Man aims to save historic but neglected Gary ballfield

GARY, Ind. (AP) - Bentley Ellis has never hit a home run at the historic Junedale Little League baseball field in Gary, but he's standing in the batter's box these days, pointing into the upper deck bleachers.

The 45-year-old father of 11 from Merrillville is digging in his cleats at the long-neglected baseball diamond at 50th Avenue and Madison Street in the city's Glen Park section. He is determined to renovate the ballfield and return it to a functional baseball field for youngsters, just as his own boys once played organized ball there.

"When I was growing up in Chicago, all I had were my baseball cleats and glove," Ellis recalled. "Playing baseball helped me as a child, and I want to help other children here."

In the early 2000s, he lived in the Delaney Projects neighborhood, as a father looking for a baseball field for his kids and their friends. They found Junedale, the two-field complex built in 1953, the longtime site of the Senior League World Series, which attracted teams from around the world.

Generations of kids played at those fields. I remember watching them as a kid growing up in Gary. It had been 40 years since I was at Junedale, where I used to play sandlot ball with neighborhood kids. My grandmother lived just a block away, and I'd often gravitate to that field while visiting her.

When I returned there last week to meet Ellis, I was stunned how dilapidated it has become. The fields are overgrown. The fencing is twisted or missing. Graffiti litters the building. The concession stand is a rumor. The site is simply a sad mess.

I stood in what was left of the batter's box and took photos of the long-neglected property. I couldn't believe that Ellis was trying to renovate it.

"I'm not doing anything special here. I just don't want to talk about doing something, like I hear from other people. I want to actually do something," said Ellis, who moved to Gary in 1988. "So I've been coming here every chance I get since February."

I nodded my head when he told me this. I've heard so many people from Gary, and surrounding communities, promise to do similar renovation projects in the city, only to conveniently forget about it later or move away and never look back.

"People have other things on their mind in the city than a baseball field for children," Ellis said. "A lot of people don't see youth recreation as something valuable for kids."

Youth recreation is crucial for kids in any community, but especially in Gary.

"Yes, ma'am, I'm working on it," Ellis told an older woman who strolled by the field last Saturday.

That woman was Connie Blair, who's lived near the park for many years.

In a Post-Tribune story from 1996, Blair told a reporter, "It was a lot of fun to hear the kids playing here. It was very exciting. It was international play and it was right here in our own little community."

Junedale has been renovated more than once through the decades. Similar resurrection projects have been conducted here by good-hearted baseball fans such as Ellis.

After the Senior League World Series left town in the mid-1980s, the fields again were forgotten for a while. And then another generation of baseball-lovin' kids prompted adults to again turn Junedale into a field of dreams.

In 2003, a group of city residents enlisted the support of sponsors who donated money and materials, obtained Cal Ripken and Babe Ruth league charters, and an army of volunteers to renovate the long-dormant property, according to Post-Tribune stories.

April 26, 2003, was proclaimed "LaTroy Hawkins Day," in honor of the former Major League Baseball player and 1991 West Side grad. Hawkins was even on hand the week before opening day at Junedale to sign autographs for excited kids in his former situation.

I didn't see any former MLB players or neighborhood kids at the fields when I visited. Just Ellis, who has eight boys and three daughters; the oldest is 27, the youngest is 6.

"I'm just a father doing what I can here," said Ellis, the former president of the Junedale Little League more than a decade ago.

He needs help. He needs your help.

"I just happened to see that Bentley was looking for help on the Junedale Facebook page, so I stopped there one day to talk with him," said Charlie Burgess, of St. John, who offered unskilled labor at the site.

Burgess took photos of Ellis in action there and sent them to me. I promised I would help him, too.

Before Ellis began working on the ballfield, the only activity at the site was urban explorers taking photos and videos. It had no other purpose than to serve as just another neglected, abandoned structure in Gary, haunted by generations of memories.

Ellis has a plan in place with help from a handful of people, including Thad Carpenter, president of the Junedale Baseball Softball Organization, and Nancy Thomas, its treasurer. The city also has pledged support.

"I've been assisting with project management and helping Bentley establish a working template for his plan elements, partners, timelines and next steps," said Rachelle Ceaser, the city's public works deputy director.

The city's department of general services has been removing debris from the site. And Ellis has secured a donor for badly needed demolition work, as well as estimates for new fencing ($24,000) and new sets of bleachers ($32,000), among other upgrades.

"He also is working with parks department to secure Homefield Advantage dollars available through a RailCats initiative," Ceasar said.

Ellis, a concrete mason in the construction industry, believes he can refurbish the dugouts and other upgrades on his own. He's already been doing it without any recognition.

"This is my passion project," Ellis told me. "It's all or nothing at this point."

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To help, contact Ellis by calling 219-381-7319, emailing junedalebsorg@gmail.com, or visiting www.facebook.com/groups/1497809587109338/

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Source: Post-Tribune

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Information from: The Times, http://www.nwitimes.com