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Fairview Youth Centre And The Fairview Phillies 1970
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Submitted by Don Edwards
Fairview Youth Centre
It was a busy year for the youth of Fairview. The Fairview Legion Youth Centre was formed and through that centre the Fairview Phillies (Midget) Baseball Team was established as well.
John O’Brien, owner of O’Brien’s Pharmacy, was the backbone and the reason for the Centre’s existence. He was an original Founding Member of the Fairview Legion and it was through his intellectual prowess and sincere want for youth participation that kept the Youth Centre on its course of success. As a Legion Youth Chairman, John encouraged the Centre to form their own executive and manage their own affairs.
Click to read a newspaper article about the youth group
On Sundays between the hours of 1-5 p.m. the Legion Centre hosted an average of 70 youth members and entertained themselves playing: ping-pong, badminton, darts, pool and card games. Music and dancing were also the order of the afternoon.
One of the Centres most successful endeavors was the creation of a Variety Show, put on by its members which was presented to the community at the Legion. They also ventured out to a Senior’s Home, put their show on and were a rousing success.
Lasting friendships and later marriage between some of the members have endured through the years to this day.
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The Fairview Phillies 1970
![]() | As mentioned earlier, the Midget (16-17 years of age) Baseball Team was formed through the Youth Centre. I had the pleasure of coaching the team and can say from a personal point of view that it was a wonderful success. “Well Ok”, not so successful on the field (only won two games) but it was a learning experience for most of the team never played competitive baseball before. “Yes Successful”, because we probably had the most fun with barbeques; bonfires at the O’Brien’s homestead and at Queensland Beach; a trip to Antigonish for a weekend (Exhibition Baseball Tournament); and other fun outings. What a summer and as far as the boys were concerned they were “The Winners.” |
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The following year we became a force to be reckoned with, for the boys started to excel at the game and were no longer a push-over. We won our share of games but were eliminated from the semi-finals in a close fought game.
On a special note, when the Fairview Little League was formed (again from the Youth Centre), nine of the thirteen teams were coached by the boys of the Fairview Phillies Baseball Team and I am proud to say, “They Were My Boys of Summer!”
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