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Family works to bring Levi’s Adventure Trail to Sikeston
This weekend commemorates 11 years since the Collom family lost their beloved Levi. Levi Stephen Collom died unexpectedly on March 18, 2012.
Levi’s family has kept his memory alive and ensured he will always be remembered. The family intends to bring Levi’s Adventure Trail to Sikeston after constructing an adventure path in Cape County Park South.
The project is part of the regeneration of Historic Downtown Sikeston, which is full of activities. The playground expansion will cost $300,000, which will be invested in downtown Sikeston.
The Levi’s Adventure Trail in Sikeston will be an Americans With Disabilities Act-compliant playground. Levi’s Children’s Charity has given $100,000 in playground equipment, as well as in-kind infrastructure support from the City of Sikeston.
The city has also applied for a 50% matching federal grant from the Land Water Conservation Fund. Should they receive the grant, that will be an additional $150,000.
Viney Mosley, maternal grandmother and president of Levi’s Children’s Charity, has lived in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, for several years, but she is originally from Sikeston.
Mosley stressed the importance of providing an amazing playground for children and families to enjoy, as well as bringing Levi’s legacy to the people of Sikeston.
“Levi went to SAHEC (Southeast Missouri State University-Sikeston) for preschool and our family is from Sikeston, and Levi’s dad, mom, and uncle have business in town, ” Mosley said. “And for me, I graduated in 1968, and in 1966, I was initiated into Red Peppers, and we always used to go downtown, to American Legion Park. The Cotton Carnival was downtown; the beauty pageants were all there, and the fish stand was downtown. It was a community gathering place downtown, and it still is to some extent. They still have a lot of events downtown.
She continued: “So yeah, downtown Sikeston, that’s what it is for me, it means growing up down here, and like my children too, they grew up here. So it’s important that we have something in Sikeston.”
Ellie Collom, Levi’s mother and vice president of Levi’s Children’s Charity, said she and her brother, Jim Woods, grew up in Sikeston and that when they were younger, there were enjoyable activities for children downtown, so she wanted to create a fun location for the kids in the area.
“We grew up in Sikeston, and when we were younger, so many fun things happened downtown. Our dad also had a business downtown, which he opened in the ’70s, and now we have our own businesses downtown, Quick Chek II and J&E Wholesale Outlets,” Collom said. “We feel very connected to downtown, and we felt this was the perfect place to build it.”
Mosley said they had always wanted to create a playground in Sikeston and knew that eventually they would, but they weren’t sure when since it didn’t feel like the perfect time, but it was her son, Levi’s uncle, Jim Woods, who piqued their interest even more.
Mosley also said Woods took his sons downtown to Sikeston one day to play in the new Depro Fountain, and Woods saw that there wasn’t much else for youngsters to do.
“So Jim suggested it,” Mosley said.
Mosley said adding the playground will also help the downtown area and make it even more beautiful.
“The playground will make the downtown beautiful,” Mosley said. “It will help bring more people downtown, and it will be attractive.”
Collom also said they approached the city of Sikeston in January 2022 to see if they were interested in establishing a Levi’s Adventure Trail playground downtown.
“We went to the city to see if they would be open to our idea of adding a playground downtown, and unknown to us, they had already been planning a park expansion down there, so they were as surprised as we were that we wanted to do it,” Collom said.
Collom said she feels God is responsible for many of their successes in keeping Levi’s legacy alive throughout the years.
“We call these God things,” Collom said. “We’ve seen God work many miracles for us, and he has paved the way for these playgrounds. I couldn’t tell you how many times during these last several years my mom and I have said: ‘That was not a coincidence; that was a God thing.’”
Mosley also said Collom is the one who designed the playground in Cape, and she is designing the one in Sikeston.
“Ellie wanted to build something for other kids to play and have fun,” Mosley said. “You know, we got to take Levi with us to the Current River and other stuff, so she really wanted to provide something unique for children that don’t have the resources.”
Collom discussed how she came up with the playground designs, which she said helped her get through those terrible days and allowed her to feel close to him.
“When designing the Cape playground, I had dreams of Levi playing, and I would see the things he was playing with and incorporated those into Levi’s Adventure Trail. In one dream he was sliding down a super tall, curvy slide, smiling ear to ear, this slide was so large you couldn’t see where it began or ended,” Collom said. “I remember asking him, ‘Why is that slide so big?’ In the dream, he told me, ‘This is how the slides are in Heaven.’ So I added a large climbing structure with curvy slides in Cape and felt that we needed to bring that same concept to Sikeston, but we added two tall structures instead of one. The rope walkway between the two structures will give the kids the feeling of walking on air or the clouds.”
Collom said she felt would be a fun addition to this playground.
“Also, orange was Levi’s favorite color, so we, of course, added orange,” she said.
Levi’s Children’s Charity was created after Levi’s death on March 18, 2012, and the family and friends of Ellie and her husband, Glenn Collom, gathered together to build a playground to keep his memory alive.
“In the beginning, back then, we were doing all these fundraisers, at McDonald’s and Taco Bell,” Mosley said. “But doing all of this is just what helped us make it through it.
She continued: “Working toward all of that is something we just did. I don’t know if I ever thought if it was ever possible. Nothing is really impossible when you have people involved, and I guess I never thought that we wouldn’t raise it, I just believed we would.”
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Levi had many adventures in Sikeston, and his family said they’re excited to offer his legacy to the area. Levi’s Children’s Charity is seeking $100,000 for this future playground and asking others to think about a making a donation. To help make this playground a reality and to donate, visit: https://levisadventuretrail.networkforgood.com/projects/182926-let-s-support-lev...
To learn more about Levi’s legacy and the non-profit organization, visit their website or Facebook page. To watch a design build video of what the playground will look like in downtown Sikeston, visit their website: levisadventuretrail.com