Those who have not had an occasion to visit the new Eagleville City Park will have the opportunity this Saturday when folks gather to dedicate the first phase of the facility.

The ceremony, which will include a ribbon cutting, will begin at 1 p.m. but visitors may want to arrive early to hear the Eagleville High School Band perform. The band will play from 12:30 until the ceremony begins.

Also, the park concession stand will open early so attendees may purchase lunch prior to the program.

Vice Mayor Ronnie Hill will present the welcoming address. Hill is also chairman of the park committee. He and Jeff Mooneyham, who is a longtime volunteer on the park project, will cut the ribbon.

Local musician and songwriter Ken Harrell will sing the National Anthem and will also serve as master of ceremonies.

A highlight of the festivities will be dedication of the park’s three ball fields and its flagpole.

Marjorie Patterson and her children donated the flagpole in memory of her husband, Earlen Patterson, who was a veteran of World War II and the Korean conflict. He died in 2001.

Patterson graduated from Vanderbilt University with a bachelor of engineering degree in 1954. He worked 28 years as a mechanical design engineer at Arnold Engineering Development Center in Tullahoma before he retired.

He served in the Army Air Force in World War II and in the Army National Guard in the Korean conflict.

He and his wife had three sons and a daughter. They are Fred Lee Patterson, Don Lynn Patterson, Ron Lytle Patterson and Pamela Bridget Patterson.

The park’s three ball fields are being dedicated and named for three men who either played sports or just like watching the games.

Hay Field was donated by J.I. Hay of Eagleville and is being named in his and his family’s honor, which is a fitting tribute since baseball has been such a big part of his life.

The 1953 Eagleville High School graduate played baseball during his U.S. Navy days. While in the Navy, he was named the Most Valuable Player at a tournament played in Japan. He came home in October 1956 with many baseball trophies.

In the spring of 1957, Hay left his job in order to pursue his baseball career with tryouts in Jacksonville, Fla. He was signed by the Atlanta Crackers and began an eight-year career as a professional baseball player.

After Atlanta, he played in Panama City, Fla.; Midland, Texas; Boise, Idaho; Jacksonville, Fla.; and Austin, Texas, for a total of eight years in the pros. After retiring his catcher’s mitt, he was offered a job as a minor league manager but turned down that job.

He earned a degree in economics and accounting from Utah State University in 1964 and in 1965 became the assistant manager of the Atlanta Fulton County Stadium, home of the Braves. While attending to all the duties that accompanied this position, he was also working on his law degree from Emory University, which he earned in 1971.

He took over as stadium manager in 1975 and continued that job until 1978 when he accepted a job with the Atlanta Flacons and went to work in the front office. He rose in the ranks to become executive vice president.

Although he has officially retired from the Falcons, he has not retired. He still works closely with the Smith family, former owners of the Falcons. He also spends as much time as possible with his wife, Molly, their three children and six grandchildren.

Leon Puckett, the honoree of the Leon Puckett Field, is also a fan of baseball. He not only enjoys watching the games but he played on local teams and on teams in the Tri-State League. He also played baseball.

Leon followed his great grandfather, grandfather and parents in the grocery store business and stayed in the business for about 40 years. He retired in 1999.

After Leon graduated from College Grove High School in 1953, he was not ready to follow in the family grocery business. So at age 18, he left Middle Tennessee for California, where he worked at a steel mill for eight months. He then returned home and began working in his father’s Triune grocery.

In 1954, family members opened Puckett Brothers at Eagleville. But Leon was still not convinced that the grocery business was the future he wanted. At age 21, he joined the Army. In 1958 he was discharged from the Army and returned to Middle Tennessee and went back to the family grocery business.

In 1959, Leon’s father sent him to Eagleville to manage the Eagleville store. The store catered to the local community in many ways. It was one of the few grocery stores that allowed customers to "charge" their purchases to an account. This practice continued until the store was sold in 1999.

In 1960, Leon married Betty Jane Shelton Puckett, a native of Eagleville.

Meanwhile the Pucketts continued to expand their grocery business. In 1961 Leon, his father and an uncle purchased a store in Leipers Fork in Williamson County. When the store was sold several years ago, the owners asked to continue using the "Puckett Grocery" name.

When Leon’s father died in 1965, Leon became the owner of the Triune Puckett Grocery along with James Puckett. In 1974 Leon and Jimmy Wilkinson opened a grocery in Chapel Hill Tennessee. Jimmy and Ellie operated the store for 19 years.

Leon continued to own and run the Eagleville Puckett’s until 1999 when he sold it to Henry Ghee, a longtime employee, and the late Alan Perryman.

He and Jane have three daughters, Lisa Carol Bogle, Dr. Karen Puckett and Dr. Kim Puckett Scott, and seven grandchildren.

The John Redmond Field is named for hometown hero, John Redmond, who received two Purple Hearts for his service in the Vietnam War.

Redmond grew up in Eagleville and attended all 12 years at Eagleville School. In the late 1960s, he reported for active duty with the U.S. Army and eventually was sent to Viet Nam.

On Dec. 31, 1967, the unit he was assigned to was patrolling a roadway and was hit with an RPG round. Eighteen of the soldiers in the unit were killed. Redmond was seriously wounded and was burned over a large portion of his body.

On Jan. 6, 1968, his family in Tennessee was notified that he had been killed in action. On Jan. 23, 1968, the family was notified again that Redmond had lost his life. At the same time, the Eagleville native was a half a world away in Southeast Asia beginning the slow recovery from the injuries he received.

Finally on Feb. 2, 1968, Redmond regained consciousness and was able to communicate to his caregivers. On Feb. 27, 1968, the family received the news that he was alive.

Over the next year, Redmond was treated in hospitals in Japan, Ft. Sam Houston, and Nashville. He eventually came home to Eagleville.

Redmond was the son of Woodrow Wilson Redmond and Irene Lorance. Born in 1941, he was the oldest of eight children.

Redmond was a dedicated fan of the local sports teams and attended all the games he could.

Earlier this month, the bridge over Cheatham Creek on Highway 41A on the south edge of Eagleville was named in Redmond’s honor. He died last year at the age of 65.