City planning fitting opening for Poage Park

Park named after first black Olympic medalist

La Crosse has something special in store for the Poage Park grand opening.

“We’re going to try and get it open in the July timeframe and do a grand opening in August to coincide with the opening of the Summer Games,” City parks and recs boss Steve Carolyn said of the $1.3 million renovation to the south side park.

Those games, Carolyn is speaking, are the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Poage park is named after George Poage, America’s first black Olympic medalist.

Poage was a pioneer in many regards for blacks, including being the first to graduate high school, which he did from La Crosse High School in 1899 as salutatorian of his class.

He later went on to graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Read more on Poage’s accomplishments here.

Relatives of Poage are expected to attend the August grand opening.