The Magic has Gone.
It’s been 32 years since Kevin Costner’s film, Field of Dreams, was released and about 10 years since I visited that famous field. I had sold a story to Family Motorcoaching magazine with no idea what I would find when I reached Dyersville, Iowa, and the Lansing Family Farm.
What I saw when I tuned off the gravel road and pulled into the parking area was the white farmhouse with the wrap-around veranda and the baseball diamond exactly as seen in the film. It was mid-morning, but there were already a dozen cars and a tour bus in there parking lot.
Don Lansing, owner of the property, had spotted me when I drove in and the next thing I knew, we were sitting side-by-side on the love seat/swing on the veranda that’s prominent in the film.
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Lansing told me he maintained the property exactly as it appeared in the film.
“Oh, yes,” he said. “That’s what the people expect when they come here.”
I noted that there was no admission charge.
“I make a few dollars at the souvenir stand,” he said. “Enough to keep everything looking nice.” He added quietly, “I maintain the place myself.”
A few years ago, Don Lansing sold the farm and everything has changed. Yesterday, the New York Yankees played the Chicago White Sox on the Field of Dreams and there was a crowd of 8,000 people in attendance, sitting in what appeared to be rough wooden grandstands. The game was televised nationally.
A magical experience is gone forever. Sooner or later, money talks.
Do you realize that the MLB facility is a new structure that is in addition to the field used for the movie site? It didn’t replace it. They just built a new field to modern MLB standards nearby. The movie site is still open daily and is free. Perhaps it’s because I’m from Iowa or perhaps it’s because I’m a lifelong White Sox fan, but I think the Field of Dreams game was kind of cool.
Terrance Mann was right. “People will come, Ray.”