Day 107

8/29/22

The lights are on, the announcer is back and the cheers are resounding! Yes! The Tornadoes are playing across the street at Goodrich Field! We even KNOW one of the amazing soccer players kicking that ball!

Ranger and Lilly are quite familiar with the hubbub across the way. They still bark if there is anyone having the audacity to be holding a leash (unknown dog at the end) that is not attached to their own collar. There were quite a few tonight, but it seems like they are just calling out to one another. If they could talk...

"Hey there! Nice leash!"
"Check out that smell over there!"
"Come on up on the stairs! We have treats!"
"Hey! Where are you going? Can we come?"
"We haven't met...I'd remember that scent anywhere!"

Gus, on the other paw, was so young last year that he doesn't seem to remember all of the excitement on a game night. He stands at the gate mesmerized by it all. Wait until the band shows up!

My many memories of Goodrich Field started when I was very young. After a spring rain, my mom (she was pretty amazing) took us down to the flooded field to wade in the water. I must have been three or four, but I remember it well.

I heard stories about the field when it was converted from a pond to a football field. Of course, the middle school was then the high school, so a field next door was pretty amazing. They dredged the pond and, once it was dry enough, had the football team clean up the sandburs. Now, my sweet father was on the first team to play on that field along with his best friend, Bob Johnson. They were directed to lay down, head to toe, and roll down the field while picking up sandburs on their clothes along the way. My father got an infection from one of the burs and almost lost his arm!

When the team finally cleaned up the field enough to play football, they began to have actual games with nearby towns. Dad told me that they only had enough jerseys for the players on the field. When the offense would come off the field, they would hand over their jerseys to the defense! How times have changed!

In the early 1900's, our own home was turned to face that field. When it was a pond, Colonel Giddings, our resident ghost, had the home lifted up with pulleys and chains using draft horses. The basement was poured and the house was placed on top of the blocks. There was an addition connected on the south end, including a maid's quarters and a large stairway going to the new basement. Colonel Giddings was heard to say, "I want the basement stairwell to be so tall, I can wear my top hat as I descend." We still have his top hat!

We absolutely love having the field across the street and often join the neighbors to watch on the corner. The lights, noise and energy simply bring excitement to any evening. Just ask Gus! He would tell you there is never a dull moment!