Mother pitched, now kids swing

Help from far and wide gets school a new playground

Children enjoy the new swings at the South School in Holbrook. (Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff)

HOLBROOK - Michelle Santone couldn't stand one more day of knowing her two children were cooped up inside the South School during recess.

It had been a year since the Holbrook elementary school was forced to keep pupils inside every day during playtime, after a child had fallen on the playground and broken a limb, Santone and officials said.

"It was quite pathetic," said the 43-year-old mother of three. "The kids got stuck staying inside. They weren't allowed to go out on the playground area because it wasn't safe."

The school's playground had fallen into disrepair. The surface had buckled into long cracks. There were no swings. And there was hardly any play equipment for the youngsters to enjoy.

Santone also knew it would be a long time before the cash- strapped school district, which used a successful override just to keep its average class size below 40, could afford to improve the play area.

So she started planning last spring and took her cause to big pockets, writing a plea to talk show host and comedian Ellen DeGeneres for a donation of a $27,000 recreational set. When that was unsuccessful, Santone approached local business owners.

"I didn't expect much from it; just a little bit of help, and I could raise the money for the rest of it," she said in a recent interview.

But the generous response she received was a pleasant surprise.

First she called her husband's boss, Frank Gioiso, who owns Gioiso & Sons Construction in Hyde Park. The 65-year-old from Walpole has been successful working with his three brothers and five nephews in his business of 46 years and agreed to help, no matter what it took.

"He didn't hesitate. He said, 'Sure,' " Santone said. "He doesn't even have a business in our town. He has no kids, no grandkids here. He has nothing to benefit."

Gioiso said he did have a motive: "Her husband works for us, and we figure that it was a good community relations to keep my employee happy, too."

Next, Santone contacted TL Edwards Paving of Avon and asked for a discount on asphalt. The owner told her to come in and get whatever she needed for free, Santone said.

"One hundred yards for free - it was amazing," she said.

And then she tapped a friend, Fred Foley, a subcontractor from Mark-a-Lot Painting in town. Foley and his son David painted a couple of four-squares and a hopscotch diagram onto the playground.

"He said no problem, 'I'll get it done,' " she said. "But not only did he do that, he did the whole basketball court. The kids were ecstatic."

Santone's efforts were contagious. The Public Works Department got involved. South School Principal Julie Hamilton wrote to Wal-Mart and got a $500 donation of playground equipment. And a Burger King fund-raiser brought in money for swings.

Gioiso estimates that the planning, collaboration, materials, and work from everyone involved was worth about $25,000.

The playground was built the week before the school year started, with two full days of manual labor. Today, the students can go out to recess daily, running off steam with new equipment on a smooth grade of safe ground beneath their feet.

It started with one person asking what she could do to make it better, said Holbrook School Superintendent Susan Martin.

"The pace quickened. . . the enthusiasm was building. . . and suddenly everyone was involved and contributing a piece to creating a beautiful playground for the students," she said. "It was an amazing display of teamwork and cooperation."

At the ribbon-cutting ceremony last month, School Committee vice president Barbara Davis pointed to the power of the community.

"Anthropologist Margaret Mead once said, 'Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has,' " Davis told a crowd. "I would like to thank all of you for changing our tiny corner of the world in a big way. This is what makes Holbrook such a great town."

Santone doesn't claim any such lofty motive. "I knew my kids wanted to go out and play, and I said, 'I'll do what I have to do to get it done.' "