A Marine vet returns to Mount Airy to grow a garden — and winds up growing a community

Joe Johnson fell in love with neighborhood parks in 1983, when he moved with his family from West Oak Lane to Mount Airy at the age of 14. He spent many happy hours playing sports at Pleasant Playground at 6757 Chew Ave., whose grounds and facilities are owned by Philadelphia’s Department of Parks and Recreation.

There, he was especially taken by the work of John Seawright, director of Pleasant’s rec center.

“I became inspired by the work he was doing in the community, how he impacted the youngsters,” recalled Johnson, 51.

He was so impressed that, when he enrolled at Temple University, he majored in parks-and-recreation management with a possible goal of one day working in a public facility the way Seawright did. But Johnson also felt called to military service and wound up leaving Temple after two years to enlist in the Marines.