With major league baseball in full swing, it reminds me of playing baseball in Lorimor.

   There are many names that come to mind from the "Wee-wees," "Pee-Wees," high school junior varsity and varsity baseball. Some of them may surprise you.

   Did you know the late Rick Gibson play little league baseball. Yep. Right field. Like me, he wasn't fleet and didn't hit of field that well, but when you grow up in Lorimor, you need every able-bodied boy in town to make a team.

   How about Dick Dillinger? Yep. Played first base and other positions. Again, we were glad to have him and happy his parents let him play.  Like all the boys who played baseball, it took cooperative parents - bringing them to practices and taking them to games.

   At second base in little league was that superb carpenter, Roger Williams. Roger lives in a suburb of Des Moines and still hunts deer in the Lorimor area. He bagged a 12-pointer last season.

   Another second baseman, center fielder and utility man was Steve Eginoire. I don't know his whereabouts. Steve nearly always bunted his first at bat. When he got on base, he was ready to steal second and third if he got the opportunity. He could hit for average, too.

  A former Lorimorian who was a fine baseball player was Ron Manship.  Ron's father, Dale, was the East Union Community High School Athletic director, and coached girls softball and basketball. Ron knew baseball.

   The Seales boys, Kenny and Neal, were good baseball players. Kenny played third base part of the time and Neal pitched in little league.

   It's hard to talk about Lorimor baseball without mentioning Jack Kilpatrick. Jack was an all-around athlete.

   David Hammans, now a chiropractor in the Des Moines area, played little league baseball.  He was a lot better at football and wrestling.  His cousin, Reed Hammans, also played in little league.

   Another baseball blast from the past was the Alderson family. Father Dale was a Lorimor high school coach and in the major leagues for a cup of coffee.  His sons Terry and Brad were pitchers.

   Denny Orwan played baseball and coached little league.  His father Frank was a little league coach, and so was Denny.

   The Stephens boys, Randy and Rusty, played little league baseball.  I remember Rusty playing cather at least one game and Randy liked to pitch when he got the chance.

   Attorney Glen Norris played baseball, and so did Dick Meyers who later became a Creighton University athletic director.  Dick held numerous other managerial positions in sports. Who will write and tell about his career?

   Do you remember Red Harrison? If you knew him, how could you forget him. Red was a high school baseball coach and played a little with the Creston Saints minor league team. He also fixed up the Lorimor baseball field.

  I have forgotten a lot of the names of Lorimor boys who played baseball, but I will never forget playing at the Lorimor baseball field - even when it had chicken wire for a backstop.

   It truely was a "field of dreams."