New equipment at Woods Park honors memory of Lincoln girl

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – For Nicholas and Alicia Borer, a new swing and chimes at Woods Park in Lincoln are much more than playground equipment.

This is all in honor of their little girl Iggy, who died in December 2020 at the age of 6 from complications of a heart transplant.

“Everything we do, we’re like, ‘Oh she should be here, like, she would be so excited. She would do it this way.’ I think we do a lot of that for everything. I don’t think it’s ever going to get like easy, just different every year,” Alicia said.

Nicholas and Alicia knew they had to do something to keep Iggy’s memory alive, and with the help of the community, that’s exactly what they did, at one of Iggy’s favorite spots.

“We’d ride our bikes, we’d swing, we’d play,” Alicia said. “This was her favorite place to be, and so we were like, ‘We need to do something for the park.'”

Just days after Iggy’s passing, Alicia got in touch with the Lincoln Parks and Recreation Department, and from there, the plans blossomed.

A unity swing and special chimes were built on ground that’s wheelchair-accessible.

“We thought it was an incredible idea,” said Aimee Hollon, administrative assistant for the Lincoln Parks Foundation. “It’s such a beautiful way to remember a beautiful, young life. It really kind of fit perfectly to our space at Woods Park.”

As of last week, the project is complete, but not without some happy tears.

“There is no sad; it’s just all joy,” Alicia said with tears in her eyes. “I cry because I cry all the time, but it’s a joy that this brings.”

The Borers were the first to take a swing on the equipment.

They now have a special place to talk and honor their little girl for years to come.

But they couldn’t have done it without support and donations from their friends, family and community.

“People are, like, ‘You’re so generous.’ I’m, like, ‘No, you were all generous. You did this,'” Alicia said. “And we get to honor our daughter with this, and hundreds of kids, humans get to enjoy this, thousands hopefully, and for a long time.”

The family asks that if you use the unity swing or play with the chimes, you think of Iggy and relax.