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If you have never been to Watts Flats, you should go there sometime. It epitomizes the "rural" of rural Chautauqua County.
Go out to Blockville on Route 474 and turn south on the county road. You will pass an inviting nine-hole golf course, go past an Apple Farm, pass over what used to be the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad, and then -- boom -- you are in Watts Flats.
There isn't a four-corners in Watts Flats, only three -- the other way goes into the swamp. If you go too far south and meet the stop sign, you have gone too far. (If you proceed straight ahead from there, you will end up in Pennsylvania on a dirt road. Then you know that you have gone too far.)
Nothing much has changed over the years in Watts Flats, which is a part of its beauty, and I would allege that its most significant signature is still the ball park. It has been there for years, and is a wonderful place to go, park under the trees and watch a ball game...especially, on a bright and sunny late afternoon as the sun is starting to go down.
In this case, my attendance was occasioned by our granddaughter being on a softball team of 5th and 6th graders. It is amazing to watch kids grow up. Two years ago, they could hardly throw the ball to first base. Now, they are pitching (without help from the coaches,) throwing to first, swinging hard and stealing bases. Once in a while there is even a hit and a play at home or second base.
The big thing they are learning, of course, is teamwork and the rules of the game. The coaches from both teams give pointers to whoever is on the field; and, periodically, the umpire will stop play to make a suggestion to a player or explain a ruling. In short, it is a beautiful thing to watch.
When they were younger, there were rules limiting stealing. But, now, on a passed-ball, everybody moves -- including stealing home. The only limiting rule, and one appreciated by the family and friends at the game, is that after 8 runs are scored, that half-inning is over and the other team takes the field. Still, it takes a long time to play 6 innings or wait for sundown -- whichever comes first.
But, who really cares about that or what the final score is? It is the playing itself that you have come to see. In this case, the visiting team even shared a couple of players with the home team so that they would have enough ball players to start the game. Why go all the way to Watts Flats, and then have a forfeit. "No way. We came to play ball and the game must go on!"
And, then there is the matter of girls' softball itself. Back when I was a kid, it was primarily a boys' game. Now, it is full-blown sport for girls at the 10-12 year-old level and then goes on from there into middle and high school.
Softball hasn't changed much...though now the ball is colored yellow, not white. Also, Watts Flatts is still the same, the green grass and blue sky are still the same, and learning a team sport where everyone is important and needed is still what it is all about.
"Play ball! Spring is here!"
Rolland Kidder is a Stow resident.