COLUMBIA — Incorporated in 1821, the city of Columbia has grown from a little settlement to an active college town with a population of more than 90,000. Its schools, health care system and educated population contribute to a standard of living recognized most recently by Outside Magazine; in its August 2008 edition, it ranks Columbia on its list of the top 10 best towns in which to live because of its progressive civic and recreational opportunities.

However, it hasn’t always been this way. In the early days of the 20th century, few cities had municipal recreation programs. Grass roots organizations staffed by volunteers funded many city park and recreational spaces for the public, according to the centennial biography of the National Recreation Association, formerly the Playground Association of America founded in 1906.

Although MU oversaw the state’s first statewide playground movement and system in 1908, neighborhood parks in Columbia were first developed by the Cosmopolitan and Kiwanis clubs because city planners didn’t reserve any park spaces, Alan Havig wrote in his 1984 account of the city’s growth, “From Southern Village to Midwestern City: Columbia, An Illustrated History.”

The playground movement’s progressive mentality and mission to provide public spaces for physical recreation had a lasting impact on Columbia. As it grew and prospered, recreational space and activities became essential elements in community development adding economic, personal and cultural benefits. Economically, parks not only provide low-cost recreation for families, but the events and green open spaces attract tourists and generate income. Outdoor activity in a clean and natural environment enhances physical well-being. Community celebrations and festivals provide opportunities for involvement, interaction and cultural enrichment. Public recreation in Columbia offers something for everyone.

Here are the perspectives of three Columbians on what they like to do in their community:

Columbia’s Parks and Recreation Department oversees 2,800 acres of land. The city’s 1818 settlement only had 2,000 acres. Unique among the city’s park space are a skate park and three dog parks. In addition to the city parks, two state parks that provide another 3,401 acres of lakes, trails and fields surround Columbia. Hunting, fishing, shooting, walking, running, biking, baseball, softball, soccer, Tai Chi — name an activity and Columbia probably has a space for it.

On a recent evening at Cosmopolitan Park’s Rainbow Softball Center, the clouds were clearing and the softball field was full of players. Vicente Sarabia, 28, played catch with his 5-year old son, Jonah, while he waited for his team’s turn on the field. A native of Lemoore, Calif., Sarabia has been a Columbia resident for eight years and enjoys the city’s many recreational options. A fan of the parks, he bikes the trails and plays golf, but when it comes to family activities, Cosmo Park is the best.

“It offers a variety of activities,” he said.

Jonah’s favorite part about Cosmo Park: “Going down the big kids slide.” He also mentioned that he loved pizza “the mostest” and liked to do kung fu.

At Stephens Lake Park, Sharon Bishop was talking to her husband, Maurice. The sun was setting and her skin started to glow as the warm light hit her face. Bishop, 54, is a Jefferson City native; she and Maurice have been married for 29 years and each has lived in Columbia for more than 30 years.

What Sharon likes best about Columbia is that it is between Kansas City and St. Louis, and it’s just the right size for her, “not too big and not too small.”

Although they live five minutes away from the park, they’ve only recently become more active, taking evening walks together after dinner.

Since retiring from 3M last year, Maurice, 56, spends most of his days doing errands as a house husband, but he is looking to fill his free time with fishing, biking and walking while looking for a new job.

“I’m too young to sit,” he said.

Sharon has her own reasons for becoming more active. She works for a cardiovascular specialist across the park in the Missouri Heart Center and is around expert advice all day. She said she had no excuses and wants to get healthy and active. As of Aug. 24, Sharon will be a two-year survivor of breast cancer and wants to preserve her health. Plus, the Bishops love the park and their walks because it gives them something to do together.

Hsiao-Mei Wiedmeyer is a city girl. Born in Shanghai, China, she grew up in Taipei, Taiwan, and spent her first years in America as a graduate student in Detroit.

That was in 1968, a year after the race riots. Wiedmeyer knew it as a trouble spot but, as a foreign student, the particulars were harder to grasp. All she knew was that she wanted an American roommate so she could learn more about Americans.

Her roommate was a Polish-American student with a thick eastern accent from New Jersey. In their basement level dorm room, Wiedmeyer was introduced to grilled cheese sandwiches made on illegal hot plates, Polish pirogues and the energy-saving practice of storing food outside the basement window during Detroit winters. But what she remembers most was meeting her roommate’s boyfriend’s sister who had Down syndrome.

“It really affected me,” she said, “he was so loving toward her and so proud of her. In Taiwan, at the time, people with disabilities were hidden away. What I love most about American culture is its caring attitude for others, for society.”

Wiedmeyer has never forgotten her first years in America and brought that sensibility with her to Columbia in 1977; since then, she has been active in various community projects and organizations. She was the city’s first conservation specialist and designed its energy audit program. It was a six-month pilot program, and Wiedmeyer was pregnant at the time. Years later, residents would stop her and say they remember her because she was the pregnant woman who climbed into their attic. She made many friends just walking down the street.

In 2006, she helped found the Columbia Friends of China, which is a natural extension of Wiedmeyer’s philosophy of community.

“I always wanted to share my cultural heritage with friends and people I know,” she said. “But my cultural heritage is bicultural, being Chinese and American, and I like to bridge the both of them.”

The Dumpling Festival is the group’s big annual event. The first event in 2006 was successful but a bit chaotic: The group made more than 3,000 dumplings but had trouble finding freezer space to hold them all. After finding room at local restaurants, the group realized it hadn’t sold all the 200 tickets it had for the event. However, the group was soon scrambling for dumplings as 400 people showed up for the fundraiser; that meant a run to Hong Kong Market for frozen dumplings to meet the demand.

The $4,000 raised was used to send the Columbia bluegrass band Ironweed to the Laoshan Beer Festival as part of a cultural exchange with the sister city in China.

Money from the second festival is going toward funding more Chinese language programs in Columbia’s public schools. The group continues to work in creating a shared sense of community for ethnic Chinese and Columbia residents.

Wiedmeyer has loved all of the 30-plus years she’s lived here. “It’s changed for the better.”