A renaming ceremony is being held at the Point Road Playground at 11 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 26, recognizing the property as Manuel and Felizarda Pina Recreational Park. (Photo Courtesy Town of Marion)
MARION — Town Administrator Geoffrey Gorman is pleased to share that the Town of Marion is holding a renaming ceremony at the former Point Road Playground at 11 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 26.
The site, now known as Manuel and Felizarda Pina Recreational Park, is located at 983 Point Road, north of Route 6. The park features playground equipment, picnic tables, pickleball courts a basketball court, and tennis courts.
The property was once part of the many acres of land owned by Manuel and Felizarda Pina, who emigrated from Cape Verde in 1905 and later settled in Marion. The couple raised seven sons, six of whom served in World War II. In 1930, the Pinas sold or gifted the land to the Town of Marion, which later built the Point Road School, an elementary school that primarily served Cape Verdean students. The school building closed in the late 1950s and was eventually demolished.
The school may have closed in the late 1950s, but the playground continued to serve the community for decades. In 2014, the Town gave the space a significant refresh, adding new equipment and amenities over the following years. Most recently, in 2024, the site underwent a major transformation that included the addition of four pickleball courts.
That same summer, the Marion Select Board voted to officially rename the park in recognition of the Pina family’s lasting impact on the community and service to the country.
The Sept. 26 ceremony will feature remarks from family members, including great-granddaughter Rhonda Pina-Mendes, as well as representatives from the Town of Marion and the Sippican Historical Society. A U.S. military chaplain, Col. Paul Barnett, Jr., who is also a member of the Wareham Cape Verdean Community, will deliver an opening and closing benediction.
“This is such an honor,” said Pina-Mendes. “I am collecting stories about my great-grandparents and about the school that once stood on the property and will include some of those in my speech.”
She also thanked the Sippican Historical Society for supporting the community’s research into the site’s history and the Pina family’s contributions.
“We look forward to our renaming ceremony for the former Point Road Playground, now known as Manuel and Felizarda Pina Recreational Park,” said Town Administrator Gorman. “This is a recognition of the great contributions that the Pina family made to this community and this country. It is a fitting honor, and it also reflects the Cape Verdean-American history of the neighborhood. This is an amazing community celebration, bringing us all together, and we look forward to seeing everyone enjoying our newly renamed park.”
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The Marion Select Board voted in the summer of 2024 to rename the park in honor of the Pina family. (Photo Courtesy Town of Marion)
The public property, now known as Manuel and Felizarda Pina Recreational Park, is located at 983 Point Road, north of Route 6. The park features children’s playground equipment, picnic tables, a basketball court, and tennis courts. (Photo Courtesy Town of Marion)
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