‘There are still red ribbons’

Legion Field was buzzing on a Saturday night.

Some of the best women soccer players in Palmyra High School history finished their annual alumni game under the lights. Players then gathered for a group photo at the west goal. Camera flashes illuminated dinosaurs behind the fence.

And as some 250 people made their way to look at the colorful, kid-friendly creatures, they participated in a special dedication.

Palmyra got a $60,000 Local Recreation Improvement Grant (LRIG) to expand the Legion Field playground with a nature-inspired park for children ages 2 to 5, colorful climbing structures and a winding concrete walkway through mature trees. Those features are designed to spark creativity and help little ones develop important motor skills, officials said.

The children’s park was completed in September. On Oct. 11, it was officially named in honor of Matthew Dickinson, a young Palmyra student who tragically lost his life in 2024.

The dedication was a consensus of the Palmyra PTA and the Palmyra Riverton Soccer club.

“We wanted to do something to bring the community together and have a permanent memorial for Matthew,” explained Sonya Hart, PTA vice president, as she helped organize the presentation officially dedicating the new Matthew Dickinson Children’s Park.

“Matthew will always be in our hearts,” Mayor Gina Ragomo Tait noted in front of the large gathering of friends, family, fellow soccer players and borough leaders. “There are still red ribbons all around town. This is a perfect night for the dedication, as Matthew was such a big soccer fan.”

His father, Jim Dickinson, thanked everyone for coming to the dedication.

“…Through tragic circumstances, we learned a lot about the town we live in,” he observed. “Our family received so much support. Thank you all very much.”

Police Chief Richard Dreby – also deputy chief of the Palmyra Fire Department – reflected on the dedication.

“His family is a staple of the community,” he remarked of the Dickinsons.

The Palmyra community was shattered on Aug. 8, 2024, when 15-year-old Matthew, a Palmyra High three-sport athlete, was struck and killed by a northbound River Line train while crossing the railroad tracks at Chestnut and Broad streets. He was headed to soccer practice at the Legion Fields complex.

Matthew’s death broke hearts in Palmyra and Riverton, whose residents placed red ribbons at the school, around the soccer field, along Broad Street and at their homes in his memory. As Tait pointed out, many of the ribbons remain.

Matthew was a lifelong resident of the borough about to enter his sophomore year at the high shool. He was known as a fierce competitor who excelled at sports – especially soccer, baseball and wrestling – and was well liked by both teammates and classmates.

Now a little more than one year later, a park bearing his name will entertain children for years to come.