The story was produced by New Hampshire Public Radio, a member of
Photos by Esmeldy Angeles
MANCHESTER, NH — The Little League clubhouse at Sheehan Basquil Park in downtown Manchester was renovated this summer. Two dozen interns from the Nashua nonprofit Positive Street Art spent six weeks mentoring, cleaning up the clubhouse and painting a mural on one side.
Yasamin Safarzadeh, coordinator of Positive Street Art, explained that the inspiration for the mural was based on reference photos from little leagues and multicultural festivals from the past. She added that the MYTURN internship program worked with the city to get the mural approved while also adding bright colors and a donated air conditioning unit for the clubhouse.
“(We do it) while we’re sanding, while we’re cleaning, while we’re throwing out tons of mouse-infested stuff,” she said. “And then we’re cleaning it and painting it and cooking food, and at the same time we’re writing stories, working on resumes, creating graphics for the show, press releases, and it’s all in the hands of the youth.”
She said about 50 people helped create the mural, including students, people from the community and members of partner nonprofits such as Opportunity Networks and Waypoint. They all gathered Saturday to celebrate the clubhouse at a multicultural festival in the park with music, ice cream and art.
Neighbor José Ortiz attended the festival with his family. He moved to the area in 2019 and said the park has gone through many changes in the past five years.
For example, he hasn’t seen anyone at the nearby Hunt Pool since summer 2022. According to the city, it is closed due to serious mechanical problems. Instead, children and families escape the heat in the park’s wading pool, which first opened in 2021.
“It’s always pretty busy,” he said in Spanish. “Lots of families with their children. It’s been very good for the kids because it’s been so warm and because we have it right here. It’s pretty accessible, so we can come on foot.”
The city plans to eventually demolish the Little League clubhouse and build something else in its place. Until then, the remodeled clubhouse will continue to house Little League and the Adaptive Sports League.
Self-described “mood coordinator” Seana McDuff was one of the project leaders. She said the building had previously been painted with anti-graffiti paint, which had to be sanded off during July’s record-breaking heat.
“Brushstroke by brushstroke, this building was created. The interior was created too,” she said. “It was a lot of hard work and a lot of sweat.”
These articles are shared by partners in the Granite State News Collaborative. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.
