By Nicholas Brown
Staff Writer

The grand opening of Allenstown’s Volunteers’ Park was both a celebration and a remembrance.

The celebration was for the eight years of volunteer spirit that went into creating the park, on Allenstown’s River Road, and that explain its moniker.

The remembrance was of Caroline Farley, a long-time supporter of area youth sports, who’s now the namesake of the park’s softball field.

Farley, a member of the Suncook Little League Board of Directors and a mother of three softball-playing girls, died a year ago after a brief battle with cancer.

Her friends and family gathered for a special dedication of the new Farley Field on Monday, July 24.

“Caroline loved the sport of softball,” said her husband, Rob Farley. “She constantly strove to improve the game and get more kids into the game.”

Farley said he will always be reminded of his wife’s spirit when young softball players take to Farley Field.

He even cut his speech short, saying he believed his wife would want him to “stop jibber-jabbing and let them play ball.”

After the ceremony, a team of Suncook softball players squared off against a team from Auburn.

Caroline’s daughter, Heather, threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the field, which has been eight years in the making.

Volunteers’ Park, which features a softball field, a baseball field and a soccer area, was formerly a plot of unleveled ground covered by tall grass and some trees.

But Allenstown resident James Rodger, one of several who initiated the project said, “There were some people, who when they looked at this field, saw something different ­ they saw a field of dreams.”

The Army Reserves 368th battalion did a lot of the original work on the field, which was given to the town by the adjacent Pine Haven boys center.

The project hit a snag after the events of Sept. 11, when the battalion was deployed overseas.

The project was revived by generous donations of work and supplies from groups like Keyspan, PSNH, Advanced Paving, Suncook Youth Little League and Allenstown Aggregate.

A group of Student Conservation Association and AmeriCorps members also worked on the project.

Matthew Eaton, 14, of Allenstown Boy Scout Troop 97, transplanted trees, planted flowers, worked on bleachers and worked on some granite curbs, all part of his Eagle project.

Allenstown Police Chief Shaun Mulholland was involved in the Volunteers’ Park project from the beginning, and Rodger said Mulholland’s police cruiser could often be spotted parked near the field.

Allenstown Selectmen Chairman Sandy McKenney congratulated all the work done over the years by the countless volunteers.

“This is a proud day for Allenstown, and we are very proud of all of you for making this happen,” she said.

Approximately 65 people attended the event, and Sen. Jack Barnes and state Rep. Tom Langlais thanked the crowd for supporting the project.

Barnes called up a gang of young Suncook softball players for his speech.

“(Volunteers) didn’t do it for kicks,” Barnes told the youngsters of the project, “They did it for you guys.”