My Turn

Take me out to the ball game

By: Hank Reeves
   There was a good show on Public Television recently called "Things That Used to be There That are not There Anymore." It started me thinking about things like the Bird Bath in New Egypt, the Pemberton Sand Hole, and the Clay Pit over at Fieldsboro, just to name a few places we used to swim. And what of those dances at St. Mary’s School in Bordentown, with Johnny Norcross’s Orchestra, or upstairs at the Riverside Firehouse and those Wednesday night record dances at the Crosswicks Community House.
   Up until about 1954, there was in Chesterfield, alongside Harlan (Skeet) Davis’ store, a baseball field. In the summer it was the place to meet, there was always a game of workies up going on or the local boys shagging fly balls. Whenever anyone stopped for gas – 12 or 15 cents a gallon – or went into the store and pool room they always checked to see what was going on at the ball field. Russell Holloway ran the store.
   The field’s backstop was almost on Route 528, it looked like it was built with a variety of chain link, posts and an assortment of two-by-fours thrown in for good measure. The depth was unable to accommodate the umpire behind the catcher, so when a game was played the umpire stood behind the pitcher.
   Third base was a little below the level of home plate but the rest of the field was up hill, especially right and center field. The grade on the infield was enough that a pitcher’s mound was almost nonexistent. Line drives hit back at the pitcher were very hazardous for the umpire if he did not get out of the way fast enough.
   At the end of left field, which was 200 feet at best, there was a six foot hedge over which too many balls found the neighbor’s kitchen window. He was not a happy camper when two windows were replaced over a three week period.
   The game that was the most fun was when the married men played the single men. Ted Burns always umpired the game, and the married women always cheered for the single guys just to aggravate their husbands. It was nice to be able to go into the store and come out with ice cream or a soda and watch the ball game.
   Furman Dubell and his wife were very active with the team, having two sons who played. Bob, a great pitcher, and John, the short stop. Both also played for BHS Mrs. Dubell organized cake sales, which resulted in the team getting hats and shirts. She also kept score and records.
   Ike Williams, a famous light weight boxer out of Trenton, had a baseball team that played Chesterfield one Sunday. I seem to be the only one who remembers, maybe it’s because Chesterfield lost.
   Somebody came up with an old mounted pheasant that the boys put just above second base on the first day of hunting season. Several cars full of hunters slowed down and a few even stopped looking at the pheasant. The boys were having a good laugh when a car stopped and a hunter got out and blew the pheasant apart. Looking back, I guess the guy did not take the hunter safety course.
   During the era when the Chesterfield Knights held the court, the Chesterfield General Store had several bats for sale but they were not Louisville Sluggers. Johnny Parker bought one and painted "Pat," his girlfriend’s name, at the end of it. Not to be outdone and showing my love as well, I also bought a bat, but painting Mary Lou the entire length of the bat with a 2-inch brush somehow just lost it. Plus any time you got a hit the sting to your hands hurt so bad you were almost glad when you struck out. Funny how I remember that ol’ bat.
   The Chesterfield ball diamond passed out of the life on the community when Davis’s son-in-law, Milton Jobes, built a small hardware store in left field.
   Things like the old ball field could never happen today. Why, because of something no one thought of in those days.
   It’s called law suit.
   
Hank Reeves is a retired district insurance agent and registered representative who grew up in Chesterfield and is a resident of Columbus.