Commentary; Posted: 7/7/04

Long in coming, but worth the wait

By Cliff Buchan

Two weeks ago we walked readers down memory lane with the late Elsie Vogelís last column, a retrospect examination of baseball in the first half of the 20th century. It gave readers a personal feel for what Forest Lake was like in that time in history.

It painted a quaint picture of a more common lifestyle when watching a baseball game was a community function. Picture the corner of W. Broadway Avenue and SW 4th Street where South Shore Veterinary Clinic now stands. Around 1905 that corner property provided the land for a baseball field.

Imagine a crowd of 2000 baseball fans jamming that corner to watch the boys from Stacy take on the hometown nine.

Life in general has certainly changed from those early days. Life in Forest Lake has changed. But donít forget the mood and feeling that Vogel captured in her historical column.

She wrote the column several years before her death in 2003 in anticipation of the dedication of The Ballpark at Schumacher Field in Forest Lake.

That formal function was completed last Friday when the grandstand was formally dedicated. Members of the ISD 831 School Board were on hand to accept the facility. It was the culminating step of a planning, fund-raising and construction process that lasted 10 years.

Times may well have changed in the 100 years between the days when 2000 fans would turn out to watch a baseball game with the Stacy lads to today when our fast-paced lifestyles pull us in so many different directions.

The completion of The Ballpark at Schumacher Field is an invitation to us to look to our past and our roots for a more simple lifestyle.

The dream chaser in this all has been Corbett Johnson, a Forest Lake man who was a child product of the local game. It was Johnson was crafted the idea of a ballpark covered grandstand. The idea was more than a plan to create a facility to watch the game; it was more so the creation of a place in Forest Lake where people ó people of all ages ó could gather as friends and neighbors. And at the same time Americaís game would be played.

The Ballpark at Schumacher Field is now a reality. Last Fridayís dedication was an opportunity to give honor to all the individuals, businesses and organizations that contributed time, money, labor and encouragement to those who carried the idea to completion. It was also a time to say thanks to all the former residents of the community who did their part in building Forest Lakeís baseball tradition.

Thanks to this project and dedication, the likes of Ray Jeans, E.J. Houle, Tony Valenty and many others will not be lost in history for those who visit The Ballpark.

The facility is Forest Lakeís to use, both for those playing the game and those who simply show up to watch or meet their Forest Lake friends and neighbors.

In a perfect world it wouldnít have taken 10 years to see this project finished. But from the comments at Fridayís dedication, it is certainly true that good things come to those who wait.

Thank you, Corbett Johnson, for carrying the dream forward, and thank you to all those who donated labor and funds to help preserve a Forest Lake tradition that will always be important here.

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