Sentinel photo by KEVIN KODISH The sun sets on Mitchell Field — home of the Mifflin County football team.

Over the last 90 years Mitchell Memorial Field has played host to a variety of gridiron clashes – games that decided league titles, district playoff matchups, and Old Iron Kettle rivalry games. Band competitions, track meets and celebratory community events have also played a prominent role in the facility’s history.

Did you know that a pair of corduroy pants served as a key footnote to the first ever game at the hallowed site?

The first high school football game played at the Lewistown Athletic Field (later named Mitchell Field prior to the 1949 season) was contested on Friday night, Sept. 21, 1934. Yes, it was a night game.

Can you imagine the excitement for the players and fans attending that inaugural game at the wonderful new facility, with an added bonus of it being a night game?

In that first-ever game on the brand-new field, the Lewistown team made its first appearance as the Panthers. Prior to that, Lewistown High’s gridders were known as the Maroons.

The Panthers sent their fans home happy on opening night, as Lewistown beat Orbisonia by a score of 46-0. Bob Hackenberry scored the first touchdown in the stadium’s history on a five-yard end run.

In the next day’s edition of The Sentinel, it was noted that Hackenberry received a new pair of corduroy pants courtesy of Montgomery Ward for scoring the first touchdown at the field.

If you are wondering who scored the first touchdown after the stadium was named after Lewistown Band Director Palmer Mitchell, that honor belonged to Red Kratzer.

Kratzer scored on a nine-yard run in a 20-12 Lewistown victory against Selinsgrove on Sept. 9, 1949. I guess Red had to settle for the glory of scoring the touchdown, as there was no indication of new pants being sent his way following the game!

Another item to note about Mitchell Field are the light towers. Originally, the lights were atop wooden poles that were on the field. In 1958, the school district moved the poles behind the bleachers and put them on steel supports. The lights were dedicated to Jay M. Riden, a former successful Lewistown teacher, coach, and athletic director.

Mifflin County has changed in many ways over the last 90 years, but the one constant has been high school football games at Mitchell Field in Lewistown. As the late James Earl Jones might say, “Mitchell Field has marked the time.”

Whether you were a fan of the Lewistown Panthers, Chief Logan Mingoes, Kish Indians, Penn Highlands Cougars, Indian Valley Warriors, or the Mifflin County Huskies, the excitement of Friday Night Lights at Mitchell Field was always a treasured experience.

Having the stands filled with cheering fans, the lights illuminating the field, and the bands playing the fight songs truly brought the community together for something that was pure and good!

The Lewistown-Indian Valley rivalry was outstanding for sure, but, for me, nothing will ever top the Lewistown-Chief Logan clashes. Today’s students just don’t get to experience the intense rivalries like the Panthers and Mingoes. The electric atmosphere, excitement and tension of those games was just unbelievable.

Over the years Mitchell Field also hosted annual Homecoming festivities, great pregame and halftime shows by bands, and other community events. It was a wonderful place for all to gather and enjoy the activities.

I also have memories from watching my daughters play field hockey and soccer games under the lights, as well as powder puff football games. My daughter Katy especially remembers running the mile for gym class! My daughter Brooke was the Homecoming Queen in 2005, and that’s something I know she will never forget.

Katy’s favorite memories were going with me when she was little to watch the games. She recalls there was nothing like watching the game, hearing the band play, and enjoying some fresh french fries from the Panther Club Concession Stand. She added, “And sometimes a hot chocolate, too.”

Over the many years local fans had the pleasure of seeing four football teams compile undefeated seasons at Mitchell Field. Lewistown completed the year unblemished in 1951, 1957, and 1958, while Chief Logan was perfect in the 1982 season.

My earliest memory of Mitchell Field was 1965. My mother was a big sports fan, and she purchased season tickets for us so we could enjoy all the home games of our beloved Panthers.

After experiencing five seasons with the Lewistown-Granville Maroon and Steel Panthers, 1970 featured the beginning of a three-year run for the Royal Blue and White-clad Penn Highlands Cougars.

My sister was a member of the “Award Winning” Penn Highlands Cougar Marching Band under the direction of Mike Wasilko, and I must say they provided outstanding entertainment to PHHS and visiting fans alike.

When the Mifflin County School District’s Board of School Directors decided to return the county to four separate high schools, the Panthers kept the colors of Penn Highlands and became Lewistown Area High School.

Having reached junior high age, I left the familiarity of the reserved seat section so that I could “walk the track” with my friends. This time-honored tradition was an event in itself, as we mixed watching the game with talking amongst all of our school friends. Since my future wife Shelly was a majorette in the LAHS band, I had to make sure I watched her perform, too, when I reached high school!

Some weeks featured a “bonus” game at Mitchell Field, as occasionally Lewistown would be at home on Friday night, and then Chief Logan would be home on Saturday night. For students it was an extra night of football and fun for all!

When I reached 9th grade, I became acquainted with Mitchell Field in an entirely new way – as a member of the Lewistown Area Track and Field squad. The team always conducted stretching exercises on the main field each day at practice before breaking up into our respective groups for our workouts under the tutelage of Coaches Tom Johns and Don Spangler.

Some of my fondest high school memories were with my teammates at Mitchell Field, and we were fortunate to achieve a high level of success. In my final two years of high school (1977 and 1978), our team went undefeated and we captured two league championships while compiling a perfect record of 25-0.

I will never forget the late Harry Blessing announcing all of the event results from the press box. He would read the place winners from third place to first, and then he would add the team score as it stood after each event. In one memorable meet, Harry announced “This event decides the meet,” when the final event of the day, the Mile Relay, began.

Following high school, I attended Bloomsburg University. Majoring in Mass Communications, I covered sporting events. Friday night football at Mitchell Field enabled me to hone my skills, as I was on the sideline covering games for the Lewistown Sentinel.

I believe I set a record for consecutive Lewistown football games covered – both home and away! Former Sentinel sports writer Bob Stiles nicknamed me, “Mr. Lewistown,” and I was proud to have that designation.

Many years later I would become the public address announcer for the Lewistown football games at Mitchell Field, a position I held until the Mifflin County merger in 2011.

Since the fall of 2011 I have been a fan of Husky football. Something that occurred during a game during that first season of MCHS football at Mitchell Field will forever stay with me, and it definitely brings tears to my eyes now.

Here is the background: The Huskies didn’t have a league to play in during their first campaign on the gridiron, so the team had to play an independent schedule. Many opponents from the Mountain League helped the Huskies by scheduling games that year prior to the school entering the Mid Penn Conference, but there were a couple of gaps to fill for Athletic Director Matt Shoemaker.

One of the openings was filled by national powerhouse Cardinal Mooney from Ohio. Cardinal Mooney sends players to major college programs every year. The game was in the middle of the season, and Cardinal Mooney brought busloads of students to the game.

As a fan, I was standing with a bunch of guys at the corner of the endzone at the scoreboard at the end of the field. We witnessed quite a show from the visitors, as they raced to a 35-0 halftime lead enroute to a 47-7 victory over the Huskies.

The real memorable part of the game for me (aside from seeing the incredible athletes Cardinal Mooney had on their squad) came in the closing seconds of the contest.

Four adult men, who were parents of Cardinal Mooney players, approached me in the endzone.

“Hey, are you from here?” one of them asked. “Born and raised here,” I replied.

“We just wanted to tell someone here that we are so envious of you. This field is the best field our team has ever come to.”

I was a little stunned by this statement, but he wasn’t finished.

“We play all of our games at places that look exactly the same. There’s always a school, a turf field, a field house, maybe a track around the field, and a big school parking lot,” he explained.

“Here, you have a wonderful stadium with character that sits in the middle of a residential district of your town. It is amazing.”

He continued to marvel about our Mitchell Field.

“When we got to our seats, we turned around and saw a couple sitting on their balcony drinking wine. A house down from that somebody was grilling burgers on their balcony. Then, we saw a guy finishing up cutting his grass. We just think that, whether you realize it or not, you have a great treasure here and please don’t ever let somebody take it from you! We wish we had what you have.”

I told him how old the field was, and he acknowledged that it could use some sprucing up, but that didn’t dampen his excitement for the experience he had at Mitchell Field.

“All of the people here have been very nice. We wish you nothing but the best in the future,” he said, extending his hand before departing.

As I walked home from the game, I was so happy that I had that meaningful exchange. It meant a lot for someone from “the big time” of high school football to offer praise for our Mitchell Field.

Now, the final varsity football game at Mitchell Field is upon us. Our Huskies will take on Red Land, and I hope the old ballyard has a lot of fans to witness it.

While I am extremely emotional about the final varsity football game at Mitchell Field, I do have excitement for the future of MCHS Athletics. New outdoor facilities are sorely needed, and all our athletes and band members will now be able to reap the benefits of the new multi-sports complex.

The new complex will be a spot our area can point to with pride, and visitors are sure to take notice. This large investment will make our area much more appealing to potential businesses and professionals looking for a place to call home.

A lot of people are asking, “What about Mitchell Field?” That question hasn’t been tackled by the school district yet, but I do have an idea. Keep it.

Please allow me to elaborate. I would keep the field, but reduce the total scope of the facility. First, I would remove the bleachers on the visitors’ side and the endzone. Then, I would landscape those areas to make them attractive.

Next, I would take down the old concession stands. I would allow the concrete block concession stand to remain.

The restrooms at the scoreboard end of the field haven’t been there a ton of years, so they could stay as well. The halftime facility could use some attention, I am sure.

There are some places that allow inmates from State Correctional facilities to do work. Perhaps inmates could do some sanding and painting of the main bleachers on the home side of the field.

Next, I would remove the fence that surrounds the main playing surface – making the field surface itself more “welcoming.” It’s possible the field could then be widened for possible youth soccer use.

Girls’ Flag Football was recently added as an official PIAA sport. Couldn’t Mitchell Field be used for this sport?

Most athletic directors will tell you that you can never have too many athletic fields in your facility portfolio. A multitude of teams always want to find places to practice.

With the new complex, the football, boys’ and girls’ soccer, and girls’ field hockey programs are all going to be playing their games on the new turf fields in the fall. What you have to stop and think about is those teams are going to want to practice on those turf fields as well. I am sure those fields are going to be heavily used by those teams.

Could the seventh or eighth grade football team possibly still play at Mitchell Field? After all, the seventh graders are right up at nearby MCMS. If they play at the high school, you will still have to transport them there. If they stay at Mitchell Field, the ninth graders would have to be brought in town. Either way, some kids are being transported.

Wouldn’t that also give the young players something to look forward to in the future, instead of just rolling them out to the new complex when they are below ninth grade? Just a thought…

In any event, I am sure I speak for many when I say the last thing people want to see is for Mitchell Field to become a parking lot or an overgrown eyesore.

This historic landmark has been quite a friend to many, many people, and hosted a bevy of thrilling games. There’s only one thing left to say: Mitchell Field, I love you and thank you.