Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, August 28, 1994                   TAG: 9408290066
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-3   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: By KENNETH SINGLETARY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG                                 LENGTH: Medium

BUILDERS HAD FUN, TOO

That the average age of those big kids was 75 didn't stop them from having fun, they say.

``We enjoyed it. It was a good feeling when it was concluded,'' said Gabe Hieronymi, 70, a retired electrical engineer who was de facto foreman during the affair.

When members of the Rotary Club of Christiansburg-Blacksburg came up with the idea of improving the ball field, they had no idea the service project would turn out so well. They planted trees, built fences, installed benches, and perhaps most importantly, put in a backstop to block foul balls and wild throws.

The town then took the cue, adding sand to the infield to give it a big-league look for the T-ballers who play there.

``The town would not have brought it to that quality without the backstop. It was really sandlot, and now it's a ballfield,'' said club member George Crofts.

Dedicated to Wilson B. Bell, a former club member and vice president for development at Virginia Tech, the project cost $3,000 and was completed in six or seven work sessions over five weeks in the spring. The club raised money for the project through its annual restaurant discount coupon sale.

Hieronymi said the 15 to 20 volunteers - retired professors, extension agents and the like - worked well together, helped by the homework he did and his effort not to step on too many toes.

``It really helps the camaraderie, the fellowship between the members. Something special develops.''

``This is where Rotary begins, right here in projects like this,'' said W.E. Skelton, the retired head of the Virginia Cooperative Extension who progressed from local club president to become president of Rotary International.