After 14 years running other recreation departments, Craig Fraley is very happy to be back at the Peterborough Recreation Department, where he started his career in 2004. 

“I always kind of kept my eye on Peterborough,” Fraley said. “I was very happy in Amherst, but then when this job came up, a Peterborough friend suggested I apply, and I thought it would be great to go back.” 

Fraley, who lives in Peterborough with his family, grew up in New Hampshire. He first came to the Monadnock region to attend Sargent Camp in Hancock, and today, he serves on the Friends of Sargent Board. 

Before becoming Peterborough’s new recreation director on Nov. 4, Fraley had served as recreation director for the town of Amherst for 10 years. Prior to that, he worked in the Rindge Recreation Department. Fraley was also a Peterborough firefighter for 10 years, from 2005 to 2015. 

Fraley’s philosophy for the Recreation Department is “Recreation for All.”

“Recreation is all about introducing people to sports or to any new activity. It’s about getting people out there, all ages,” he said. “It’s not just about youth sports.” 

Fraley has high praise for Peterborough’s recreational facilities.

“The Peterborough community has a tradition of being very supportive of the Recreation Department, going back to the days of (Roland) “Beaver” Jutras, and we have amazing facilities, both inside and outside. There are larger towns whose facilities are not this good, and who can’t support all the programming they would like to do. We are very fortunate in Peterborough to have such wonderful facilities and support,” Fraley said. 

Fraley says for the moment, he is not planning any major changes in the department, although he would like to bring back  and expand field trips for all ages.

“I’m really pushing the idea of recreation for all – not just sports, but all kinds of activities. We will be looking at maybe adding more youth programs and after-school programs. Twenty years ago when I worked here, there used to be a big trip component. We had trip to the Red Sox, the theater in Boston, stuff like that. We have the use of the vans, so we’d like to use them, also for things like outdoor adventures for youth, backpacking, more adventurous outings,” Fraley said. 

Fraley says the department’s mission is to respond to the needs of the community.

“We just added a seventh- through ninth-grade basketball program, because so many kids went out for the school teams there were just not enough spots, so that is something we are excited about,” he said. 

Fraley says the biggest change in recreation in the past 20 years is the inclusion of wider offerings for all age groups. He noted that pickleball is “by far the most-popular program for adults.” 

Fraley says he is excited for some new programming,  possibly including art classes and after-school activities.

“We have a wonderful setup where kids can walk from PES to the Community Center for classes or programs, so that is something we may take advantage of,” he said.

Fraley and his team are realistic about how many activities and programs the department can effectively manage.

“We will make changes and try to add to our portfolio of programming, but we want to be methodical about it. We don’t want to get over our heads and start offering more than we can handle,” he said.

Fraley says the hardest part of the job is probably having to say no to people.

“We can’t do everything people would like, unfortunately. We can’t always please everyone. We do want to give people their happy place as much as we can,” he said.  “How strong the rec. department is says a lot about a town; it shows the vibrancy of a community.”

When asked his favorite part of the job, Fraley said that every day is different.

“Its the variety. No two days are ever the same, and I love to be around people,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun to be part of a recreation department; it’s the most fun part of running the town.” 

Fraley urges anyone with ideas for programs or activities to reach out to him or Program Director Julia Chidester.

For information and for upcoming programs and activities, go to peterboroughnh.gov/departments/recreation/index.php.