Many of those who arrived at Gaunt Park for the Perry League “Midsummer Classic” event were greeted by the unmistakable smell of french fries.

“We need dry wood, multiple cuts. Tinder, kindling and overnighter logs. We have all these, but the fact that they need to be there every day is exciting.”

Friday night Perry League games contain all of the elements one would witness in sandlots around the world. It is a sport embraced on a global level.

Three years after Donald Perry’s death in 1967, the baseball league he founded was renamed Perry League in his honor. His legacy has been going strong for more than half a century.

The local T-ball league has now encompassed more than five decades and endeared itself to the hearts of many children and families in the village.

About five dozen children responded to the 6 p.m. whistle. You could sense the magic in the children’s faces as they anticipated play. I remembered just how fun and worthwhile these games can be in those first few moments while children line up and wait.

Graduating senior Malcolm Blunt capped off his stellar track career by earning a medal with a seventh-place finish in the 200 meters at the Division III state track meet.

Since 1950, native bee populations have dropped by about 50%, mostly due to the loss of habitat and floral variety. The effect has been that now we harvest fewer fruits and vegetables in our orchards and gardens.

“I have to work just as hard, but I’m doing something I love, and on top of that, I have stuff to do. I’m getting busy. It’s a wonderful thing.”

“Bit by bit I would like to lay out the make-up of Patterdale Hall, dwell on aspects of the property and maybe even meditate, or more likely ruminate, on what manner of fresh hell has befallen us each day.”