Baseball Day in Baileys Harbor

My girlfriend and I made our way to Baileys Harbor yesterday afternoon to catch some of the Grudge Match between the Sister Bay Bays and Baileys Harbor A’s (Bays won!), and the day was a testament to the fabulous job the folks in Baileys Harbor have done with their recreational park.

Bobby Schultz and Paul Becker have spearheaded the effort, and yesterday it culminated in a special scene on a beautiful July Sunday on the “quiet side.” When we arrived, a Little League game was well underway on the softball diamond, soccer practice was just getting started on the pitch nestled into the woods, and the County League game was awaiting its first pitch. People were everywhere, little kids wrestled in the grass, and the tiny town was alive with sports.

I spend a lot of my time at meetings full of retirees, and with all due respect to the important work they do (work that the younger residents among us don’t step up to do, by the way), it made me feel a lot better about the future of the peninsula to see a community event full of kids, families, and activity in Baileys Harbor yesterday.

Better yet, most of those facilities were built with donated time, money, and materials, like the reconditioned bleachers for the soccer field. Quite an effort for the tiny town on the east side.