St. Marys – "A beautiful work-in-progress with the potential to become a major tourist destination for all Canadians as well as international visitors," is how Prime Minister Stephen Harper described the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum, where he and his son Ben recently visited.
Harper and his son were greeted by Perth-Wellington MP Gary Schellenberger and St. Marys Mayor Tony Winter in front of an enthusiastic crowd of about two hundred supporters. They were given a museum tour by Hall President & CEO Tom Valcke, accompanied by Chair Ben Waghorn, Inductee Jim Fanning, and Arizona Diamondbacks General Partner Jeff Royer. The group then walked the Hall's site where Valcke outlined the Hall's future vision to the Prime Minister. Harper then observed and interacted with approximately fifty youngsters playing on Rotary Field, and the visit ended with a presentation of Hall jerseys to the country's number one father and son.
Harper was especially surprised and pleased to learn that the Hall's programming is targeted at youth, healthy lifestyles and social justice.
Both father and son were also impressed to learn that 225 Canadians had played in the major leagues to date, and that 21 have seen action this season (the most in one season since 1884). They were intrigued to hear of Jackie Robinson's 1946 year with the Montreal Royals, each tried on Cito Gaston's 1992 and 1993 World Series rings, held Fergie Jenkins' 1971 Cy Young award, marvelled at the Olympic Stadium seat that Willie Stargell's 537-foot homerun hit, held a game-used bat by Babe Ruth, and touched the plate that Joe Carter stepped on when he hit the walk-off World Series winning homerun for good luck.
Upon hearing the Hall's business plan, Harper appreciated the comparison of the relative effect of the Ball Hall on St. Marys to that of the Festival on Stratford.
Phase I of the Hall's evolution is now complete, having converted an abandoned 32-acre gravel pit donated by the St. Marys Cement Company to a beautiful three-diamond baseball complex, along with transforming a century-old farmhouse into the interim museum. Phases II, III and IV are an Academy (dormitory), a new state-of-the-art, interactive museum, and a two thousand seat, lit stadium, respectively.
"I originally wondered why the much-needed new museum was Phase III, but it actually does make more sense to build the Academy next in order to expand the clientele and get those guests staying, dining and shopping in St. Marys to assist with the town's economic revitalization," Harper added.
"It was the highest compliment to what our volunteers have accomplished to date that the Prime Minister and his son chose St. Marys for this outing," said Valcke.
"Also, with municipal and provincial funding for our next capital phase already in place, this will hopefully serve as a key step towards our pitch to the Feds to chip in their fair share. Afterall, we are the CANADIAN Baseball Hall of Fame. Gary Schellenberger has really stepped up to the plate in this regard, and this positive experience can only bolster his efforts on Parliament Hill."
