déjà posté?
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/articl ... skate-parkPearl Jam bassist Ament bowls over hometown of Big Sandy with skate parkBIG SANDY — As a teen, Jeff Ament and his father George built a 25-foot-long ramp out of plywood sheets in the family's shed
At the time, George Ament saw it as an opportunity to teach his son some practical construction skills — not to advance his son's ability to carve and grind.
Turns out the later skateboarding skills proved far more useful.
Ament, a bassist and songwriter for grunge rock band Pearl Jam, recently returned to his hometown of Big Sandy to build a bigger skating playground, this time constructed with concrete and rebar.
"When I started skating in 1976, if you wanted something you had to create it yourself," Ament said. "It definitely wasn't this nice."
Few of Big Sandy's streets are paved, and those that are, often are sprinkled with rocks and dirt. Likewise, sidewalks are rare and far from smooth.
"It's a big gravelly town; there's not much to skate on," said Josh Danreuther, who picked up skater skills while living in Seattle for nine years before returning to his hometown to run Pep's Bar and Lanes. "There are a lot of kids here who wanted to do it, but never had the opportunity. They are really jacked."
Baggy jeans drooping to expose underwear, cutoff shorts stained with paint, shaggy unwashed hair and equally dirty T-shirts — the nine Seattle guys raised a few eyebrows when they drove into town.
But when two elementary classes crossed the street to visit the completed skate park Wednesday, it was all wide eyes and smiles.
"I think a lot of kids are going to be asking for skateboards over dinner tonight," said Daren Schuster, who helped get the project off the ground. "I might go to town and buy some bubble wrap and a football helmet and give it a try myself."
After three weeks of welding forms and smoothing concrete, the park was finished Tuesday night. Minutes after sunrise Wednesday, Ament arrived, board in hand, to give it a spin.
"As small towns get smaller and smaller, I think it becomes more important for kids to have something to do outside of just school sports," Ament said. "My dad helped me build ramps, now I can give kids around here something else to do."