The Huntley Farmside

              Inside »1999 Miss Huntley is chosen Special Memorial Day section
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Thursday, May 27,
The HimtleY Famiside
17,1999 A Press Publications newspaper/ir serving the Huntley community Vt
ley community
Volume 39, Issue 7
Rebuilding a field of dreams
Renovation of ballfield celebrates birthday of Sun City's founder
Craig Wieczorkiewicz
Press Publications
Baseball hall-of-famer Whitey Ford and plenty of area residents tumed out on a sunny Saturday afternoon to w^atch the dedication of the newly renovated ballfield at Huntley's Deicke Park.
The renovation, which was funded by the Sun City corpora¬ tion, was done in order to com¬ memorate the 100th birthday of the late Del E. Webb, Sun City's founder. The dedication of the field was scheduled to coincide with the company's celebration of Webb's birdiday.
Sun City decided to renovate a ballfield for the event because of Webb's longtime connection to baseball. Webb played semi- professional baseball as both a player and manager, but never made it to the big leagues because of an injury.
However, Webb did get to make his impact on the majors later on as an owner. He was one of three men who bought the New York Yankees in 1945, and co-owned the franchise for 20 years. During that time, the Yan¬ kees won 10 World Series championships, including five straight between 1949-53, and 15 American League pennants.
"This [renovation] is a very special event because it honors our founder, Del E. Webb," said Dave Sclireiner, Sun City's gen¬ eral manager and executive vice president. "He was first and foremost a baseball player. I'm sure if it wasn't for the illness he suffered he would have l)een a major league player."
Schreiner said that Webb not making the major leagues was
"This [renovation] is a very special event because it honors our founder,
Del E. Webb. He was first and foremost a baseball player. I'm sure if it wasn't for the illness he suffered he would have been a major league player."
Dave Schreiner
General manager and executive vice president for Sun City
bad news to him, but at the same time was ^_ good omen because he went on to found the Sun City corporation and build the communities all over the coun¬ try.
Since Webb founded the Sun City Corporation in 1960, the company has built more than 60,000 homes in 13 "active- adult" communities in seven states for people age 55 and older. Huntley is one of the more recent additions to that Ust.
But while running the Sun City Corporation, Webb always tried to keep basebjill close to him and others in the Sun City communities, Schreiner said.
"I think he always harbored a need to stay close to baseball," Sctireiner said. "That's why he always put together ballfields and parks near the Sun City communities. So we've 4one this [renovation] to kind of appreciate what was in Del's heart."
Hall-of-fame pitcher Whitey Ford, who played for the Yan¬ kees while Webb was an owner, attended the celebration and shared some of his memories of
Webb. Those included the time he and Mickey Mantle went into Webb's office trying to get a pay raise,-only to be denied because the Yankees payroll was already at $600,000 that year. The irony of that, of course, is that the minimum pay for major league ballplayers today is more than that entire payroll.
Ford said that one of his proudest memories of his time with the Yankees was that Webb and the ownership team kept their wiiming team intact for so many years.
"From 1950-64—15 sea¬ sons—we only missed being in the World Series twice," Ford said. "It was a great thrill to be associated with so many great ballplayers during that time."
After all the faking cere¬ monies were finished. Ford threw out the first pitch at die newly renovated ballfield.
The first game soon fol¬ lowed, a softball battle between employees of Sun City and employees from the Village of Huntley, the Huntley Fire Department, the Huntiey Police Department, and the Huntiey Park District.
Youth receives certificate
Fourteen-year-old Huntley resident Kyle Pikrone is recognized with a certificate from the Huntley Fire Prevention Bureau for his quick action in preventing a potentially devastating fire at his fam¬ ily's new home. For the full story, see page 2.
County businesses show support for new power plant
Craig Wieczorkiewicz
Press Publications
The chief executive officers from some of McHenry Coun¬ ty's largest employers tumed out at a meeting on May 19 at TC Industries in Prairie Grove to voice their support for building a peaker power plant in the county.
"We are endorsing the need for peaker power generation as a reliable source of energy," said Jim Allen, president of the McHenry   County   Economic
Development Corporation. "The constraction of a peaker power plant is especially important in light of deregulation of the elec- tricalkindustry."
Allen said that building such a plant in the area is important Iwcause of the growing number of people who are moving into the county.
"It is an important side of this issue which has not received adequate attention," Allen said. "The need exists, and it will
see Support—^page 2