To the editor:
As an old Newburyporter, I see a combination of the good and bad things that have happened to Newburyport since I was a kid in the '60s and '70s. One of the good things is the Newburyport Pioneer League. As I stood on the field with my son's C League team on Saturday and listened to the speeches given, it brought back a number of great feelings and memories. It also made me proud to be part of this organization that gave me a love of the game.
Truth be told, my prowess and interest in the game waned in my late teens and early 20's but it did remain. The reason it remains, in a large part, was because of my participation in the Pioneer League. I look back on that time with nothing but positive memories and hope for the same for my son. Both of playing and the adults who coached us and nurtured a love of the game.
It was a positive experience all around. From our coaches, who would hit us ground balls, with cigarettes hanging out of their mouths to being told to keep away from the last button on that soda machine. The reason I bring those examples up is to raise homage to all those men who, in a different time, still saw the importance of taking time from jobs and homes to spend it with the boys and young men of their community. Positive role models all.
This list of names is by no means exhaustive and excuse the memory lapses of middle age, but here goes ... Thank you, Tom Rogers, Bob McKinney, Urban Knight, Al Mozier and Richie Eaton. If I'm able to give back only a fraction of what you guys gave, then I'll feel as if I made a difference in a young man's life.
CAREY LAMBERT
Newburyport
