Mrs. Morhard and the Boys by Ruth Hanford Morhard

Author:Ruth Hanford Morhard
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2018-12-13T16:00:00+00:00

The next day, Josephine was deliberately late for work despite her many chores and the piles of bills. After the kids left for school, she drove up to the University Heights Town Hall, strode through the white double doors, and asked to see Mayor John J. Howard. He was busy, but she’d wait.

Howard had been mayor since 1916 when the only paved streets in the village were the main thoroughfares passing through on their way to Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights. He’d done wonders for the village. He helped convince John Carroll University to move its campus to the village, which spearheaded residential development. Now charming two- and three-story brick homes, each with its own unique architectural details, were rising as quickly as they could be built. What once had been forest and farmland was transforming into meandering tree-lined streets packed close together with families, many owning their first homes.

The village population had increased tenfold in less than fifteen years, but there were few conveniences for residents. The closest grocery store was Heinen’s in nearby Shaker Heights. There were a couple of places to eat and a nine-hole public golf course. Josephine thought maybe Mayor Howard could work his magic to help her find a boys’ baseball team—or at least a place where her son and his friends could play.

Josephine introduced herself to the mayor, a silver-haired gentleman with dark bushy eyebrows that would have looked menacing except for the large kind eyes that looked out from behind his round glasses. She told him about the boys, how much they loved baseball, and that they had nowhere to play except in the street.

Mayor Howard didn’t know of any baseball teams for boys but said there was some land behind the University Heights Town Hall, nearly two acres. The land sloped down from the Town Hall to a dusty tract of dirt, surrounded by grass and weeds. Luckily, the only nearby structure was the city garage. There were no houses with breakable windows. The boys were welcome to use that.

Josephine happily thanked the mayor. Town Hall was in walking distance for the boys. They’d no longer need to play in the street or be chased off empty lots.

She waited until Junior’s punishment was over, then eagerly rushed to tell him and the boys she’d found a place where they could play. They carried their battered bat, the taped-together baseball, and the tennis balls they’d confiscated from their siblings and headed to Town Hall. Large stones sufficed for home plate and the bases. Town Hall was in a visible spot in the village center. More boys saw them and joined in.

Josephine came by to watch whenever she could get away. She started thinking about forming a team, and soon there were more than the nine players needed. They could have real games. But this was still the Depression. The neighborhood kids were playing with the beat-up bat they’d nailed together and baseballs they’d taped where the strings had broken. They needed good bats and balls and gloves and catcher’s gear and bases and umpires.

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