Springfield board OKs field makeover honoring Graham

The family of a Springfield native has received the go-ahead from the town Selectboard to begin the process of constructing a new baseball diamond at the Riverside Middle School fields to honor his memory.
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Springfield board OKs field makeover honoring Graham By Chris Garofolo | May 01, 2014 Share on facebook Share on twitter Share on email Share on print More Sharing Services 0 Photo by: Josh Weinreb The Springfield ball field at Riverside Middle School has a makeover already planned, according to a new proposal. SPRINGFIELD — The family of a Springfield native has received the go-ahead from the town Selectboard to begin the process of constructing a new baseball diamond at the Riverside Middle School fields to honor his memory. Springfield Selectboard members accepted a proposal Monday from the Graham family to renovate one of the ball fields at the middle school property into a top-tier diamond — suitable for softball or Little League baseball — dedicated to Burton “Paige” Graham III, an accomplished athlete from town. Members of the family were in attendance Monday night with the Selectmen to outline a two-phase plan that would reconfigure one of the baseball diamonds and erect a new maintenance shed, lighting units and electronic scoreboard. In total, they estimate modifying the Riverside No. 3 baseball diamond into the B. Paige Graham Memorial Field would cost between $65,000 to $110,000. The family has been fundraising to offset the costs. Selectman Peter MacGillivray recalls a time when those fields were well-used in his youth. He said if the town could help improve the fields for today’s students, it “would be foolish not to approve this recreational facility here, and I’d like to see it done.” Chairman Kristi Morris agreed, citing the Graham family’s long history of athletics in Springfield. Michael Graham, Paige’s younger brother, told the Eagle Times there is no better way to honor his sibling than with a memorial field. “He was an exceptional athlete in high school, he was an even better athlete during his later years with softball, then softball and golf; but ultimately this is for the kids,” he said Wednesday afternoon. “We had it pretty easy growing up. We could go down to the fields, our parents knew where we were, it was a pretty safe environment ... we feel like kids these days aren’t getting their due from the town simply because of budget restrains,” Michael Graham continued. “We’re hoping that we can use our name and we can use our influence, not that we have a whole lot, but if we can give this to the town of Springfield free of charge and we can do the maintenance for them and pay all the bills; not only will this be a great thing for the kids, but it should be a great thing for the town as well.” Since the baseball diamond will remain in use this summer, the Grahams are working with the Springfield Parks & Recreation Department to coordinate any groundskeeping after the season ends. They would like to get a shovel in the ground by September and have the lofty goal of playing on the field as early as next year, but are projecting a late spring 2016 opening. According to the proposal, the first phase would be to reorient the No. 3 diamond from its current north-facing configuration to a southerly direction. The plans call for replacing the current field conditions with a new lay red Georgia clay, tailor-made for high school softball teams and Cal Ripken baseball (ages 8-12) squads. Once completed, they would build two cement dugouts with a chain link fence and metal roof, as well as a new set of bleacher seats and an announcer/concession booth. “So phase one would sort of be the field itself and making the field actually be playable again,” said Jeff Graham, Paige’s brother who lives in Laconia, N.H., at Monday's Selectboard meeting. “We believe we have enough money to do the first phase ... and that would a combination of funds and donations.” Phase I costs could go as high as $50,000, but the family is projecting about half that figure with donated services, materials and possibly town equipment. The second phase estimates, however, are a little more costly. To kick-off the latter part of the renovations, the Grahams are proposing a lighting system similar to the No. 4 diamond and are looking at blueprints that could utilize the existing center field pole for both fields. They also wish to purchase an electronic scoreboard and have the announcer’s booth used for its updates and other game-time activity. At the onset of the 2014 fundraising season, the family has about $30,000 available in the memorial foundation. A native of Springfield, Paige Graham III graduated from high school in 1971 as a well-known basketball, baseball, football and softball player. The year he graduated from Springfield High School, he was an American Legion scholarship winner for southern Vermont. He co-founded a public accounting business while raising a family in town, and becoming an avid golfer on the side as well as one of the top softball players in the region. He left Springfield in his early 40s to focus on his career, but remained active in the local sports community. Paige Graham died on December 16, 2009 in Huntsville, Ala. He was 56. An annual golf tournament has been traditionally held around May 5 — his birthday — in Springfield and the proceeds go to scholarships to exceptional athletes who exhibit a career of sportsmanship, humility and athletic talent. Some of the donations are also slated to go toward funding for a local sports field or court in his honor. “Our family has been doing this fundraising for about five years,” Jeff Graham said. The family decided now is the time to start implementing plans for the field, he added.