Old-time 'base ball'
If you want a look at baseball back when it was "base ball" -- when the words were separated like that, in the days before players used gloves -- stop by Old Hammondtown School in Mattapoisett at 11:30 a.m. Aug. 5. As part of that town's 150th anniversary celebration, The Ironsides Base Ball Club will host ball games with teams playing the game as it was played prior to the 1870s.
"We have two teams coming -- the Bristol Blues from Rhode Island and the Essex Base Ball Club from Danvers," said team organizer Kyle DeCicco-Carey, who started the Ironsides club last year. It generated some interest but not enough to field an entire team. "They'll play and then anyone else who wants to can play."
DeCicco-Carey, an archivist at Harvard University and a Mattapoisett resident, is interested in the historic aspect of America's pastime. He created the SouthCoast Vintage Base Ball website, scvbb.org, and the Ironsides club in hope of creating interest for the old-fashioned game. He's originally from Ohio and says vintage ball is huge in the Midwest, but not so much in New England. He got the name Ironsides from an actual club that began playing in New Bedford in 1858.
When he was asked why there's a lack of vintage teams around these parts, save for some in Rhode Island and a few in the Boston area, DeCicco-Carey said: "People aren't sure what it is. But once people see them play, it generates some excitement and more people want to play."
Playing baseball without gloves isn't as painful as it sounds. The ball used in those days is nowhere near as hard as the modern version. It was loosely wound, about 10 inches in circumference, and only one was used for an entire nine-inning game; so, by the end of the contest, it was pretty beat up and soft.
In those days, "the rules changed year to year," DeCicco-Carey said. Among the differences people will notice, besides no gloves: Running past first is not allowed, pitching is underhand, and any ball that touches fair territory is fair, even if it rolls foul.
So, if you want to play the game the way it was 150 years ago, stop on by. No experience is necessary, DeCicco-Carey said; just a love for the game and interest in baseball history. Just leave your glove at home.
CHURCH CONNECTION: Holy Family Church in Rockland celebrates its 125th anniversary this year, and to commemorate it, parishioners decided to celebrate their connectedness with Inmaculada Concepcion Church in Honduras, their sister parish since 1994. This spring, 14 parishioners from Holy Family went to Juticalpa, Honduras, where Inmaculada Concepcion is located.
Though Rockland families have been sending financial and material support to Honduras over the years, this was the first time a local delegation traveled there. Those making the trip volunteered for the journey and paid their own way. Once there, the parishioners painted school walls, provided medical assistance, created art projects, and played soccer with local children. Acting as liaison was the local American priest there, the Rev. Dick Donahue.
Since 1994, Holy Family Church members have sent more than $150,000 to Honduras, and provided more than 900 scholarships to Honduran school children, as well as vitamins, sunglasses, medical equipment, and other material.
LIBRARY LAUDED: The Thomas Crane Public Library in Quincy received first prize in the news-coverage category and second prize in the brochure category at the 18th Biennial Public Relations Awards of the Massachusetts Library Association, presented at the association's annual conference. The library placed first for "It's Great to Be Here," a story that aired last year on the Channel 56 Ten O'Clock News that highlighted the building's history and program offerings. The second prize was for the family of brochures designed in 2005 by Susan Edwards of Extra Miles Design in collaboration with library staff.
BEST OF SHOW: Tim Wolfe, who recently graduated from Sacred Heart High School in Kingston, has been awarded "Best of Show" for his drawing, "Portrayal," in the 2007 Congressional Art Competition. The national exhibition of outstanding high school art is on exhibit in the Cannon Tunnel, a pedestrian walkway leading to the US Capitol building. Wolfe plans to attend Boston College in the fall.
BUSINESS BRIEFS: Ronald B. Goodspeed, president of Southcoast Hospitals Group, received the American College of Healthcare Executives Lifetime Achievement Award at the Massachusetts Hospital Association's annual meeting held in June.
Sue McQuaid of Norwood has been appointed president of the Neponset Valley Chamber of Commerce.
Previously, McQuaid had served as the chamber's vice president of economic development, following service as the community relations manager at Caritas Norwood and Caritas Carney hospitals.
She has been a member of the Norwood School Committee and Board of Selectmen, serving as chairwoman of each. She replaces Douglas Wynne, who recently retired as chamber president .
Paul E. Kandarian may be reached at kandarian@globe.com. 
