Digging into the “batter’s box” Thursday on Field No. 8 in the season finale for the Consumers Power Inc. coach-pitch baseball team, little Chloe eyed the pitcher with an intensity that you knew would lead to a solid base hit.

Sure enough, she smacked a good one and ran down to first base.

This was the final evening of Mites baseball, one of the youth teams available through the Philomath Youth Activities Club. My 7-year-old son, Jude, played on the team coached by Tess Jarmain and Sara Hall. It was a fun season with the kids in various stages of development when it comes to their baseball skills — my own son trying to improve on correct throwing form and developing an effective stance and swing at the plate.

I opened this writeup with mention of Chloe because beyond my own son, she ended up being my favorite player to watch. I mean, she just has the look of a baseball player from the way she carried herself with confidence in the field and at the plate to the wad of bubble gum that she seemed to be chewing most of the time. At this last game, I even noticed the torn knee in her baseball pants — it just seemed perfect to complete the picture of a ballplayer.

Of course, every once in a while, you’d catch Chloe, Jude and the other kids just being kids — dancing around in the field, hopping up and down on second base or getting distracted by whatever might be going on around them. There were also frustrations along the way, including Jude when he was tagged out on the base paths for the first time — that part of the game was new to him. (I mean, getting out was not part of his two years of T-ball).

My youngest son, 5-year-old Jasper, played T-ball this season for ShaneCo Timber. The smallest player on the team, he had a rough start in the first practice. I felt an organized sport — well, as organized as you can be with a group of kindergarteners and first graders — would be good for him in a lot of different ways. He tends to challenge authority and do his own thing while not quite grasping the idea of acting appropriately in certain situations.

In his last game, I was so proud of how he played. Instead of just standing there watching everything go on around him, he actually responded when balls were hit his way — and he didn’t throw a fit when he didn’t get to it first (it’s not uncommon for a third of the team to go running toward the ball).

At the plate, he connected on some good hits and had a happy look on his face while running around the bases. Participating in T-ball was a big step for him and I had to kind of guide him in certain situations (the coach, Allen Neufeld, was so supportive and understanding of my need to keep Jasper headed in the right direction). But I believe he came a long way from that first practice — mom had to leave with him early because of how he was acting — to the final game when he fully participated, tried his best and appeared to be having fun.

So, we’ll continue to work on our skills in the backyard at home and be back next summer for more fun. For those of you who may not be familiar with PYAC, I believe they do a lot of great things in this community for our young people. If you’re looking for an organization to help support, you can’t go wrong with them.

Folks enjoy music, conversation and beverages during last weekend’s Dirt Road Street Party. (Photo by Brad Fuqua/Philomath News)

2. Dirt Road Street Party

Owner Chuck Cox reported a bigger crowd than ever for last weekend’s Dirt Road Street Party. My wife and I had fun for a few hours in the afternoon while our kids were at a church event.

Along with a couple of beers, I enjoyed some Hawaiian-style grub from a food truck and had some good conversation with friends that we haven’t seen socially for a while.

Of course, it’s also fun at these events just to “people watch” and listen to the music — we caught the first half-hour or so of Ludicrous Speed’s performance. We weren’t able to be there in the evening but I know there were a lot of folks excited about Scruggs and the Steelbenders taking the stage. 

I’ve been going to Dirt Road’s street parties since the first year when he was one of the first local businesses to hold a public event as we all started to come out of pandemic-related restrictions. Chuck has seen good success here in Philomath with a business that has expanded and become a welcoming spot for the locals to get their beer on.

“One of the things that makes us a success is the local clientele here,” he told me once. “I get local dollars and it keeps recirculating through here.”

I like Chuck — he’s sort of a straight shooter in story interviews and I respect his perseverance and business abilities to survive things like a pandemic and a disruptive downtown construction project. I’m curious to see what he’ll do next because the man always has something in the works. Dirt Road is among the spots that seem perfect for what I’ve always envisioned for the future of our downtown as things develop following the streetscapes project.

By the way, if you haven’t tried it, have yourself some pizza from his place. You can’t go wrong with any of them but if you’d ask me for a recommendation, I’d have to go with the “Chuck-A-Roo” — named for the founder, of course.

A trivia competition was among the activities at last weekend’s Philomath Pride event. (Photo provided by Rose Bricker)

3. Philomath Pride event growing

For those who visited Philomath Pride this past Saturday, you might have noticed that it seemed larger than last year. With community booths, free Mud Oven Pizza and various activities, the event at its peak reportedly had a headcount of around 600.

Said Rose Bricker, organizer: “It was a great day in Philomath to celebrate!”

Philomath Mayor Christopher McMorran says a few words to open the community’s Pride event. (Photo provided by Rose Bricker)

My wife and I visited Philomath City Park for the celebration and made the rounds to see what we could see. Beyond some nice conversations, we simply had to partake in a slice of pizza from Janel and Brian. After making my stomach happy, my wife visited some friends she wanted to see and I settled down near the gazebo to watch the open-mic session, which was hosted by local drag queen Carmela.

Mayor Christopher McMorran was there and he opened the event with a few words about the importance of inclusion and acceptance. Later on, there was a trivia competition hosted by Richard Rider (although we missed that with other activities on our afternoon agenda).

Philomath Pride started four years ago as a small event at the park. It’s cool to see it get bigger each year with more folks getting out there to support inclusion and acceptance while celebrating diversity in our community.

(Brad Fuqua is publisher/editor of the Philomath News. He can be reached at News@PhilomathNews.com).

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