Galesburg’s Cooke Park officially opened Wednesday, Aug. 26, on the site of the former Cooke Elementary School. Mayor Peter Schwartzman spoke at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, and WGIL sat down separately with four Galesburg residents who grew up on the same ground: Ward 4 Alderman Dwight White, Margaret Gimenez, Jack Perez and Gayla Pacheco, the Galesburg native widely credited with leading the years-long push to build the park.
They talked about:
- Why Mayor Schwartzman calls the park one of the proudest moments of his time in office
- What it was like growing up on the site when it was Cooke School, from the 1940s through the 1970s
- Margaret Gimenez becoming one of the school’s first girl patrol guards
- How the park could help unite different parts of Galesburg
- Gayla Pacheco’s years-long push to bring the park to life
Related story: Cooke Park opens with a ribbon-cutting, and decades of memories
🎧 Subscribe to Galesburg’s Morning News: Apple Podcasts | Spotify