| Recreation
 For
a small town, Wakefield has it all! Wakefield residents enjoy
scenic parks, walking and bike path, softball field, baseball field,
t-ball and one of the finest baseball complexes in the state. Wakefield
is known as "The Baseball Capital
of Nebraska"! Wakefield has a  recreation
facility free to the public with a walking track and complete exercise
room.
The city park in Wakefield covers 12 acres and has a picnic area,
two sand volleyball courts, swimming pool, overnight camping, horseshoe
pits, baseball and softball fields (lighted and irrigated), T-ball field,
batting cage, and basketball court.
Two unsupervised playgrounds in Wakefield have playground equipment.
The city spends approximately $40,000 annual in the Parks and Recreation
Department, including programs for T-ball, Little League Baseball, softball,
football, basketball, and Legion Baseball.
View the Wakefield Baseball website for more information.
Wakefield has facilities for:
Boating -
Boating on the Missouri River, 35 miles
Bowling - One bowling
alley with 8 lanes
Fishing - Excellent fishing
at Logan Creek, 1/2 mile; the Missouri River, 35 miles; and Lewis & Clark
Lake and Gavens Point Dam, 65 miles
Golf - One public, 9-hole
grass greens court with clubhouse
Hunting - Excellent hunting
for pheasant, quail, deer, turkey, and small game
Skating - Roller skating
rink in Wakefield
Swimming - Municipal pool
in the park
Theatres - Indoor theatre
seating 140
Volleyball - Two sand
volleyball courts
The Wakefield Senior Center provides entertainment,
meals, social and education activities, health care clinics,
and daily telephone checks for seniors in the community.
The senior center also has a mini-bus. Local attractions
include the historic Haskell House and a museum. Cultural
activities are provided by the Community Chorus and the Little
Red Hen Community Theatre.
Hot Line to the Hot
Air Balloon Festival and Craft Fair
The Hot
Air Balloon Festival and Craft Fair will take place
on October 14 - 16, 2011. Bring your lawnchairs, warm
coats and watch awesome Hot Air Balloons launching into the
air. There will be a craft fair, Spirit Walk, Car Show, kids activities and food and drinks on site. There will also be an omelet feed on Saturday.
At 7 am on Sunday morning, there will be another balloon
launching as well as you can have rolls and coffee from 7 am to 10 am while watching the balloons launch again. Wakefield churches also welcome you to their worship.
For more information regarding hot air balloons, visit the
Nebraska Balloon
Club website.
History of the Baseball
Capital of Nebraska
The Wakefield Post 81 American Legion Baseball Teams have
a tradition of playing their best baseball during tournament
play near the end of the season.
Wakefield is the only team in Nebraska to have qualified
for State Tournaments in Class A, Class B, and Class C over
the past 20 years. Wakefield teams have won five State
Championships and received the runner-up trophy in four other
state title games.
Ask Coach Paul Eaton and he will tell you one of the keys
to the late season success has been team unity created by a
busy schedule of games and the baseball trips that give the
boys a chance to play out-of-state competition and live together
for three or four days.
The Wakefield Republican Thursday August 14 2008 Vol. 127 No. 2
After reading the following on the front page of the Norfolk Daily News last Thursday, The Republican publishers decided it was time to set the record straight, so we sent sports writer Tom Behmer a letter regarding Wakefield’s title of “Baseball Capital of Nebraska”.
The item appeared on the front page under the “Up Front” Column:
How did they do it?
Wakefield may be the self-proclaimed baseball capital of Nebraska, but this wasn’t the year the seniors were supposed to win another title. Prior to districts, the team only had eight players. Still, they managed to field a full roster and win another state championship.
The story featured a colored photo of Drew Rose right after he ripped a home run in the title game and told about how some of the Senior players had other plans for the summer, but ended up as part of the baseball team. The Republican responded to the “self-proclaimed” comment in the following manner:
Attention: Tom Behmer, Norfolk Daily News
Dear Sir:
In the “Up Front” Column in the Thursday, August 7 issue of the Daily News under the heading “How did they do it?” It was written “Wakefield may be the self-proclaimed baseball capital of Nebraska”.
We have heard that statement by other newspaper writers, radio and TV announcers before, and think it is time to set the record straight...
Then Governor E. Benjamin Nelson officially on the 28th day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and ninety-six named Wakefield the Baseball Capital of Nebraska, in honor of the Community’s commitment, to the great sport of baseball.
Some time later Gov. Nelson slipped up and also bestowed the same title on St. Paul, Nebraska. Our Mayor the late Merlin (Lefty) Olson went to bat for Wakefield and eventually St. Paul settled for the title of Historic Baseball Capital of Nebraska.
What Wakefield’s young men under the direction of Paul Eaton and other coaches (many former players Eaton coached), is much more than the game of baseball. They have learned how to work hard; the value of dedication, loyalty, respect, and it shows not only on the ball diamond, but in their success in all other areas of life. Although Coach Eaton may be surprised at what his young men accomplished this season, many of us here in Wakefield are not. They have been taught well, they play as a team, follow their coach’s instructions and they don’t make many mistakes.
If you see Wakefield people missing a button or two from their shirts it is because we are very proud of those young men. We can’t tell you how many times Wakefield fans hear compliments about the conduct of our players and about how great our facilities are. Teams love to come play baseball in Wakefield, and Coach Eaton never turns down an opportunity to put his players on the field.
We are all wondering now if they will end up in Pratt, Kansas? The Wakefield Seniors are scheduled to face the Class B Champs Roncalli on Saturday afternoon in Omaha. The Next stop is an invitation to compete in a Regional tournament in Kansas.
Bill and Linda Rischmueller
Co-Publishers of
The Wakefield Republican
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