the country. Events are organized by the Springfield Reunion Club.

This year’s theme is “We Are Family.” 

“It’s reunion time and we’re getting together with our family, because we are ALL family,” said Leslie Hardin, President of the Springfield Reunion Club. “I like the change we’re bringing this year, gearing things for the younger generation, like swimming and Pickleball, while still keeping the traditions that we have.”

Although annual picnics had been held in the park for many years, this event was named Park Day in 1952 when Gerald Brooks, a parks supervisor and a teacher at Springfield’s former Lincoln School, and Robert Wendell Duncan, also a park supervisor, started a day of games and sports events for young African American residents at Silver Springs Park. 

The reunion schedule includes multiple locations, all in Springfield, unless otherwise noted. 

Park Day Reunion schedule

Fri., Aug. 4 

  • 8 p.m.-12 a.m. — Hospitality, featuring DJ Black Pearl, at University Plaza Convention Center, 333 John Q Hammons Parkway. Admission $15/Age 13 yrs. and up, $5/Ages 12 and under.  

Sat., Aug. 5

  • 7 a.m. — 36-Hole Golf Tournament at Greene Hills Country Club, 8702 U.S. 160, Willard, and Deer Lake Golf Course, 5544 W State Highway 266, Springfield. $150/person, $25 optional skins game. Contact Johnny Huddleston, 816-223-7405, or Cecil Bullock, 520-471-3268.
  • 9 -11:30 a.m. — Park Day Car Show, Silver Springs Park. Trophies awarded for Antique, Classic Old School, Classic Muscle, Modern Muscle and Luxury categories. Contact Wally Ransom, 417-766-6479.
  • 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. — Timmons Hall open.
  • 12 p.m. — Park Day Reunion Parade at Silver Springs Park, sponsored by the Ladies Civic League and the NAACP. Parade begins at Sherman Avenue and Webster Street. Contact Charmaine Huddleston, 417-425-9355, or Michele Wilson Johnson, 417-849-0948.
  • 12-3 p.m. — Pickleball at Silver Springs Park, equipment and instruction provided by the Springfield-Greene County Park Board.
  • 1:30-4 p.m. — Free Park Day Reunion Picnic at Silver Springs Park pavilion, sponsored by Springfield Reunion Club. 
  • 1-6:30 p.m. — Discount Splash & Sizzle swimming at Silver Springs Pool, admission is $1 or free with a canned food donation, benefitting Ozarks Food Harvest.
  • 3 p.m. — Timmons Hall screening of “Generations: African American Experiences in Springfield and the Ozarks,” a new documentary produced by Ozarks Public Television. 
  • 9 p.m.-1 a.m. — Park Day Dance, featuring Springfield’s own ABS Band at University Plaza Convention Center, 333 S John Q Hammons Parkway.

Sun., Aug. 6

  • Morning worship at various churches.
  • 7 a.m. — Golf tournament continues.
  • 1-5 p.m. — Timmons Hall open.
  • 1-6:30 p.m. — Discount Splash & Sizzle swimming at Silver Springs Pool, admission is $1 or free with a canned food donation, benefitting Ozarks Food Harvest.
  • 3 p.m. — Timmons Hall screening of “Generations: African American Experiences in Springfield and the Ozarks,” a new documentary produced by Ozarks Public Television.  

Now 105 years old, Silver Springs Park is one of Springfield’s 10 Historic Parks, each dating to before World War II. Silver Springs was established in Springfield in 1918 on land known as the old Fairbanks pasture, and later named for a spring on site, flowing into Jordan Creek. During segregation, Silver Springs was the city’s only public park designated for Black residents and sports leagues, including visiting baseball teams. In the 1930s, the Works Progress Administration lined the creek channel with rock, installed the fieldstone retaining walls and built Silver Springs Pool. The Jordan Creek Greenway connected Silver Springs Park to Smith Park in 2003. Silver Springs Pool was renovated in 2010. In 2015, historic Timmons Temple was relocated into the park, reopening as Timmons Hall in 2019. Springfield’s first marker on the Springfield-Greene County African American Heritage Trail was installed in the park in 2018, the same year Silver Springs Park celebrated its centennial.

For more information about the Park Day Reunion, visit Springfield Reunion Club Facebook page or email the Springfield Reunion Club. 

For media inquiries about Silver Springs Park, contact Jenny Fillmer Edwards, Public Information Administrator for the Springfield-Greene County Park Board, at 417-224-5510.

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