Work concluded just in time for spring season

By Bob Bumcrot

Some of the Volunteers (from left): Adam Murray, Brendan Tallon, Joe Green, Jr., Gwen Green, Roland Denny, Ed Machowski and John Allyn.

Thanks to the efforts of many volunteers, and support from the Recreation Committee, the main Norfolk baseball diamond was substantially improved in time for opening day. The Mountain Road field, on the Ellen Battell-Stoeckel Estate, has long been in need of an upgrade. On warm days, the clay soil hardens to a degree that renders a fall or sliding into base almost dangerous. Fences around the field were inadequate, and, to the embarrassment of many players and parents, there were no dugouts. The upgrade took about a year. Heather Bohlman and Kevin Bossardt of Nature’s Own Tree Specialists, LLC, removed several pines from the property. Joe Green, Sr., father of recently elected school board member, Joe Green, Jr., dug out the stumps. Both Greens, along with Danny Green and other volunteers, built forms for the dugouts, which were filled with cement donated by Century Concrete in North Canaan. Lumber and other materials for the dugout roofs were also mostly donations, some of it from Tallon Lumber in Canaan. The volunteers dug out the base lines, infield and batting circle and lowered the pitcher’s mound by almost a foot. Much of this labor was done by hand, with help from an earth mover lent by David Pilbin of DSP Enterprises, Inc. The workers were often sustained over the year with food prepared by Mary Reeve or Gwen Green. Among the workers were John Allyn, Rowland Denney, Adam Murray, Brendan Tallon, Jannel Towle and Rick Towle. Tallon, a high jumper at Regional Seven High School and a grandson of the owner of Tallon Lumber, contributed his time as a community service project. “Baseball’s not my sport,” he said. “I’m into track and field.” New fencing for the backstop and dugouts was installed by Cape Cod Fence, at a cost of $4500, of which $500 was contributed by the Norfolk Lions Club. The Town of Norfolk picked up the rest of the tab. The Recreation Committee also covered some of the costs, paying about $1500 for the special mixture of sand and leached clay that filled the excavated areas to a depth of four inches. “This place is a magnet for kids,” said Green, Jr. “My boys pass by and end up playing on the field while we’re still working.” Further evidence of that appears in the level of enrollment for the new season. “We have teams for everybody,” said Ed Machowski. “Co-ed T-ball for preschool and kindergarten, farm teams for first and second grade boys and first to third grade girls, AA minors for the next grades and AAA for the oldest ones. Now they have something to be proud of.”