A (Little League) field day to reflect Harrisville's community spirit
On Saturday, that spirit will be on display again when a new field in the Little League program is dedicated to a Harrisville couple credited with making the program what it is today.
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A new sign at Chapman Park, town of Pitcairn, where Little Leaguers play, proudly displays the legacy of that couple on the home team dugout:
"Dedicated in honor of Rick and Julie Chartrand, whose unwavering commitment, love, and decades of service have shaped the heart of Harrisville Little League. For over 30 years, Rick and Julie, alongside their devoted family, poured their time, energy, and care into this program, keeping the fields green and the spirit of youth baseball alive. This field stands as a lasting tribute to their legacy, a place where generations will continue to play, grow, and dream — just as the Chartrands always envisioned."
Rick started Harrisville Little League in the spring of 1990 with one bat, a few baseballs, no uniforms, but with some very excited kids, Julie recalled. They played at a Harrisville Central School.
"There wasn't anyone else in mind to dedicate that field to than Rick and Julie, which is our plan on Saturday," said Jessica Frerichs, one of four people who lead the local Little League. "We'll dedicate the field and have our opening day games."
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It all begins at 10 a.m. After the National Anthem, there will be speeches and the official dedication. "All the teams will be dressed, ready to cheer, as we dedicate this new field to the Chartrands," Frerichs said.
Rick retired in 2023 as buildings and grounds superintendent at Harrisville Central School. Julie works as guidance office secretary at the district.
"They started the program at a small baseball field at the school with just a few teams," Frerichs said. "They ran this program through their children, their grandchildren and then some. About five years ago, their grandkids were playing modified and varsity sports, and they were ready to be at the field watching their grandkids, versus running the Little League. They are ready to retire from it. There's a few of us who stepped up."
Now leading the program is Frerichs, her husband, Cody and another couple — Jason and Chelsea Thomas. Between them, they have five Little League players in the program.
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Last year, the program received a grant of approximately $18,000 from the Pratt Northam Foundation. The private nonprofit seeks to be a catalyst to projects that improve the quality of life in the communities of the Black River Valley, from Boonville to Carthage.
"The Chartrand family pretty much ran fundraising and volunteers," Frerichs said. "We've been very fortunate the past couple of years, where we've acquired some grants and funding from the town of Pitcairn and town of Diana that allows us to start off every year with a little bit of money to put into equipment, our concession stand and to replace anything that's broken."
This year, funding, especially from the foundation, allowed Harrisville Little League to open a second field. It's next to the current field and had been a little-used practice site. Pierce's Trucking and Excavating did the field work and provided the bid that helped the program win the grant with Pratt Northam. Matt Pierce and his two sons, Rhyan and Nick Pierce, performed the work.
With two fields, the program is better equipped to handle its growth. This year, there's approximately 80 players enrolled. "When we first started off, we were at about 50," Frerichs said. "Within the last few years, we brought T-ball back. That helped us in that 4-to-6-age range to get them integrated into Little League."
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Field 1 legacy
The Little League fields are at Chapman Park, named for T.W. Chapman who donated the land for the fields. The original field is dedicated to Fred E. Vallencour, who died in 2005 at the age of 76.
"The land was acquired by T.W. Chapman in 2004, essentially through Fred's efforts," Frerichs said.
"Fred was instrumental in convincing Mr. Chapman to donate the field to Harrisville Little League," Julie said. "With the help of the community, and a $10,000 grant from Northern New York Community Foundation, we were able to make Rick's 'Field of Dreams' a reality. In the spring of 2007, we had our opening day in Chapman Park."
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Julie said that there have been many volunteers over the years who have made Harrisville Little League a great success. "It's way too many to name, but they know who they are, and we are forever grateful to those Little League volunteers who made a positive impact on the youth of our community."
After 31 years of running the Little League program, Rick turned the reins over to the town of Pitcairn Parks & Recreation.
"We are very grateful to Jessica and Cody Frerichs and Jason and Chelsea Thomas, who through Pitcairn Parks and Recreation are running the Harrisville Little League Baseball and softball programming, and doing a fine job," Julie said.
The program, she added, has come a long way since its first game in 1990 against a well-established Little League team.
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"Our kids' faces fell when the opposing team walked on the field all suited up with uniforms, many coaches and great equipment," Julie said. "When our kids mentioned, 'We don't have uniforms,' Coach Rick said, 'Uniforms don't make a baseball team. We have heart and we're going to win.' In the back of his mind, he felt the same way as the kids, but the only thing he would show to the kids was a positive attitude and great belief in his team. That day, our team walked away with not only a big win but huge grins and determination."
When the first pitch is thrown on Saturday and the sun, forecast to come out after a long, soggy week, Frerichs will be among those on the fields who will realize Little League is about more than baseball.
"It's having something for these kids to do and to have them in the right direction as they go into their middle and high school ages," she said. "It's laying the foundation of teamwork, hard work, sportsmanship and leadership. It all starts at this age level."
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