The Department of Parks and Recreation is pleased to announce the formal dedication of what have become known as “the Lenola Ball Fields” on the corner of Lenola Road and Wilson Avenue. This dedication will happen on Saturday, Oct. 22 at 9 a.m. For more than 30 years children who have grown up on Moorestown Little League have played on these fields, but many don’t know how the fields came to be or who was so instrumental in their construction.
Rewind the clock to 1927, when Walter T. Maahs was born at what is now Virtua-Memorial Hospital in Mount Holly. Maahs was raised in the Lenola section of Moorestown and continued to reside there for the duration of his 84 years. If one were to read his obituary, the resounding theme throughout his life defined who he was and how he lived his life — the theme of service. As a U.S. Navy Veteran from WWII, Maahs returned home to his roots determined to continue to serve his more immediate community. Throughout his life he served Moorestown repeatedly, being one of the Founders of the Lenola Emergency Squad and later served as the Captain of the Lenola Fire Company from 1960–1970.
But for a man of service, that was not enough. Maahs served on the Lenola Fire Company Board of Fire Commissioners from 1961 to 1979 and as the president during that time. Maahs went on to serve as a member of the Moorestown Town Council from 1977 to 1996 and was elected the Mayor of Moorestown from 1988 to 1996. He was the Citizen of the Year 1998, a member of the Moorestown Rotary Club from 1986 to 1997 and a member of Knights of Columbus and Our Lady of Good Counsel Church.
During his time in public service, Maahs worked tirelessly to represent and advocate for the Lenola section of Moorestown. As a part of his advocacy, he worked tirelessly to provide not just services like road resurfacing, but also recreation opportunities for neighborhoods. The Lenola Ball Fields were the result of his hard work and dedication to the area in which he grew up. During their installation, Maahs worked diligently with neighbors to provide usable field space that also maintained open fields for general use. He was a strong advocate for Parks and Recreation throughout his lifetime.
On Saturday, Oct. 22 at 9 a.m., in recognition of his lifetime of service, the Lenola Ball Fields will be renamed and dedicated as the Walter T. Maahs Baseball Fields, in honor of the man who helped to establish them. For the generations of children who have played on these fields, hit homeruns over the fences, slid into home and performed feats of greatness, Maahs was a man many never met, but to whom they all should be grateful. As his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren stand on the fields he helped to create, the Moorestown Department of Parks and Recreation will recognize him for his many years of service and his legacy gifts he has bestowed upon the town for its residents.
