Our Savior’s Lutheran Church celebrated the completion of its ballpark concession stand/pavilion last week with an Ellsworth Area Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting.

Festivities began Tuesday, June 14 with a ceremonial first pitch thrown and a prayer by Our Savior’s pastor Lucas Ladnier. Donna Constant, the driving force behind the ballpark renovations, cut the ribbon and told attendees about the project.

She lives across the road (County Road N) from the ballpark and recalled hearing the “ting, ting, ting” of balls being hit as her children grew up. In 2010, she approached the church council about sprucing up the ballpark.

“When it was down to two teams and the park was folding, I said no, uh uh, not going to happen,” Constant said.

Over the years, funds have been raised for a playground, bleachers, lights and finally, a brand new concession stand complete with handicapped accessible restrooms, covered pavilion and electricity.

“Now we have a park and facility we can rent out to the community,” Constant said.

She takes pride in helping the church provide a place for families to play ball, regardless of age. It’s an avenue to keep kids off phones and video games and provide a real-life chance at fellowship.

Constant had the idea to build the concession stand shortly before COVID hit in 2020. Her plans were put on hold for a while, but she never lost sight of completing the church’s own “Field of Dreams.”

Eight teams from area churches compete at the ballpark with games going on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. People come from miles around to sample 12-15 flavors of homemade pie, burgers, chicken salad and hotdogs.

Visit oursaviorschurch.info to learn more.