Project to improve well-loved ball field underway

WEST FARMINGTON – Visitors to the Joe Toot Memorial Ball Field will soon be noticing some new improvements, thanks to the Farmington Elks Lodge No. 2430 and some very busy volunteers.

The announcer’s stand that overlooks the backstop behind home plate was in bad shape, having overseen more than 30 years of baseball games at the well-used field.

“It was going in about six different directions,” Aaron Allumeaugh, the lodge’s Exalted Ruler said. “It had to come out.”

When Elks began removing the stand, they found telephone poles buried in the dirt: part of the original 1961 backstop.

This summer, the Elks have removed the stand’s roof, moving it down past the right-field dugout to provide spectators some much-needed shade. The new stand is taller by three feet or so, enough to create storage behind its lattice-work walls. That will help the Elks by clearing out more space in the concession stand, where volunteers flip burgers, pop popcorn and hand out pieces of gum to kids in exchange for empty soda bottles.

“They are relentless,” Allumeaugh said of the can-traders. “I guarantee you there isn’t a can left in their parents’ car when they leave.”

The field sees heavy use – Allumeaugh said that the Elks have had to turn away some requests due to overbooking – including a full slate of Cal Ripken League games (the local team is the West Farmington Giants) and the periodically-held Elks Tournament that draws athletes from all over the state. This Saturday’s tournament will make use of the Joe Toot field as well as fields at Hippach, Prescott and West Farmington.

The importance of the West Farmington field is demonstrated by the community response to the project. Allumeaugh said that volunteers and donations of lumber and cash had made the project feasible. In addition to local Elks, members from the Skowhegan and Madison lodge were at the site Wednesday, helping out.

Elks member Jim Smith said that even a few years ago, he doesn’t think the project would bring in so much support from the community.

“I think the community at large has seen the commitment the Elks have put into this field,” Smith said.

All the proceeds raised at the games through the concessions stand go to supporting Farmington Elks Lodge programs, such as their holiday events, sponsoring a Dirigo State representative and helping out at places like the Harris House.