Baseball is prevalent throughout the Van Boekel family. Mike himself was an accomplished baseball player who played in the Canadian Senior Men’s Fastball Championships for five consecutive years and later moved onto coaching the local Innerkip fastball team. His two sons are talented players in their own right; Jacob just moved to Queen's University to play for their varsity baseball team, and Greg isn’t far behind. The Van Boekel boys captured gold playing for the Chepstow Lightning at the under-16 boys Canadian Fastpitch Championships in 2015.

The diamond is called the “Field of Dreams” after all, and a few years ago, Van Boekel’s family orchestrated a surprise he won’t soon forget. One ordinary Saturday afternoon, the kids were playing catch outside when Van Boekel looked into the field and noticed an older gentleman walk through the corn wearing a turn-of-the-century baseball uniform.

Then another baseball player walked through the corn, followed by an umpire and some more players. Not one of them said a thing; they stared into the sky, completely awestruck. Van Boekel was flabbergasted when he saw what was happening: “Who are these people in the outfield — are you not seeing this?” he remarked to his best friend sitting beside him on the bleachers.

After the older players emerged from the field, two full teams of kids followed behind them and began playing on the field as the older players took seats on the bleachers as spectators. It was almost exactly like the scene taken straight out of Field of Dreams. That afternoon, the Van Boekels were presented with a “Field of Dreams” sign from their neighbours which currently hangs proudly on their baseball backstop.

Van Boekel has visions for what may come down the road for his field. Mike wants a beer tent; his daughter Hannah wants a food booth; the kids who play on the field would love to have lights installed so they could play until the wee hours. However, Mike’s wife Jennifer notes that the kids might never go home if that were to happen.

As Van Boekel watched his sons play catch on the field mere days before sending his oldest son off to university, he noted why the Field of Dreams elicits a strong sense of peace and serenity. “I personally think the kids like the field because it’s a shorter fence than the typical diamond, but the parents like it because it makes them nostalgic.”

No matter if you’re an adult whose little league days are long gone, or you’re a youngster just getting into the game, one can’t help but feel like a little kid out there on Van Boekel’s baseball field.

Much like Costner’s character in the movie, Van Boekel turned some heads by taking one acre of his corn and converting it into a baseball field. There may not have been a voice commanding him “if you build it, they will come", but curious baseball enthusiasts continue to discover this treasured local landmark.

One of the most memorable lines from the Field of Dreams movie — “Is this heaven?” — may cross the mind of people who step onto Van Boekel’s field for the first time. For a baseball fan, this field is about as close as you can get to paradise.