There might have been grey clouds drifting in across the hills, and a slight mist falling from the sky, but it was a banner day for the Oakland Recreation Commission as the crowds filled the fields for the Opening Day ceremonies. Spectators applauded the players parade as the long line of teams made their way to Field 6. The speeches were short, poignant, and informative, because this was a day about kids. Adults at the podium acknowledged by name all the teams, and offered well deserved praise for the efforts put in by all the volunteers. Pictured here is the Field 6 scoreboard donated by The Father’s Club. Along with other town volunteers, The Father’s Club helped hang it and run the electrical work.
Special regards on this day were given to Lorraine Murray who shared pictures from the original 1990 dedication, and to the Potash family who donated so much time and effort into making it all possible. Awards were given to local artists for their entries in a mural contest, and the first prize entry can now be seen on the new Rec Stand’s wall. The crowd rewarded all the speakers, volunteers, and honorees with hearty and heartfelt applause before turning their attention to the amusements, cotton candy, music, food, and fun. It was a nice opportunity for the community to socialize outside the new Rec Stand.
The Rec Stand is run completely by volunteers and is open Monday-Friday from 6pm to 8:30pm, and Saturday 9am to 5pm. The Oakland Sports Association oversees the management of the stand, and they distribute this responsibility equally between The Mother’s Club, The Father’s Club, and the Rec Commission. It’s a great place to go and hang out and watch some games. Volunteers are needed on all levels, hopefully even some younger ones might help by taking orders from parents who have their hands full with smaller kids. They already have an impressive menu serving hot dogs, hamburgers, mozzarella sticks, soda, candy, pretzels, drinks and more. This is a great addition to the community, and provides the town’s youth a place to congregate and socialize. The Please visit the Rec Commission’s website to learn how to volunteer, or contact Kathy at KATHYFAHEY2@aol.com.
The Oakland Journal invites our readers to help supplement this story with names, acknowledgements, and items we left out. With all the excitement of the parade and the crowds, it was difficult for us to take notes and watch our kids. Please use the comment box below to add information. All comments are approved prior to posting, but we will get them up ASAP, and they will appear directly below our brief article. We also noticed a lot of video cameras rolling, and if any of them make it to YouTube, please drop us a note so we can embed it here. The Oakland Journal is an attempt at community journalism, and we need contributors to provide us content and photos…Our sports section needs your help; we would love to post photos and give the highlights of the games throughout the season. Feel free to email The Editors, or just use the “Submit” page to send info or photos.
A special thanks from The Oakland Journal to Coach Guadagnino for his editorial that alerted The Oakland Journal to the day’s festivities;it is available to read in our Op-Ed section.
Check out the Rec Commissions website for more pictures of Opening Day