Cecile (Hatch) Laverriere, 90, reminisces about the huge effort that took place in 1969 when a group of determined volunteers set about to create the East Biddeford Little League field. Tammy Wells Photo

BIDDEFORD — The year was 1969, and a lot of Biddeford youngsters were playing baseball. On the east side of the city, the Little League teams played their games at Waterhouse Field – there was no other field around.

So, people in east Biddeford decided to see what needed to be done to get a field of their own. When they learned the answers, they set out to get it accomplished, said Cecile (Hatch) Laverriere.

It was just two years after the Boston Red Sox “Impossible Dream” had became a reality – the Sox had reached the World Series in 1967 — the first time since 1946. And while the Beantown team lost the series to the St. Louis Cardinals 4-3 that year, the popularity of baseball was at an all time high. With so many games and practices for so many teams, scheduling at Waterhouse Field was a huge problem, she recalled.

Cecile and Philip “Stan” Hatch had two sons who liked baseball in 1969, Phil, who soon began playing in the senior league and David, in Little League. Stan Hatch and Raymond Letellier coached the Roy & Perrault Little League team, and went to see the mayor, Gilbert Boucher, Cecile recalled. Soon thereafter, it was determined a city-owned parcel on Hill Street, just south of West Street, would make a fine field.

But first, it had to be cleared.

“It was all wooded,” said Cecile on a recent day. She recalled the city’s public works director, Dick Potvin, would use the city’s machinery to clear the lot on Sunday afternoons.

Then it was all hands-on deck to get the field in shape.

“There was nothing there,” she said. “Parents, all these volunteers were involved.”

While there have been many upgrades over the years, as seen here, the East Biddeford Little League field was originally built by volunteers who came together in 1969. The city made the Hill Street lot available, and people set to work, to get the field created. Tammy Wells Photo

Who were they? She remembers names like Don Gagnon, Ray Gagnon, “Frenchie” Guillory, Raymond Letellier, Ray Nadeau, Al Potvin, her husband Stan Hatch, and many others. Spang Lumber donated materials to build dugouts and bleachers, she said, and Vito Mininni donated cement blocks and other materials needed for construction. Another local individual donated a shed used for equipment storage that doubled as the field’s first concession stand. Margaret Guillory headed up the concession stand for the first two seasons, selling an assortment of penny candy and drinks. Laverriere remembers some of the youngsters did not always have money for penny candy, but Guillory, her sister, saw to it that they didn’t go without.

There were other volunteers too. Of those first volunteers involved at the outset, Cecile, at 90, said she is the last.

She remembers the first teams: Biddeford Savings Bank, Doyon’s Pharmacy, McKenney & Heard, Pepperell Trust, Roy & Perrault, Vic’s Appliance, and West Point Pepperell.

Mayor Alan Casavant said he never played on the east side field — he was closer to West Biddeford Little League — but said he is a huge fan of those who pitch in to help accomplish any number of projects including ones like the east Biddeford ballfield, that took place 53 years ago.

“I cannot say enough about Biddeford’s volunteers,” he said. “In a world in which seemingly no one has free time, these individuals find the time to serve the community. They donate their talents, expertise, and even their equipment to make things happen. Whether it is operating and organizing Little League teams, manning concession stands at Waterhouse Field, cleaning our parks, putting up holiday lights, rebuilding West Brook Skating Rink, creating Winterfest, providing activities and entertainment at La Kermesse, or serving on committees, there are dozens of people who give of their free time to improve the quality of life of residents. It is very clear to me that without volunteers, much of what occurs in the city could not happen, because city budgets simply cannot afford to do such things.”

It was the same in the late 1960s, when the East Biddeford Little League field was born. Cecile’s husband Phil Laverriere, whom she later married after the death of Stan Hatch, coached a team that played on the West Biddeford Little League field.

In general, municipal parks and recreation budgets were quite sparse in those days.

“Fathers and coaches mowed the fields,” Phil said. “It was the same in east Biddeford and other parts of town. People did what they had to do.”

These days, Phil, a former Biddeford city councilor, noted the city and its parks and recreation department does a lot.

Casavant said he hopes more people today will take up the volunteer mantle and admits to being a bit discouraged, with the number of volunteers decreasing and the same committed folks, now fewer in number, wearing many volunteer hats. Many volunteers have passed away over time, and not enough others are stepping forward – which eventually, he said, will impact Biddeford’s ability to deliver recreational, social, and cultural activities.

In the book “Tuesdays With Morrie,” Morrie Schwartz wrote that the greatest happiness in life comes from the giving of oneself and time to others, without the expectation of getting something back, Casavant pointed out.

“We need more volunteers,” the mayor said “What a great way to improve one’s personal happiness!”

Cecile pointed out it took the commitment of the city providing the land and a strong group of volunteers to create the East Biddeford Little League field.

She said she visited the ballpark a few years ago and marveled at the advances and upgrades made since it was created – in the early days, it was merely a field – but it was their field, where East Biddeford Little League teams from the neighborhood could play ball.

“Everyone was involved,” she said.

Grace Leverriere is a freelance writer for the Courier; Tammy Wells is a staff writer for the Courier.