In 10 days, Harrington Park will come alive with the joy of dozens of young children coming together to experience the teamwork and unbridled fun of T-ball. For most, this will be their first chance to experience organized sports. And this has been designed to be a positive adventure focusing on fun as much as fundamentals.
Today, the life of the man that made it possible was celebrated there. Tom Bell and his wife of 50 years, Kay, started the program for four- to eight-year-olds 45 years ago. And she is continuing it.
Many of those in attendance wore their playing jerseys in honor of the man who made it possible. In a program with this longevity, some players had grown up to coach. Or coaches who taught their children, also coached their grandchildren.
Tom, as everyone knew him, would have been delighted by the turnout of more than 100 and casualness of the affair. Photographs of Tom’s life from his days as a high school basketball player to adult tennis player and golfer to a father of four and then a grandfather of six mingled with photos of T-ballers around the periphery of the pavilion.
His friend Ken Frech was the first to speak, followed by Tom’s son, Tim, and others. They cited Tom’s generous spirit, donating thousands of hours to his community as president of the Park Stockdale Civic Association board of directors for decades; the man who kept the diamonds alive in the spring and the swimming pools operating throughout the summers.
Besides the T-ball paraphernalia, friends brought a potluck to the hamburger and hot dog barbecue. They sat and shared stories of a man who turned a neighborhood into a community, who created spaces for neighbors to create memories that last a lifetime.