It was a field of dreams that required no movie set and no Hollywood actors. This real-life field of dreams sits today behind Peeples Elementary School. It exists because a mother believed children attending the school should have a place to play soccer and have outdoor physical education activities. That starting point a few months ago grew into an effort that saw the field graded and grassed June 23.

“We’ve got 110 pallets of sod here inside the one-quarter miles track,” a jubilant Stephanie Flanders said last weekend, taking time out as volunteers braved the summer heat to place the endless squares of sod to form the playing field. It was Flanders who conceived the plan and saw it through to fruition. “We needed a fun, safe place for physical activities.”

From those beginnings, Flanders found the help of a neighbor, Todd Hannon, the man without whose assistance, said Flanders, the project would never have gotten off the ground. Along the way, the project found a coordinator in David Hollingsworth, of Hollingsworth Design Group.

Though carrying a cost of approximately $25,000, Flanders said the project was completed for $15,000. Those funds were raised by donations, the efforts of school parents, businesses, a school PE Fun Night and numerous donations, especially a large contribution by ananonmyous parent, Flanders said.

By the time June 23 came, participating businesses, local members of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Boy Scouts, Peeples parents and other volunteers began their effort to lay the sod and create the field. It was a warm morning and an hot afternoon. But the temperature was no match for the mission.

“Dixie Warren, of Dixie Sod, brought with him 11 young men that he knows and coaches,” Flanders said. ”They were to be an added hand for a few hours, but these 11 young men stayed until the sod ran out at 5:30 that evening. They worked so hard and not one left. Without them, the sod would have never gotten in. It was hot as blazes and they were pretty much all sunburned by the end of the day. They had expected to be there for just a few hours and instead they gave up their entire Saturday.”

The field of dreams also came into reality with the help of other business such as Innovative Sprinkler Systems, Hydroseeding, Homes by Brad Barnard, C&J Carriers and Walker Bros.

At the end of it all, with the field graded and a total of 126 pallets of sod in place, the contributions of many and the work of even more, the field of dreams at Peebles Elementary is a reality. For Flanders, it is a dream come true.

“I grew up at a school with a green, grassy field so I wanted my kids to have the same thing,” Flanders explained. “ I kept thinking, ‘Why can’t I get something like that put together?’”

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