RED ROCK — The legend of the Red Rock Paper Kings lives on.
The Red Rock Ball Park is officially set to become the Dunville Memorial Ball Park moving forward, with a naming ceremony to be held on August 10 at 1 p.m.
The name change was proposed by Patsy Dunville in honour of her father, Harvey Dunville, and his four brothers: Larry, Gordon, Art, and Penard.
Mark Figliomeni, Red Rock’s chief administrative officer, brought forward a resolution for the name change at council’s last regular meeting on June 3.
He described a positive experience working with Patsy and said, despite some back and forth between Patsy and previous administration, it was a relatively smooth process once she brought her idea to Red Rock’s current council.
“The family had reached out numerous times over the years to previous admin . . . and it led towards this discussion. Council accepted and passed my resolution, so the ball is kind of in Patsy’s corner now,” Figliomeni said.
Dunville echoed Figliomeni’s comments, saying she initially reached out to the township with the idea of dedicating a street name to her family but, ultimately, she didn’t hear back.
She said she decided to write to the current council a couple of months ago out of curiosity.
It was then that Figliomeni reached out and got the ball rolling by suggesting the Red Rock Ball Park would be a better fit for a dedicated name. Dunville was ecstatic.
“I said, ‘Oh, that would be wonderful. My dad would love that!’ So, he went to council, and they approved it.
“I can’t believe it. I’m so happy that I got this done,” she said.
Despite originating from Pass Lake, changing the name of the Red Rock Ball Park is especially appropriate given her father’s history in the community.
“My dad and his four brothers all played ball, and he’s the only one left out of the family. I wanted to do something in Red Rock because they grew up in Red Rock.
“They were involved in hockey, baseball, curling, all kinds of sports. My dad pitched for years. They were called the Red Rock Paper Kings back then,” she said.
Dunville added her father and his brothers were often cheered on by their sister, Helen.
Growing up, Dunville said she would also attend her father’s baseball games and even began score-keeping.
“I did that for years. I remember going on baseball trips with my dad when I was young – someone would talk to my dad and I’d say, ‘who was that, dad?’ and he’d say, “I don’t know but they know me,’” she said.
She added that her father pitched as recently as 17 years ago – at 72 years old – during a tournament in Kakabeka Falls.
“They asked him if he wanted to play with them – to pitch – so he said, ‘OK.’ And the first team he played against were from Red Rock. They said, ‘oh no, Harvey’s pitching, we’re in trouble.’
“He was an awesome pitcher. Not too many people could hit off him,” she said.
Although Dunville’s father is now 89 years old, she said that won’t be stopping him from throwing the first pitch at the naming ceremony.
She said her whole family is looking forward to it.
“My dad is so proud of me. My brothers keep thanking me and they’re both going to do a speech at the Legion after the ceremony . . . it means a lot for our family,” she said.
Those in attendance for the naming ceremony are also invited to a luncheon at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 226 which will be taking place afterwards.
If you are interested in attending the luncheon, you are asked to contact Patsy Dunville via email at patsydionne@live.ca.
