Concrete Ping Pong table donated to Sycamore Park District

This article appeared in DeKalb Chronicle and The MidWeek newspapers.  Written by Katie Smith.

SYCAMORE – A donation to the city’s park district has sparked friendly competition among parkgoers.

Twin brothers, Sam and Tom Doty of Doty and Sons Concrete, 1275 E. State St., Sycamore, donated a concrete, outdoor table tennis table of their own creation to the Park District. Attached to the table is a memorial plaque, commemorating their father, former Sycamore businessman Calvin Doty, who died in 2014.

“It’s just part of remembering him as a business owner in Sycamore for all those years,” Sam Doty said. “We thought it would be nice to donate something to the park with his name on it.”

Calvin Doty and his father, Lavern, started Doty & Son Concrete products in 1948. Throughout his life, Calvin Doty delivered mail for the Post Office, worked construction, and served as a medic in the United States Army. A memorial scholarship fund was created in his name last year.

The table is one of Doty and Sons’ newest creations, and is currently being manufactured alongside the company’s benches, tables, and planting pots, which also furnish the Park District’s grounds.

The game has been placed near the Good Tymes Shelter in the Sycamore Park District sports complex, where it is surrounded by a sand volleyball court, horseshoe pit, pond walking trail, and playground.

“The table not only adds a new, unique way to enjoy the park, it’s a work of art in itself with the District logo and memorial plaque on beautifully crafted concrete,” Superintendent of Parks and Facilities Jeff Donahoe said in a news release.

Throughout the Summer Concert Series, the Park District will offer outdoor table tennis paddles and balls, available for checkout during the shows.

“It’s a good place for people to use it, and I know they were using it one of the first nights,” Sam Doty said.