Remembering the boys of summer

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/07/2021 (707 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

I drove past Provencher Park the other day and stopped and got out of my car. It is so noticeable to me that teams are not using the baseball diamonds around town. Provencher is still used for baseball in a normal year for bantam players (aged 14 and 15).

The memories were thick as I walked around and reminisced about games I played there. The St. Boniface Legionaires junior team and the St. Boniface Native Sons senior team both called Provencher Park home. I played for both. We won a provincial championship with the junior team in 1973. Whittier Park, where they play now, did not exist back then.

I feel blessed that I am still friends with teammates I played with from that 1973 team and maybe I was a little nostalgic since losing my outfield partner and long-time friend, Barry Wiebe, a few months ago to brain cancer, and even more recently another great teammate, Clarke Single who was a big strong hitter with a wonderful laugh. Clarke succumbed to another nasty form of brain cancer called glioblastoma.

Barry played centre field and I played left. There is a lot of territory to cover at Provencher Park but, as I remember it, we covered it like a blanket. Of course, that was a long time ago so my memory may have some gaps.

I looked over the field and was a little awestruck. I remembered playing long hit balls off the wall of the high school in left field which is now Collège Louis Riel. That is a long way from home plate… surely a home run. I remembered hitting one of the longest home runs of my career over a tree in right field. There are still trees in that location and they seem bigger now.

Provencher Park is one of the many parks that permeate our city and make Winnipeg such a great place to live. As I walked through the park, I took in the ball field, swimming pool, children’s playground, Notre Dame Community Centre and much more. Provencher Park is a gem for the neighbourhood.

I miss local baseball and other activities. And who would have imagined that our Goldeyes would be playing their home games in Tennessee?

Not me. It has been a few years since I worked at the downtown ball park, but I can still smell the fresh popcorn and the sounds of a vibrant park which has now sat empty for two years. Hopefully, that is about to change.

It is possible that my eyesight and hearing are diminishing but my memories are as powerful as ever.

 John Hindle is a community correspondent for St. Vital. Email him at john@johnhindle.com