The grassroots group behind Altona's Field of Dreams project is being inducted into the Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame for their work in getting the Access Field built.
They are Ken Wiebe, Gord Sawatzky, Ben Dueck and the late Menno Friesen.
"Surprise would have been the first word," said Ken when asked what the reaction was to hearing the news, adding that was quickly followed by humility. "Because why are we just being recognized? This was a lot more than just a few of us on the committee. It was a whole community effort, in my opinion. The help we got, the way the community got behind us to fund this thing, it was just amazing."
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It all started one Saturday afternoon in 2009 when about half-a-dozen folks sat down with a landscape architect, provided by Friesens Corporation, and brainstormed what they would all like to see in another ball diamond. A week or two later, they had the drawings in their hands.
Next, Ken and Menno approached Altona Town Council.
"We knew the Town has some development land where there was some greenspace allocated," explained Ken. "We were able to convince Council that a baseball diamond could be greenspace."
The Town gave that land to the group and committed to providing water and sewage services when it was needed.
After three years of fund raising, including a significant donation from Access Credit Union, work got started in 2012 and the first pitch was thrown in 2015.
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With a decade in action, Ken says the community support continues to make baseball accessible for anyone who wants to enjoy the game.
"We haven't been charging admission. All we do is run a 50/50 to cover some of the umpire costs and things ike that. But, because of the support we have, we've been able to provide the fans with entertainment with no admission charge. We'd rather have people there at the ballpark because it's a great experience. When you're going for a walk in the evening, it's great to stop by the ballpark and see what's going on."
You can hear Ken's full interview with Candace Derksen below.
The 2025 Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony takes place Saturday, June 14th at the Morden Access Event Centre.
Also being inducted this year is our very own Clayton Dreger who closed out a storied 40-year career with Golden West this past January.