The dugouts were but cement slabs with plastic chairs, the grass was still patchy in places, not yet grown in, and the field was still without overhead lights, but on Friday evening, the Shawville Recreation
Association’s brand new ball field saw its first players up to bat.
Before the U13 Shawville Storm teams faced off in one of their last games of the season, Clarendon’s municipal council and members of the Shawville RA celebrated the opening of the field, with Mayor Edward Walsh throwing the game’s first pitch.
The construction of the new field was made possible thanks to a collaboration between the Municipality of Clarendon and the Shawville RA.
Several years ago the municipality applied for a $100,000 revitalization grant from MRC Pontiac to fund some kind of recreation project.
“I just thought it would be nice to have something within our own municipality to offer the public, that would be the first public space,” said Jonathan Dagg, who was a councillor on the municipality’s recreation committee at the time and led the initiative to secure the funding.
“Clarendon is mainly all built around the farming community and roads. [ . . . ] I was hoping to have basically a common space.”
After looking around for a location for the new field, council decided it would be best to redirect the provincial funding to the Shawville RA, so it could build a much needed second ball field.
RA president Jennifer Barr said the opening of the new field will make it possible for more Shawville teams to practice and play on home turf.
“We, for years and years and years, dreamed of having another field here because there’s been a huge uptick in ball,” she said. “No one could practice here. We had to use the fairgrounds to practice. In our league last year where we just played Quyon, Shawville played home games in Quyon because we just couldn’t accommodate it here. So this will without a doubt be extremely well used.”
Barr said the RA runs a t-ball program with over 50 children, as well as nine minor ball teams. There’s a men’s league that uses it, as well as an adult 3-pitch league, and Pontiac High School also uses the ball field for its new baseball program.
“I organized minor ball for 10 or 15 years, and just from a planning perspective, it’s going to be huge, having a second diamond. [ . . . ] And just to be able to host tournaments and fundraisers, I think it’s a huge investment for our community.”
The $100,000 grant funded the levelling and some drainage of the field, the stone dust for the infield, and the installation of the fence, but there’s work yet to be done.
RA member Matt Greer said this work includes the completion of the dugouts, further property drainage, and an expansion of the existing parking lot, among other smaller finishing touches. He said this work will be done with continued support from both Shawville and Clarendon municipalities.
“We’ll continue an annual donation from the municipality for the upkeep of the ball field and some of the other equipment that’s still required,” Walsh confirmed.
“This here is going to be recognized as Clarendon field. [ . . . ] I think it’s a very proud moment for our municipality and all of our councillors. They’ve done a lot of work over the last couple of years to get this done.”
Dagg, for his part, is no longer on council, but now has two boys who play ball, both of whom took to the new pitch on Friday evening.
“It’s really nice to see that it’s come to fruition,” he said. “Now there’s something more for the community that all our municipalities can benefit from.”
