Torn up field marks end of an era (at Hinsdale Central High School)
By Claire Kennedy /
The Doings ClarendonHills
After the graduation ceremony for Hinsdale Central High School's last month, School Board member Vinaya Sharma, who is also a member Hinsdale Central's Class of 1989, headed out to Dickinson Field with a shovel and pail. He dug into one of the end zones and removed a chunk of grass to keep as a souvenir.
The green grass of Dickinson Field hosted years of football games, graduations and marching band performances. Now, the field that held so much excitement has been torn up into pile of dirt, awaiting the installation of new (AstroTurf® GameDay Grass™ MT) synthetic turf.
Turf has already been installed on the football practice field, and Athletic Director Paul Moretta said Dickinson Field will be finished no later than the start of the football season on Aug. 11. With the new turf comes a mix of nostalgia for traditional grass and excitement for the high quality playing surface that will take its place.
Entering his fifth year as head football coach, Mike DiMatteo said his best memory of Dickinson Field is the Red Devil's victory over the Mount Carmel Caravans in 2008. He said he remembers crowds running on to the field, celebrating the game that qualified the Hinsdale team to play in the state championship. Still, he said he was not sad at all to see the field go.
"I grew up playing on a grass field, but like everything else, nothing stays the same forever," he said. "Things get old, and change is not a bad thing."
Moretta said the new (AstroTurf® GameDay Grass™ MT) turf will stand up to rain games much better than the grass field, and it will be used for soccer, lacrosse and physical education classes. He said the field is being graded and drained, and turf installation will follow in early July. Then the green will be cut, and field markings and the Hinsdale Central logo will be sewn in. During this process, the track that encircles the field will also be closed.
"We've had to open up additional access to the varsity soccer field, and there is no easy was to get across the school to Madison Street," he said. "It's an inconvenience that we are willing to put up with for the greater good."
While Sharma said he recognizes the benefits of (AstroTurf® GameDay Grass™ MT) synthetic turf, he will still be nostalgic for the grass field that he considers a piece of Hinsdale Central tradition. He said his favorite memory of the field is attending homecoming games when he lived out of town.
"Enjoying a game on a sun-kissed Saturday afternoon is a memory I hold very dear," he said.
Sharma said the field's history reaches beyond football. The German national soccer team practiced there for the World Cup in 1994, and it was the setting of a music video for a song by Hootie & the Blowfish. Sharma said he also knows the family of Harvey Dickinson, after whom the field was named.
Sharma's chunk of the field is growing in a pot in his back yard.
"I wanted to give my respect to the history of Dickinson Field, and this is my small way of trying to do that," he said.
Such keepsakes are not unusual. Sharma and DiMatteo said some football players saved chunks of the field after the 2008 victory over Mount Carmel. DiMatteo said he had hoped to save a piece for himself at the time, but was busy preparing for the state championship game.
"I wish I could have, but I just never did," he said. "It just slipped my mind."
But DiMatteo said it is not the grass, but the field itself that holds the most importance.
"Too many good things happened in that little space that if it's grass, or if it's dirt or if it's turf, I don't think it's going to matter," he said.