Feild to Parking lot

Yesterday I received a photo of my family when we first moved to the Toquerville valley approximately 1965. I was the age of 6, I am now 50 so a bit of time has passed. In the back of this photo is the out line of a metal baseball back stop. For those of you who do not know what this is, It's a pipe frame with wire on the inside to act as a final stop or protection for those who sit behind it. It's purpose is to stop the baseballs that might get pass the catcher of a baseball team during a game.
This particular backstop was crudely made I am sure by local farmers of the time trying to make a nice place to have some recreation time with there son's, daughters and neighbors. If you look to the ground in the photo there is no grass to play on.
I remember one of the ranchers would come in and till up the soil every now and then to keep the weeds down. Some days it was a dusty dirty mess. But if you added water just after it had been tilled it was a great place to play mud football.
As I viewed the photo I had so many fun memories filter through my mind. I remember the one horse rodeo's we would have. Oh yes! we had the full show. Bull riders, barrel racers, ropers, and don't forget the clowns. Of course the bulls were one of the local farmers beef cows, the barrel racers were the older teenage girls at the time. The Ropers, they were the kids who had nothing better to do than stand around throwing a rope at a stump all day. Each year it was these same ones who would sign up to try and rope one of the yearly calves someone would donate, while they tried to stay on a horse. The clowns, they were the stars of the show. They were each person who participated in the rodeo. Trust me they all were funny. No national finals rodeo had so many unexpected happenings during each event.
Like the time I was riding the speed race. This is not what you would think. It was not a race around a track to see who had the fastest horse. No!
This was a race down to the bottom of the field or out field in this case, being careful not to go to far and hit the irrigation ditch. If you did go to far your horse would jump the ditch while possibly loosing you on one side or the other. If you came off it was with a smack when you hit the ground. If you managed to stay seated, then you had to stop your horse, get off, remove your saddle, blanket and all. Lay it on the ground, turn your horse around so it was headed back the way it had just come. Then re saddle your horse, mount and race back to the finish line.
I remember dad being so excited because he new I could win. I had a fast horse and my saddle had a quick release cinch. He kept telling me just get down there, pull the quick release let the saddle fall turn Tammy around then re saddle her and head for home. This was all fine and well except no one told me what or where the quick release cinch was.
I had just started riding by myself and Randy, Rory, my brothers or dad always saddle for me. So I had no Idea of a quick release.
The race began and just as dad had predicted I was out in front right from the start. I got to the end of the field jumped off and started removing the saddle. I unwrapped the cinch strap again and again and again and again. While dad was yelling just use the quick release.
I was trying to do it right! I moved faster and faster which cased me to do more thing wrong. I look back now and it was hilarious. I was trying to keep the horse still, remove the saddle, turn the horse around. Then I would run back around the other side to get everything to re saddle my horse. While trying to keep the adrenalin rush I was having from making me go nuts. I was jumping around throwing things here and there. What a mess. Stickers were getting in the saddle blanket, dirt was flying everywhere. I was lucky when I finally got her saddled again and back up on top of her not to get thrown off because there was a cocklebur under her blanket. I found this out later when unsaddling her. I wonder if during all this race if anyone noticed I was not a professional? What a good laugh!
The saddle finally came off but it was not until all the other riders had came and went. When I finally crossed the finish line. I felt like the biggest fool. This was a race I should have won hands down. It was a hard loss to take I had wanted to beat one of the other riders so bad my teeth ached. She had beaten me in every event so far. I had already pictured myself wearing the home made ribbon award with pride, and seeing This person green with en vie. Oh! the best laid plans.
It was not till all was over and done that dad explained to me about the quick release cinch. I realized just how easy it would have been to win had I known all the facts. To make the lose complete, The one I did not want to win, Won! It was not a total loss. I look back now and I get a good laugh.
The back drop of the field was a great place to climb I didn't get very high the wire would cut into my bare feet and cause me to come back down. Some of the boys in town could go clear to the top. Who would have thought to put on shoes. No way! I had rawhide souls on the bottom of my feet. I never wore shoes if I could get away with it. I remember running from the shade of one thing to the shade of another so the black tar on the road would not stick to the bottom of my feet and burn my feet to badly.
Right behind the back drop was an old style teeter tatter. It was a high light of most of my days playing. Being made out of wood it was the cause of many a sliver but the fun was worth it. I loved it when the older kids would teeter with me. They would let my end of the board bang down on the ground really hard. It would jar me to the top of my head, but when I came back up and my legs lost all gravity at the top of the lift and my bottom lifted off the board what a sensation.
The baseball field was surround by fruit orchards and pecan trees. It was a grand place to grab a snack. Good memories good times and yes, every now and then the baseball field was even used for a good game of baseball. Later as some of the boys in town got older we made a bike trail on the field for our peddle bikes. It was a grand speed way.
Now, the field has been replaced by a church parking lot. It is very nicely done. There is greenery all around the perimeter. The parking lines are kept clean and white. They look wonderful against the black assault. There is now a basketball hoop down on the bottom end for the local kids to play ball. The large trash bin sits on the Southwest corner in it metal cage of chain-leank. There are trees planted here and there around the out side edge. It is a wonderful frame for the church that sits at the top of the lot. I miss the old lot.
Things are changing so fast, the old life is fading further and further away. The kids of today will never know of the fun at the baseball field, or the fun one can have with a bunch of old cows, out of shape plow horses and an old farmer with a mega phone as an intercom system.
Some things about moving forward are sad and lonely. What to do now? Tell the stories, share the pictures and hope they can picture it in there minds and get a laugh. While getting a taste of the olden days.
Thank goodness for photos that help me remember.