Wallingford Park

Cutter's Log - Special Entry

With this little story, I have now run out of my array of such stories.

Whatever stories are left haven't existed yet.

To conclude, I'd like to go back to where it ALL began.

If you're an avid reader of this Blog, you know about my favorite sports team growing up. Not the White Sox. Not the Bears. Not the Blackhawks. Nowhere close. That spot is reserved for Rock Falls Softball. That is, the same group of girls that started as 9- and 10-years old up until being seniors in high school (and even later at some of the colleges).

These girls were in my same graduating class, and one year each way. And they were good at what they did on the softball diamond. Just look at those plaques bolted along the concession stand at Wallingford Park.

Wallingford Park was where I first met the girls. 15 years ago this summer.

Many people think I was there at the very start: The state title win in 1997 - what would be the first of a string of many. Actually, I never saw any of the games during the first two state title wins. But what they did made the newspaper.

When the second state title came around, WSDR was broadcasting their games on the radio and I would tune in to them. Here were some classmates that I grew up with doing something very special, and so far away in Joplin (MO) of all places, and I wanted to know just how far they would go.

These girls were my age, but I only knew one of them. That was Emily. She was in my 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade classes. I had also heard of her best friend at the time, April, but never met her. And Turnroth was a familiar name because it's pinned to all of the billboards in town.

***

When I had time to myself, I would ride my bike along the canal and sometimes stop underneath one of the bridges and throw rocks. I had already rode everywhere there was to ride in Sterling, so Rock Falls - and back to the old stomping grounds - was next to "conquer."

We moved away from RF because of a disagreement with the lady that owned our house. When mom and dad knew that I was in Rock Falls, they told me to stay away from around there in case the landlord found me and bugged me into inquiring about my parents.

On those times when I DID adhere to my parents, I was on the east side of the highway doing something.
Such as riding to Centennial Park with my wheels along the edge of the pond.

I had broken my orange bicycle when I went all the way to Coleta, so I was left with riding my brother Mike's bike for a while. Mike had this dark blue bike with a yellow seat and a small vanity plate that read "Mike" on it. One day when I was sitting along where the pond crosses the road, someone yelled to me "Hi Mike!"

I rode one day all the way to Centennial Park to see if there were some friends I could find and play with. Along the walk, somewhere along First Avenue (I'd like to say near McDonalds), there was a firetruck driving very slow. I actually didn't think of it at the time, and didn't know where they were going. They had just come home from Joplin.

I just went along to Centennial Park as planned. When there was no one there, I made my way back home cutting across Avenue C.

The procession stopped at Wallingford Park. That's where I found a familar van - that of my best friend Seth's parents. I thought Seth was there, which gave me an incentive to stop. Didn't find Seth, but found his brother Austin. He was playing along with some of the kids his age near the picnic area. That's when I saw Bridgette (who was in the same class as my brother Mike), and when I saw her, I knew Emily was also here.

"I guess I'll go say hi."

I made my way over to the bleachers and sat for a while as the coaches were talking on a mic. I didn't know who the guy was, but the lady looked familar. After a while, I saw my buddy Jake there.

Jake and I also go back as far as 1st grade. It was great to see him again, we hadn't talked in a couple of years and had a lot of catching up to do. That's when he told me about Emily. I thought it made sense .... I had a feeling as far back as fourth grade.

All I remember about the awards ceremony itself was that Kathy had struggled with pronouncing "Tresenriter".

Afterward, Jake, Emily and I shared a few words together and caught up. It was getting late, and I had to hurry back home.

Apparently I was gone for a long, long time. I guess I kind of lost time with all that conversation. When I returned home it was dark and the crickets were out.

And a police car was parked out front.

My parents had worried so great that they called in the police to help find me (my parents were like that sometimes). Nevertheless, I recieved quite a scorn that evening, explaining to them where I was and what happened. This wasn't my first rodeo with being out way too late. My grandparents had then arrived and asked if anyone had found me yet.

The whole "worry" thing hit when I realized that my grandparents had also been out looking for me. I had started to cry and I remember hugging my grandmother.

Thinking about what happened that night, it was simply the joy with reconnecting with Jake and Emily that caused me to lose track of time. That's when it sort of hit me that I really missed it back in Rock Falls. I was a bit of a reculse in Sterling, still trying to adapt to the new surroundings, but those that I went to school with in Rock Falls still remembered me as that interesting kid who knew everything.

I guess it was a natrual feeling that I gravitated back toward Rock Falls to find some happier times with the same people I left behind. All the while, maintaining some of the few friendships I had with those from Sterling.

***

One day on the following year, Sterling's softball team and Rock Falls's softball team played in a district game at Westwood. At the time, I knew more girls on the Sterling team than I did on Rock Falls's. That's when I knew of one more classmate from Rock Falls: Alisha. So I thought some of my Rock Falls friends were also there that night.

Turned out, through Emily and Alisha, I was introduced to the rest of the girls. They must have told them about me (all they had was who I was in grade school). I take it that set a trigger off ... and the rest is history.

It didn't really settle in until my 8th grade basketball season at Challand. We had a road game at East Coloma and on our way in, one of the East Coloma cheerleaders recognized me and yelled "Hi Cody!" I waved back, and I didn't know who it was. Who was she, and how did she know my name? And then it hit me, it must have been one of those softball girls (Raechelle).

Wait a minute, I thought. I've only met them once maybe twice. How do they remember me? And the rest is history.

***

I've rambled on and on throughout the years about history. Each step along the way forged the friendships more and more. Over the years, they all would become an important part of my life. All of them. It wasn't just Emily, or Alisha, or Ashley anymore.

The starting point, however, was that summer evening at Wallingford Park 15 years ago. Now if I would have went on home and ignored that big to-do at Wallingford or spotted the Eckel-mobile, things would have been much different.

That evening was a major turning point in my life, which is now being spent as a high school sports journalist trying to revolutionize it all through the Internet. My current project is a website called Northern Illinois Sports Beat. This coming season will be the 10th Anniversary of my website. Year No. 9 has been marred with problems, so I decided to make year No. 10 a major overhaul.

Each summer I have conducted a "State of the Site Address" to outline plans for the following year's version of the website. Recently, I have conducted addresses on video from certain locations through my website's coverage area.

Because this year plans on being something completely different, which, I hope, makes the website sustainable for the future, I figured it would be appropriate to tape my "State of the Site Address" from home plate at Wallingford Park.

***

If my website survives another 15 years or so, I can see myself covering a Big Northern Conference crossover sports game between Dixon and Genoa-Kingston. When I see the names "Kastner" and "Henkel" in the starting lineups squaring off against one another (barring any relocations and such), that's when I'm going to get that "I feel old" feeling. Then, when one thing leads to another, that'll make me think back to that night in Wallingford Park.

Only by then it will have been almost 30 years ago!