Thursday, March 27, 2025
The Second Annual Arthur Morrison Day brought 200 people to Kennedy Memorial Park last Sunday for action-packed basketball games, tasty food, interactive displays of the educational work of Morrison Mentors, Inc. — and a ceremony to honor Recreation Supervisor Ruth Roberson.
Known as “Miss Ruthie” or “Aunt Ruthie” throughout the Incorporated Village of Hempstead, Roberson received citations from area officials, congratulations from local leaders whom she once mentored, a special photographic collage from village photographer Albie Douglas, applause, flowers and a beautiful plaque from family and friends.
She also received endless hugs.
The embraces were a giveback for the uncountable squeezes that Roberson gave to the children who came under her care once she began working at Kennedy Memorial Park in 1976. Under the title “recreation assistant,” and later, “recreation supervisor,” Roberson led three generations of children through weekly park activities.
“I became very protective of [the kids],” Roberson said in an interview with the Beacon in 2021. She became known for combining hugs with firm adherence to rules, particularly during the daily after-school open-play sessions in the park gym.
“Kids crave discipline,” she said, adding that, without it, “they are like whiffle balls bouncing off the walls.”
Roberson also volunteered with the Hempstead Police Athletic League, and wrote original poems for village commemorations like Black History Month, Women’s History Month, and 9/11.
Quotes from those who have known her tell the story.
“I’ve been coming here all my life,” said youth coach and mentor Larry Gore. “Ruthie is somebody that always made sure that things would go right, and we appreciate her from the bottom of our hearts.”
“I’ve known Ruthie from day one,” said Morrison Mentors founder and executive director Doron Spleen. “I’ve been coming to this park for years on top of years. A round of applause for Ruthie!”
“I was raised right here in this park,” said Matthew Harris, founder of the antiviolence youth group SNUG (Should Never use Guns), “where Arthur and Miss Ruthie were watching over us, and getting on us and disciplining us. … Now we appreciate it.”
“Everybody that comes through here refers to her as ‘Aunt Ruthie,’” said Parks and Recreation Supervisor Yolanda Hutcherson, daughter of three-time mayor James A. Garner. “That’s generational love and wealth into our community.”
“You have raised many generations here,” said Rev. Dr. Sedgwick Easley, “and how fitting it is that we celebrate you on MLK weekend.”
Roberson attends Union Baptist Church, where Easley is the pastor.
The outpouring from families, friends and dignitaries evoked heartfelt comments from Roberson. She thanked God first.
“I stayed here,” she said, “because each generation [of children], as they got older, they came back with their kids, and I promised them I’d look out for their kids. It just turned into forty-something years.”
As the ceremony ended, Arthur Morrison Day continued its busy roster of community basketball games in the gym, food and camaraderie in the multipurpose space, and STEM activities provided by Morrison Mentors in the auditorium.
