Homegrown Field of Dreams

Colin Peeke stands beside the Field of Dreams scoreboard that he made with his mother, Jennifer Peeke. (THG/Joseph F. Berenato. To purchase photos in The Gazette, call (609) 704-1940.)

The Peeke family has built their own Field of Dreams, inspired by the 1989 movie of the same name, at their homestead on S. Second Road. Matthew and Jennifer Peeke said that it was the brainchild of their 10-year-old son, Colin.

“I liked the idea. I saw other people making fields, and I really like whiffle ball and baseball. It’s my favorite sport,” Colin Peeke said.

Jennifer Peeke said that their son “absolutely loves whiffle ball.”

“We started it as a birthday present, bought some things and then, like last summer, we spray-painted the flagpoles, made the signs and measured everything; we measured the bases to make sure it was the size of the actual whiffle ball field. It’s been fun,” she said.

The Peeke family has created its own Field of Dreams. Pictured on the pitcher’s mound are (left to right) Jonathan Peeke, John Tomasella, Norma Jean Tomasella, Colin Peeke, Aiden Peeke, Jennifer Peeke and Matthew Peeke. (THG/Joseph F. Berenato. To purchase photos in The Gazette, call (609) 704-1940.)

Matthew Peeke explained further.

“We started it last year. Colin really wanted it. We got the fence—me and him and the boys—and we put it in, put the piping in the ground and went all along with it. For Christmas, he got the backstop and the Field of Dreams thing. Jen and he made the scoreboard as a summertime project. We have whiffle ball games, and we’ve had a bunch of different events over here,” he said.

Jennifer Peeke said that there’s still more to do.

“He still wants dugouts; he still wants bleachers and things like that. Every year, we’ll just keep adding to it,” she said.

Major League Baseball played a professional game on August 12 near the Fields of Dreams filming location.