BUCKLAND — With Memorial Day approaching, a local youth baseball team ditched their bats, but still hit it out of Cricket Park.
Members of the Salmon Falls Builders youth baseball team came together earlier this month for a community service project as they spruced up a veterans’ memorial, planted seven geraniums in the flowerbed for each soldier and repainted the flagpole overlooking their field.
“I’ve been playing at that field or going to that field since I can remember,” said Mark Amstein, one of the team’s coaches and organizer of the community service project. “I got to thinking about it — the kids are getting old enough to where they should do some community service projects … and there’s not a much better way to than to give back to the field they’ve been playing at for all these years.”
With the help of a bucket truck donated by Daryll McCloud of Rails Mobile Power Washing & Detailing and paint donated by Jeremy Kingsbury, co-owner of Salmon Falls Builders and the team’s coach, the boys renovated the flowerbed around the memorial, repainted the flagpole and raised up a new flag, which was donated by local veteran Michael Sucharzewski.
“It came together well,” Amstein said. “It was just great. The kids really jumped on board, they were enthusiastic. … It’s a sort of feel-good type of thing and educational. I’m proud of the kids for stepping up.”
Colton Kingsbury, the 11-year-old son of coach Jeremy Kingsbury, said it was a satisfying experience to do something for the field he plays at.
“It felt good to give back to our community,” Colton said. “It looks pretty good now and it sticks out with the white paint (on the flagpole).”
In attendance was veteran John Chadwick, who is the brother of Frank W. Chadwick, one of the seven Vietnam War veterans honored on the monument. John Chadwick spoke to the players about what the flag symbolized, read each name on the monument and offered a thought about each soldier.
“It sparked a great conversation among all the kids,” Amstein said. “It was just a great idea of community service and giving back to the field. … We hope it starts a sort of tradition that one of the older teams each year will do something to commemorate the monument and the field.”
Colton said it was great to meet Chadwick and hear him talk about the memorial.
“I knew a little about it, but I didn’t know tons about it,” Colton said of the purpose of the memorial. “I learned a lot about the people that were on the memorial.”
Wesley Jenks, 11, reveled in taking part in the project as he felt a great sense of “satisfaction and pride” in helping the community.
“It was a great experience and a lot of fun,” Wesley said. “It feels good doing something for people that have done so much for the country.”
In listening to Chadwick speak about the veterans memorialized at the park, Wesley said he was inspired to do more community service.
“It’s pretty cool,” Wesley said of the work they did. “I would love to keep doing that for people. It would be a lot of fun and a great experience.”
Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.