Dunham Field.  Bethel Citizen photo by Samuel Wheeler

GREENWOOD — Improvements are underway this spring to Dunham Field off the Howe Hill Road.

The field, which has not had organized baseball played on it for more than a decade, is now being used by the Bethel Braves Little League team.

Head Coach of the Braves, BJ Otten, was one of the first people to start work on it. Assistant Coach Victor Nickerson first looked at the field on May 2.

Many parents, local contractors and even people driving by have made donations or offered to lend a hand.

Otten also said he had the team come rake the field.

“It was a good team building exercise,” Otten said.

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Otten said he would not have been able to pull off the maintenance if it was not for all the additional help he received.

Improvements to the infield, grand stands and dugouts were made and a temporary fence has been set up in the outfield.

“We removed all the existing turf and ordered new turf material. We got nearly half of the material laid in,” Otten said.

Otten said the other half will be put in once the season is over.

The team was able to play four of its six regular season home games at the field. The team was also able to offer a makeup away game to another team who was struggling to find field time.

The team will play its final game June 6 in Paris.

Volunteers and supporters were Otten, Shawn Coffin, Mike Cyr, Tom James, Victor Nickerson, Kevin Rosenberg, Sarah Tucker, Eric Shandelmeier, Town of Bethel, Town of Greenwood, D.A. Wilson, A & B Forestry, The Garden Goddess, Mt. Abram, Marotta Construction, Clean Cut Painting, Sherwin Williams, Maine Energy Systems, American Legion Posts 68 and 81, Sports Fields Inc and parents and players of the Bethel Braves.

“There was so much support from the entire community,” Otten said. “The positive sentiments from everyone in the area were awesome and helped fuel our cause for sure.”


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