Beginning next spring when Jason Darling takes in baseball games in Burk’s Falls, he’ll likely smile when glancing at the scoreboard.
That’s because the newly installed scoreboard is in memory of his dad, the late John Darling, who was a longtime Burk's Falls Lions Club member and an avid baseball player and fan.
Jason, his wife Lori, and his mom Joyce watched members of the community raise the wooden scoreboard next to one of the team dugouts on Nov. 17.
“We were very happy to learn he was going to be honoured this way,” Jason said. “Dad spent many years playing on this field and it will be an honour to come down here to watch baseball and also see his name on the scoreboard.”
Jason and his two brothers got involved in baseball because of their dad. When John was playing ball, he regularly took his boys with him. “I would bring my glove and hope they didn’t have enough players so I could join the game,” Jason said.
Joyce and John were married for 55 years before John died last December.
“It made me feel proud,” Joyce said upon learning the scoreboard would permanently bear her husband’s name. “John loved being a Lion. His father was a Lion and his grandfather was also a Lion. It’s amazing they recognized him for his work.”
Joyce coached the girls’ and boys’ teams for one year, including Jason.
Asked what position he played Jason said “Whatever position mom told me to play.”
John was part of the Lions organization for 51 years, making him one of the longest-serving members.
Incoming president and Burk's Falls Coun. Ryan Baptiste suggested dedicating the new scoreboard in Darling’s honour.
Baptiste got to know John a little during a Remembrance Day ceremony in 2023 and learned of his more than half a century of work with the Lions.
After Darling died, Baptiste talked to Burk's Falls Mayor Chris Hope about how the community could honour his memory.
Outgoing Lions Club member Deb Hope told the Darling family what the organization had planned to do with the scoreboard.
The work on the scoreboard was a collaborative effort and the last piece of rejuvenating the ballpark.
Baptiste said all the materials for the scoreboard, including the board itself, the posts to hold it up, and the paint, were donated by Home Depot in Huntsville.
Baptiste said the retailer’s customer experience manager is a resident of Burk’s Falls and was very much aware of the project to renovate the ball field.
Baptiste’s wife Ariel designed the Boltz team logo and a family friend digitized her work.
The scoreboard displays the Home Depot logo to denote it as the sponsor.
Later the Jays logo will be added.
The Burk’s Falls Lions logo is also on display as well as the dedication to John Darling.
Next summer, pins will be added to the wooden scoreboard so that numbers indicating the number of runs and hits can be hung, said Baptiste. However, when the season begins next May, chalk will be used to register the scores.
The entire ball field renovation cost $75,000 and the village council removed $25,000 from its reserves to carry out the project. The Toronto Blue Jays ‘Field of Dreams’ program contributed $50,000.
The ballpark now has a new and higher backstop, an entirely new fence and a new six-foot fence in front of both dugouts replacing the former four-foot fence and providing better protection for the players. There are backless aluminum benches for the players, two new bleacher stands for the fans, the grass line from the foul post to the infield has been straightened out, the new aggregate was added to the infield, and topsoil was added to fill in holes and make the field more level.
Baptiste says ahead of next season, the plan is to have an official ballpark opening ceremony with invitations being sent to the Jays’ organization.
“We want to get the Jays up here so they can see what their money has done,” Baptiste said.
Rocco Frangione is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter with Almaguin News. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
