Design: Johnny Appleseed of the Swing Set

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Leathers' genius for organization became apparent on the first day of construction, when he roamed everywhere on the site, calmly answering questions and giving advice. Teams of workers built the playground section by section, assembling the numbered pieces of wood as they would a giant jigsaw puzzle. Age did not seem a barrier: Henry Stiles, 71, a retired maintenance worker, dispensed the tools collected by volunteers (including 15 rasps, 30 saws and 25 shovels), while a group of first-graders sanded wood. Tiffany Greenis, 8, carried trays of apples and carrots to workers, while her mother Lynn picked up fresh skills. Said she: "I came out expecting to do a little hammering and ended up using tools that I still have no idea what they were."

As the playground slowly took shape, the pace quickened. Sometimes bad weather or ebbing enthusiasm can delay the work, but the Ocean Breeze project was free of such annoyances. By midafternoon of the fifth day, Robert Becker, 26, was delivering a final batch of sand in a borrowed backhoe, while Gary Craycroft, who had last hung swings for his baby daughter Penny, now put them up with her help. Said Penny, 14: "It's been neat. I'll never forget working at night with the lights on." But Leathers is out to impress the adults as much as their children. "They start out as cynics, but when the countdown begins, and the kids stream in, they start to cry," he says. Leathers assures his clients that his playgrounds will last at least 25 years, but the memories are guaranteed for a lifetime.