The Dexter Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
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Field of dreams
A fitting memorial for Tyler Steffey
By Sean Dalton, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: January 24, 2008
Perhaps the most bittersweet reality that we all face as human beings is that we can't turn back the page on what has come to pass.
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While memories of joy remain as monuments to better days, past tragedies stand as monoliths to deep regrets, although sometimes even the latter can foment something meaningful and positive.
That's precisely what the Steffey family and supporters are attempting to do with a piece of land at Peace Lutheran Church on Jackson Road in Scio Township, in the shadow of Tyler Steffey's death.
The 16-year-old Dexter High School student was the rear seat passenger in the Dec. 11 accident on Parker Road that claimed his life and injured two of his classmates, when the 1996 Honda Accord they were in slid off the icy roadway and into a tree.
Mike Steffey, Tyler's father, says that plans for a pair of ball diamonds on the property that have been on hold due to statewide economic trouble will become reality this year.
"We're basically going to make them a field of dreams," Mike Steffey said.
"With Tyler's death, we thought about what would be a fitting memorial for him and the ball field was at the forefront of our minds."
Steffey recalls his son playing baseball in Dexter since the third grade, noting that he would have played varsity baseball this year.
"He loved baseball," Steffey said. "He played in all sorts of travel teams around here. In the past you had to make it on a travel team and there weren't a lot of people playing Little League. Now it's expanded and you have softball and girl's softball."
Steffey, who talked about the struggles — both in terms of money and effort — to make the existing fields in the area safe and playable, said he likes the idea of memorializing his son by helping the club.
"The baseball club ends up spending thousands of dollars a year to put in breakaway bases, protective netting and new infield dirt," Steffey said.
"We fenced one field in and put in a grass field and play Little League tournaments there, and the school turns around and bills us for everything at the end of the year, so there's been more of a need for fields that are outside of the school."
The Dexter Little League began in the spring of 2003. At the time there were about 150 Dexter kids playing baseball on 12 teams.
Steffey has served on the Little League board and also as the head official. This past spring, almost 500 youth between the ages of 7 and 14 were playing either baseball or softball as part of the Dexter Little League organization.
Over the course of this rapid growth, the league has been using Dexter Community Schools' fields. Searches for additional fields were unsuccessful, which led to the agreement with Peace Lutheran.
Steffey said the need is great, the benefits to scheduling and practices are numerous and the time is now.
"The church saw the opportunity to reach out to the community and we took it. The land has been vacant since the church has been built."
Peace Lutheran Pastor Larry Courson talked about previous efforts to make the fields a reality.
"Mike Steffey is a member of our church and vice chairman of the Little League's board of directors, so we began this process in 2005," Courson said.
"The board has met at our church a number of times to discuss how to do this."
Initially the partnership of Dexter Little League and Peace Lutheran worked to get zoning approval from Scio Township to bring everything into compliance with township ordinances.
The church property is zoned for Planned Unit Development zoning, so variances had to be granted to put in the ball fields.
"Zoning approval was granted back in 2005, so we had initially hoped to begin working in 2006," Courson said.
"With the downturn in the economy, we haven't been able to do it ourselves, but after Tyler died we wanted to pull something positive out of a tragic situation.
"This will be a lasting memorial that will honor Tyler and provide the opportunity for more youth in our community to play baseball and softball."
Courson is optimistic that things will get under way this spring, after getting final approval and a survey from the township.
"They just have to approve the watershed and make sure everything is correct," he said.
According to Courson, $16,500 had been raised as of Monday. At one point the cost of the earthwork alone was estimated at $50,000 and various companies have offered to donate labor, so a final figure isn't set.
Steffey said he is amazed at the amount raised so far, and hopes to double the above figure with the community's help.
All of the money raised will be used exclusively for the construction of the ball field, a storage shed for league supplies and equipment, and maintenance of the field.
Dexter Little League plans to pledge funds to help complete the field. Families taking part in Little League and softball this spring will be given the opportunity to make a special donation to the field.
Deedy Polidori is one of a group of parents working with the Steffey family and the church to raise as much money as possible.
"The response to our fund-raisers have been overwhelming," Polidori said. "Businesses have been donating quite a bit."
The list of business supporters so far, according to Polidori, includes Lighthouse CafÈ, Hearts & Flowers, Creekside Grille, North Point Restaurant, Christine's Gift Shop, Dexter's Pub, Foggy Bottom, TCF Bank, Subway, Dexter Pharmacy, Best Entertainment, Stucci's, National City Bank, Kelly Kennel, Main Dish Kitchen, Rosanne Crompton Physical Therapy, Haley Mechanical, Dexter Flower & Gift and Chelsea Electric.
Polidori's daughter, Shelbi and her best friend, Tricia Humitz, both friends of Tyler, purchased 2,500 orange remembrance "Ty" bracelets and have been selling them for $2 each personally and through various local merchants. They have raised $1,000 for Tyler's field, so far.
"They've been selling them at the basketball games, even," Polidori said. "I think this has helped my daughter deal with this. They were friends and classmates. He was just an awesome kid that was everybody's friend."
Shelbi works at the Scio Township Big Boy Restaurant on Zeeb Road, which will host a benefit dinner from 5 to 9 p.m. Jan. 30. There will also be an auction and commemorative baseballs on sale to raise additional money, with 10 percent of food sales benefiting the ball fields.
"The response has been so good, that we encourage carry-out," Polidori said. "We're afraid we aren't going to have enough room for everyone to sit."
When all is said and done, after allowing a year for the grass to grow, Dexter children will be creating new, happy memories on the ball diamonds in 2009.
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