Harry Church a CLYO icon

June 08, 2009 06:44 pm

— ONNEAUT — Just about any kid who played ball at Conneaut’s Skippon Park the past 50-plus years knows Harry Church.
Harry’s the tall guy, always smiling, who fusses over the ball fields that comprise the park. He can be found mowing grass, painting bleachers and stocking the concession stand.
For more than a half-century, Church has been actively involved with youth sports. A few weeks away from his 83rd birthday, Church has no intention of stopping now.
“I’ll be working as long as my health is good,” he said.
Church serves as unpaid field maintenance supervisor for the Conneaut Local Youth Organization, a community institution which oversees softball, baseball, soccer and football leagues for area children. But to adults and kids alike, Church is the face of CLYO.
The heart of the CLYO operation is Skippon Park, a collection of eight ball fields spread over 13 acres adjacent to Conneaut Creek on Center Street. Church frets over the fields as if they were his own.
“I’m a stickler for doing things right,” he said. “I want it to look good.”
That pride came through during a tour of the complex Church provided a visitor. During the stroll — more of a trot, actually — of the grounds, Church often paused to pick up litter.
Church is happy to talk about CLYO, but is more reserved when asked about his many years of volunteer service to the program. He brushes off the suggestion that CLYO owes a lot of its success to his duty.
“I just enjoy working with the kids,” Church said.
Instead, he deflects the credit to a litany of people, including CLYO’s board of directors, Conneaut’s Public Works Department, coaches, umpires— even inmate work crews from the Lake Erie Correctional Institution.
“It’s a community effort,” he said.
Still, plenty of people view Church as the linchpin of the program and have honored his dedication. In 1989, he was selected Conneaut’s Citizen of the Year. A few years later, CLYO officials — near Church’s 80th birthday — named the main drive through Skippon Park in Church’s honor and erected a “street sign” bearing his name.
Age has proven no barrier to Church’s enthusiasm or dedication. It’s just as well — there are plenty of projects ahead at the park that need his attention.
Later this summer, crews from the Conneaut Telephone Company will use their equipment to install dozens of replacement bulbs on the lights that illuminate the field used by the oldest players, including high school and American Legion teams.
“The bulbs were donated to us by General Electric before they closed (its Conneaut plant last year),” Church said.
New backstops were recently stalled at some fields, along with upgrades to dugouts. Field upkeep will be easier this season, thanks to a new, commercial-grade mower added to the CLYO fleet. Grants and gifts, including a endowment from the American Legion, made the purchase possible, he said.
Also, a tee-ball field at the complex was recently christened in memory of people who left gifts to the organization. A plaque with the names of benefactors will hang at the concession stand, he said.
Church spends nearly every day at the park when sports season arrives, assisted by other volunteer field hands. “We start in March, putting up signs,” he said.
The work intensifies during summer, when the sports programs begin to overlap. One day may find Church lining base paths on a ball diamond, the next marking off a soccer field.
It’s hard work for someone working free of charge, but there are rewards. People appreciate his work and don’t hesitate to say hello.
“Every so often, I’ll be in town and someone will shout, ‘Hey, Mr. Church,’” he said. “They’ll holler, and in a friendly way.”

Photos

WARREN DILLAWAY / Star Beacon HARRY CHURCH spends much of his time lining baseball fields at Conneaut's Skippon Park.