An undated photograph of Memorial Park Baseball Field, Wiconisco, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. The field was constructed by local craftsmen as part of the Federal program, Works Project Administration (W. P. A.) and completed in 1940.
The story of how this field came about was told in the Wiconisco Sesquicentennial Book:
In the 1930s, following the decline of the coal industry, times were difficult for many living in the Lykens-Williams Valley. Hundreds of miners who relied upon their meager paychecks were out of work and were wondering how they would provide for their families. In addition to the unemployment caused by the mine closings, the Depression set in and made existence difficult for everyone, not only here in our area, but nationwide.
The help remedy the massive unemployment problem, President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935 enacted legislation which created what was known as the Works Progress Administration, later renamed the Works Project Administration (W. P. A.). Through this project jobs were provided for many, who, otherwise, would have nowhere else to turn. In addition to alleviating unemployment, many improvements to our area were made which otherwise would not have taken place.
One improvement, in particular, was the creation of the Memorial Park Baseball Field in Wiconisco. This project, which was completed in 1940, provided employment for many area men. The rock used for the construction of the walls which surround the ball field was gathered from an open surface quarry which was then located on Berry Mountain top situated behind the Lykens–Wiconisco reservoir. The work involved with transporting the rock required a great deal of manual labor and was extremely time consuming.
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From the souvenir book issued for the Wiconisco Sesquicentennial, Wiconisco, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, 1839-1989.
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