Wellesley field to be named for softball mover and shaker

The Wellesley Natural Resources Commission (NRC) voted this past week to name the Hunnewell 2 softball and multi-purpose field in honor of Diane Warren, co-founder of Wellesley Girls Softball. The naming will become official if it receives Town Meeting’s approval next time around, and why wouldn’t it?

Don’t worry, between the elementary school, other fields, farm and more, there are still plenty of things in Wellesley that bear the Hunnewell name.

Warren ramped up Wellesley Girls Softball back in the 1980s as commissioner, which involved everything from recruiting coaches, organizing schedules, assigning teams and designing uniforms. She passed away about 2 years ago.

Longtime friend Sandy Joseph said in a statement that “She stored the equipment at her home and carried it to the games. She did whatever it took.”

Warren got to know a lot of kids in town as a teacher at Schofield Elementary School for 31 years. She impressed us a few years back when she wrote to us to explain a curious piece of playground equipment at Schofield:

“That strange looking green climbing structure at Schofield playground is called a ‘flippopotamus,'” Warren wrote. “The kids call it the green monster. It can be flipped over, but never has been — there are three slides on the other side. When they aren’t climbing on the structure, the children find the sections to be quite cozy and comfortable for sitting and talking.”

Maybe the playing fields task force should consider adding a flippopotamus in the seating area at Warren Field. After all, this field and nearby Lee Field are set to be revamped as part of a roughly $1 million project approved by Town Meeting. The Wellesley Softball Field Improvement Committee is reaching out to the public to round out funding for the project.