Berkley Moms Club to repair dilapidated softball field

By Jeremy Selweski
C & G Staff Writer

BERKLEY — Softball players at Merchants Park will have something to look forward to when they set foot on the field for the first time this May, thanks to the Berkley Moms Club.

Next month, the organization will be renovating Merchants Field No. 1, located at the corner of Bacon Avenue and Cambridge Road, by installing a new pitcher’s mound, home plate and bases; putting in new dirt; and realigning the base paths. It’s a project that Moms Club President Darla Brandon believes is long overdue.

“That field is in really bad shape — it has been kind of an eyesore over there for a long time,” she said. “We fixed up Field No. 2 about two years ago, and now we’re glad to be giving Field No. 1 the face-lift it needs.”

Brandon noted that the renovation will cost the Moms Club about $4,000, but she stressed that the club would not be raising its softball fees to make up for the expense.

“It shouldn’t be a problem for us to do this,” she said, “but we’ll basically be using up all of our fundraising money from last year.”

The Berkley Moms Club was founded in 1970, and from the beginning, its mission has been to teach Berkley girls about good sportsmanship and leadership skills via its annual spring and summer softball leagues. Currently, there are 17 moms on the group’s board of directors, while every softball parent is counted as a member of the club.

According to Brandon, the Moms Club aims not only to improve the softball skills of each player, but also to provide them with a positive social experience along the way. And this approach appears to be working: The popularity of the softball program has remained strong since its inception, with more than 200 girls in grades one through eight already signed up to play in this year’s leagues.

Brandon pointed out that other Berkley athletes would also benefit from the renovation work to Field No. 1. The Berkley High School freshman softball team practices at Merchants Park, while the Berkley Dads Club’s annual baseball tournament is held there, along with a few summer kickball leagues.

Work on the project is scheduled to begin in mid-April, once the ground thaws, and is expected to take one to one and a half weeks. The Moms Club is still looking for additional people to help out.

“We will take any volunteers we can get,” Brandon said. “We need all hands on deck because this will definitely be a bigger undertaking than Field No. 2 was.”

Berkley officials were thrilled to learn of the group’s renovation plans, especially during a time when the city’s budget for Parks and Recreation improvements has dwindled to almost nothing. On March 1, the City Council unanimously approved the Moms Club’s request to rehabilitate Field No. 1.

Councilman Dan Terbrack, who grew up playing baseball on the fields at Merchants Park, was especially excited to see the project get under way.

“I don’t know how we could possibly say no to something like this,” he said. “They’re spending their own money and their own time to do this. Anytime that anyone wants to step up and do something good for the community, we certainly applaud that.”

For Mayor Marilyn Stephan, the Moms Club’s efforts are “a marvelous gift” that are also indicative of the caring, generous spirit that defines Berkley and its small-town roots.

“It’s always wonderful to see volunteers investing their time, their resources and their talents to help the community thrive,” she said. “If there ever comes a day when that ceases to be the case, then we’ll be in trouble. It’s always easy to sit back and complain, but it takes a lot more to stand up and make a change.”

Brandon, a Berkley resident for the past 21 years, couldn’t agree more. “Berkley is a great little town to live in,” she said. “You can never go anywhere in this city without seeing somebody you know, which is wonderful. And there’s always someone willing to lend a helping hand to anyone who needs it.”

For more information on the Berkley Moms Club, visit www.berkleymomsclub.com.

You can reach Staff Writer Jeremy Selweski at jselweski@candgnews.com or at (586) 218-5004.