Haddonfield Memorial High School stadium was a packed house on Sept. 12 as locals filed in to watch the Bulldogs kick off. Yet, although the game marked the beginning of the varsity football season, the night took on an extra special feeling as it opened with a dedication ceremony to honor the installation of the stadium’s new turf football field.
Even with cloudy skies looming above, the dedication ceremony proceeded with an introduction by Superintendent Richard Perry, who spoke about how there was no field when the first games were played at the high school.
Former mayor Bill Reynolds also expounded on the field’s early days as he reminisced about his time on the football field.
“I think I was the worst left tackle on this field,” Reynolds said. “I was big and clumsy.”
Reynolds added to his humorous anecdote that regular wear and tear on the football field didn’t help his circumstances during games.
“If it doesn’t rain, you get a mouthful of dust. If it does rain, you get a mouth full of mud,” Reynolds said. “And I got a lot of both.”
Haddonfield Turf Field Committee Chair Joe DelDuca took his time at the podium to thank those who had contributed to the installation of the turf, including those who played a part in the Turf Field Golf and Barbecue at Tavistock Country Club on June 10, sponsored by the Haddonfield Educational Trust.
DelDuca explained after the dedication ceremony that he didn’t learn until just recently that the field would be ready in time for the first Haddonfield varsity football game.
“We didn’t know until about a week ago that it was going to happen,” DelDuca said.
Land Tech could not begin installing the high school’s turf field until after July 1 to not interfere with last year’s graduation ceremonies. However, with the rainy weather throughout the summer, including heavy downpours, there was no way to project a finish date.
DelDuca added that if the turf installation had taken another week, he wouldn’t have minded, but was happy that the field was finished when it was.
“It really was a labor of love,” DelDuca said.
With approval to begin fundraising in May, Haddonfield Turf Field Committee Co-chair Linda McLaughlin explained that the committee reached its goal of $500,000 in a short period of time and raised more than $600,000 in just five to six months from its initial start date.
“The people were extraordinarily generous,” DelDuca said. “It was not difficult to raise the money, and obviously they donated a lot.”
McLaughlin also added that this was a project that did not sprout up over night.
“The field was something we were talking about for a long period of time,” McLaughlin said.
She explained that there had been efforts to bring a turf field to the high school more than five years ago, but the initiative was never able to get off the ground. She credits much of the project’s success to DelDuca’s involvement and those involved who were “unwavering in their goal.”
“It was the right time,” McLaughlin said. “We had a great group of people.”
Additional speakers at the dedication ceremony included Steve Weinstein, former mayor Tish Colombi and mayor Jeff Kasko. They delivered short expressions of gratitude as rain began to pour down on the stadium.
The dedication ceremony concluded with Haddonfield youth athletes running onto the field, and, with the skies clearing shortly after, the Haddonfield Bulldogs went on to defeat Audubon High School.
