Good Day,
I found your site while doing a bit of informal surfing on my family name. My name is Jeff Kindrick and Kindrick Legion Field in Helena, Montana is named for my father, Ace, as you mention in your write up.
Dad was born in 1903 in Seymour, Missouri and moved to Helena with his family in 1914. He attended the Detroit School of Lettering in 1928 and went into business as a sign painter with a friend upon his return to Helena. In 1934 he was awarded a contract by the State of Montana Highway Department to letter and apply insignia to the first cars of the newly formed Montana Highway Patrol. The state liked his work so much that they asked him to start a sign shop for the Highway Department (dad told me that they wouldn’t take no for an answer and he was a stubborn man). He set up the shop and hired assistants as necessary.
In 1942 the maintenance chief, dad’s boss, informed him that the department had obtained a draft deferment for him because of the critical nature of his job. Dad said “The hell you have,” jumped in his ’34 Ford, drove into town and enlisted in the U.S. Navy Seabees. He entered service in April of 1943 and was discharged in September of 1945. In early December of 1943 he and his paint crew landed on the island of Tawara some three weeks after the bloody invasion that killed over 1,200 Marines. He and his crew (he left boot camp as a 1ST Class Petty Officer due to his age and expertise, latter being elevated to CPO) were given the assignment of lettering crosses for each of the Marines killed in the invasion as well as constructing suitable memorials. They spent some three months at this task. Dad considered that duty one of the most important things that he ever accomplished.
After the war, dad returned to his position as foreman of the Highway Sign Shop. He had a lifelong interest in baseball, and in 1949 participated in the construction of the ballpark that now bears his name. The site may very well have been used as a ballfield before then as you mention. I know Curt Synness and trust his extensive knowledge of local sports. Dad told me of helping to erect the original wooden fence.
Dad joined the American Legion in order to participate in the baseball program and as you mention covered most every position. He was a league commissioner, team business manager and chaired the post baseball committee. In 1971 he wrote a grant request and obtained Model Cities funding to renovate the ballpark. Using his wide ranging contacts he arranged the donation of a great deal of materials and labor, stretching the grant money as far as possible. He was right in there getting his hands dirty as well. When I was home on leave from the Navy in 1972 he was stacking concrete block and pouring grout for the new dugouts and clubhouses at the age of 68. In June of 1973, the City of Helena named the park Kindrick Legion Field in honor of his years of dedication to the sport and work improving the facility. Dad insisted that the name plaque also include the name of Steve Surman, his long time friend, associate and financial wizard of the baseball program.
Dad continued working with the program through the summer of 1984, his eightieth. After that he restricted his baseball activities to the grandstand where he continued to enjoy the game over a cold brew through the summer of 1987. A fast moving cancer took his life in November of 1987 at the age of 84. He loved his family, his country, his city, his work and his baseball. We should all be so blessed!
Thanks for your dedication.
Sincerely,
Jeff Kindrick
Helena, Montana