A chill was in the air and dew still covered the grass as Vicksburg Kiwanis Club members and their equipment converged on the Waltersville Estates playground Saturday morning to begin its transformation.

As the morning went on, volunteers leveled mounds of mulch and installed new swings and other playground equipment on the site, returning the playground to better than its pre-flood condition.

“They’re doing such a great job,” said Vicksburg Housing Authority employee Pam Jackson. “I was at a loss for words when I got here this morning and saw all the people working.”

The Waltersville playground was a victim of the 2011 Mississippi River flood, which reached record heights in Vicksburg, cresting at 57.1 feet on May 19, 14.1 feet above flood stage and nine-tenths of a foot above the Great Flood of 1927. The flood spared the apartments, but put the 10,000-square-foot playground, which sits in a depression, under 6 feet of water.

When the Vicksburg Kiwanis Club looked for a project after the flood, president Ryan Lee said, rebuilding the 31-year-old playground, which serves about 200 children in the housing complex, was the perfect match.

“We were helping children and the community,” he said. “We couldn’t have had a better project.”

Lee said Kiwanis member Donna Osburn spearheaded the project, getting grants and help from area businesses. He said the club received a $5,000 grant from Kiwanis International and $725 from the Kiwanis District Foundation, a grant from The Home Depot, a $100 gift card from Walmart, donated equipment from Wesley Jones Electric and mulch from Anderson-Tully.

“I would say the total of the grants, donations and in-kind donations probably comes to $11,000,” Lee said.

Home Depot employee Joanne Brown and store manager Jeff Woods led a crew of five volunteers from the store who were drilling holes for some of the new playground equipment, which they helped assemble.

Also helping were about 20 Vicksburg High School Key Club members.

“This is what we do, help with community projects,” said club president Hayden Quimby, 17, the son of Billy Joe Quimby and Catherine Hudson. “This is a good project. A lot of our members were at the football game last night, but they’re here this morning to help out.”

The project began in June, when Kiwanis members began cleaning the site and removing damaged equipment and flood debris.

“We worked to make the area safe,” Lee said. “The flood removed the wooden border around the playground, and there was exposed rebar sticking up from the ground. The (Vicksburg) fire department helped us. We cleaned the remaining equipment with bleach, and they used their hoses to wash it off.”

After delays for new equipment and inspections to ensure that the equipment and the playground met safety standards, the volunteers returned to the site Thursday to spread mulch and prepare it for the new equipment.

“We had 7 to 8 18-wheeler loads of mulch that we had to spread to get to the 9-inch thickness required by the safety codes,” Lee said. “We came out here Thursday afternoon and started spreading it. When the kids started coming home from school, some of them came and helped us.”

Two of those helpers were 12-year-old Quinshayla Sturdivant, the daughter of Mekechia Sturdivant, and 13-year-old Timarius Shelby, the son of Gwen Littleton, who also helped spread mulch Saturday morning.

“I think this is fine for all the kids,” Quinshayla said.

Timarius agreed. “This is a good thing,” he said.

“They’re happy to see their playground come back. They’re excited about it,” Lee said. “That makes it all worthwhile.”