SPRINGDALE, S.C. — The Town of Springdale has named a bench in honor a couple who were dedicated to the community.
Tommy Hook Sr., better known as Runt, and his wife Carolyn were lifelong members of the Springdale community.
The couple spent almost every day at the Felton C. Benton Park looking over the kids who played there and taking care of the spray pool. Runt used to turn on the water for the spray pool everyday for almost 14 years.
Margaret Hook, daughter-in-law to Runt and Carolyn, says this was one of Runt’s passions.
“He would come every morning and turned the pool on and loved being here with the kids as they played in the water and socialized with everyone around. It was a great time for him,” said Margaret.
Runt and Carolyn passed away just a couple of years ago.
Cory Hook, their grandson, said they took pride being part of the community and doing their part.
“They just had the sense of community,” said Cory. “You can walk around in this area and ask anybody in these houses, especially on this street on Lee Circle, they would drop anything they were doing to come help you.”
Margaret knows Runt made sure everything at the pool was clean, safe and ready for the families who used it.
“(He would) clean out, make sure there were no pine straws or leaves or anything in the pool,” explained Margaret. “He stayed till everything was picked up and time to go. He took great pride in being here with those kids.”
Runt would often stay late if the kids wanted to play in the pool just a little bit longer.
Going to the park everyday allowed the couple to talk to their neighbors and really get to know them.
“A lot of those kids, their grandparents would come down here with them and sit there and talk with them all day,” said Cory. “They didn’t mean strangers. They knew everybody that came down here. They just enjoyed being able to take care of everybody, being able to help out, and do what they could.”
To honor the couple, the town decided to make a bench dedicated to the couples’ memory and the sacrifices they made for the community.
On the bench, there’s a plaque that states: “In Honor of Runt and Caroly Hook; Both dedicated countless hours to this park and embodied the true spirit of fun for the children of our community.”
The Hook family says it really means a lot the Town of Springdale honored Runt and Carolyn in this way, and say they both would have loved it.
“So many people knew them from this area and so having something to keep their memory alive in the park here means a lot to us and they would be very proud,” explained Margaret.
You can see this bench right by the splash pad at the park.
On Thursday, the Town of Springdale will open the splash pad for the first day at 10 a.m. It will be open everyday from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m.