By David Avitabile
MIDDLEBURGH - Generations of children, students, and adults have enjoyed and played on the popular Maze Craze playground next to Middleburgh Elementary School. After years and years of use, the playground needs several repairs as the district plans to build a new playground behind the school.
After the new playground is opened, probably during the 2026-27 school year, the Maze Craze will be celebrated and "decommissioned," district officials said.
And celebrated it should be.
For years, families have used the wooden Maze Craze for birthday parties and classes of students have enjoyed their recess time and fun afternoons. It was used all-year around, all four seasons. Students could look through the "periscope" and see Vroman's Nose. They could communicate through underground tubes. They would slide down the dragon circular slide and go across the truck tire bridge. They would play "the floor is lava." The could even use some of the slides to sled down during the winter.
The wooden "Leathers Playground" has been stained with a preservative several times, but time has taken its toll in the 35 and a half years since the playground was opened to a cheering crowd of children after five days of work in early October 1989.
"The plan for now is to address any safety concerns that were identified by our health and safety coordinator from BOCES," MCS Superintendent Mark Place said last week.
"We have already removed the center tree, and today (last Wednesday) we ground down two stumps that were tripping hazards. Over the summer we will continue working on the list of repairs that were identified.
"The Maze Craze will continue to be used until such time that the new playground is opened sometime in the 2026-2027 school year. We will gather community input as to how to celebrate the decommissioning of the Maze Craze once we get closer to that time."
A new playground is being planned for the former location of the Middleburgh Little League field behind the school.
The construction of the Maze Craze was a true community effort.
Dennis Richards, later a town supervisor, and Stephen Coonradt, later the school board president, spearheaded the effort with the help of the Middleburgh Telephone Company. MidTel workers drilled holes for the many poles required for the project. The company allowed volunteers to call community members to come out and help in the construction. Inmates from the former Camp Summit Minimum Security Corrections also helped out.
During the construction, some volunteers worked from 7am to 10pm to make the dream a reality. Everyone was put to work, no matter their skill level. Those not helping in the construction helped prepare food for the workers. Babysitters were also available.
Now the community must come together again to plan for a new playground.
District officials noted that some of the remaining sections on the Maze no longer meet current accessibility standards. For example, wheelchair accessibility is challenging.
In addition, even though remaining sections pass current safety inspections, insurance companies, using different standards, look for modern design features when calculating rates. This makes it increasingly difficult and expensive to secure insurance for any older playground.
A new playground brings new possibilities, officials said.
“This is an opportunity to consider the diverse needs of our students in different ways,” said Mr. Place. “We will create a joyful, barrier-free experience. The new playground will not only meet current codes, it will be designed to support new generations of children.”
Again, community involvement, including from the very young, will be essential, he added.
"Families will have an opportunity to provide input via a survey which will go out on May 21,” Mr. Place said. “Students in grades one to six will have an opportunity to share their thoughts with me directly during in-class visits during the first two weeks of June. Faculty will have an opportunity to share insights during an upcoming meeting.”
Discussions are already underway on how to commemorate the Maze Craze once it can no longer be a safe space for children to play, officials said.
Community have suggested tributes including creating a digital archive, constructing new playground benches from Maze Craze wood, commissioning a memorial plaque, or handing out pieces of wood as historical artifacts.
All photos of the construction in 1989 are courtesy of Leslie Hooper.
The construction of the Maze Craze playground was one of the first stories I covered for the Mountain Eagle after I moved from Astoria, Queens to Middleburgh in September 1989. Despite only having rudimentary woodworking skills at the time, I volunteered to help out and was put on hammering and sanding duty.
Over the years since, all of my three children, Matthew, Michael, and Maria, and I have enjoyed the Maze Craze for hours during and after school.
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