Ray... people will come, Ray. They'll come to Iowa, for reasons they can't even fathom. They'll turn up your driveway, not knowing for sure why they're doing it. They'll arrive at your door, as innocent as children, longing for the past. 'Of course, we won't mind if you look around', you'll say. "It's only twenty dollars per person." They'll pass over the money without even thinking about it, for it's money they have and peace they lack. And they'll walk out to the bleachers, sit in their shirt sleeves on a perfect afternoon. They'll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes, and they'll watch the game, and it'll be as if they'd dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick, they'll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come, Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It's been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt, and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game, is a part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of all that was once good, and it could be good again. Oh, people will come, Ray. People will most definitely come.

- from the movie "Field of Dreams"

In the summer of 1988, a small northeastern Iowa town was forever changed by something more magical than just the filming of a Hollywood movie. This baseball field in Dyersville, Iowa, reminds us not only about the movie, but about the meaning behind it. It's about pursuing and achieving your dreams, no matter how ludicrous they may seem, and no matter how much effort it takes. It's about the unexplained forces that make things happen, even when you don't know how or why they're so. And at the heart of it all, it's about baseball, the greatest of American pastimes. It's rich history is full of world-famous heroes and some near-famous heroes. It reminds us about the simple pleasures in life... watching your home team from the bleachers on a bright, summer day with a ballpark dog in your hands... playing catch in the backyard with your dad until it's too dark to see... the sound of the bat hitting the ball out of the park and the crowd cheering in unison... To me, the Field of Dreams movie site is much more than a baseball field. It really does symbolize a place where dreams come true.

Shoeless Joe: Is this Heaven?
Ray Kinsella: No. It's Iowa.

I think it's a little bit of both.

Okay. That was all way too deep. Back to my usual, nutty self. Much like the farmhouse in Madison County I visited yesterday, how this particular farm was discovered has a story all of its own.

Phil Alden Robinson, Executive Director of 'Field of Dreams': "As I recall, I made my first trip to Iowa in November, 1987 (just in time for the first snowfall). I was looking for a farm which fit several requirements: first, it couldn't be so near a main road or another house that would wonder what the neighbors or passers-by would think of Ray and Annie building a ballfield; second, I didn't want a large dairy farm that would require a farmer with more experience than Ray Kinsella ought to have; and third, I wanted a house that would be surrounded by corn fields on all four sides.
The Iowa Films Commission people recommended this neck of the woods, and the great folks from the Dubuque Area Chamber of Commerce started taking us around. We drove back roads, main roads, and dirt roads in every direction. We saw hundreds of farms, and Mitch Marcus, my Location Manager, flew in helicopters all over the region to scout even more. When we first saw this farm, snow was falling, so it was hard to envision what the little stream that runs through the property, and the fact that the house was up on a little rise. I thought those factors would photograph well. I kept this in the back of my mind and moved. We also looked at farms in Kansas, Nebraska, Illinois and Canada.
On my next trip to Iowa in February of 1988, I started making up my mind that this was the place. The clincher was when I asked where the sun would set during the summer. My colleagues had all imagined the ball field would go in front of the house, but I decided to situate it to the side, and without knowing which direction I was facing, was hoping that the sun would set over where the outfield would be. When I found out that was the case, I knew we'd found it."

After the filming had finished and the movie had been released, the first visitor arrived on May 5th, 1989 and people still continue to come to this little piece of heaven on earth from all over the world.

On the second to last Sunday of every month between June and September, "Ghost Players" come out and visit the ballpark to bat a few around with the visitors. Lucky for me, today was the second to last Sunday of the month. After waiting a good thirty minutes or so (which were actually so enjoyable, I didn't mind waiting), I finally got my turn up at bat. Here I was, standing right where Kevin Costner's character had been exactly ten years ago, throwing a few with his dad. And on Father's Day, too! What a great place to spend a day like this. It's a shame I live about a thousand miles from it. Anyhow, I got a few out there, including two or three into the far center, and one into left field. What an awesome feeling.

Everything is here just as it was in the movie. The house is here, with a new fence wrapped around the exterior of it. The small set of bleachers where "Terence Mann" and "Ray Kinsella" sat and watched their heroes play are still here too. (I found a strange inscription carved into the far right side of the top bleacher. Could Kevin Costner have scribbled that while filming?) The cornfield was here (obviously), although it was disappointingly short. There's also two souvenir shops. The main Field of Dreams gift shop, and then on the other side of the field is the Left And Center gift shop, which seems to be separately owned and run. They both have pretty much the same merchandise for sale. (Left And Center Field of Dreams/Ghost Players Info: (319) 875-7985 or (319) 875-6012)

For more information on the Field of Dreams movie site, give a call to (319) 875-8404. The field is open April through October, 9am to 6pm.

Dubuque, Iowa (20 miles east of Dyersville) borders near both the Illinois and Wisconsin state line, so I took a few moments to snap a photo of Wisconsin's state line, then turned around and headed back into Illinois. It was my first visit to Wisconsin, and I was there for all of thirty seconds! For the next few days, I'll be here in Chicago. As of right now, I'm not exactly sure how many days I'll be staying here. Maybe three. Maybe five. Maybe eighty-six. I really don't know. But I'm getting homesick, so it won't be too long!

See you on the road...

Previous  |  Next