Field of dreams and dedication: Ceremony honors Joe Arruda
As young players look on, Joe Arruda cuts the ribbon to open the Wood Street fields he helped built. Photos by Sandy Quadros Bowles
Players thank Joe Arruda for his help in constructing the new field. 
Joe Arruda’s sons Brandon Arruda and his daughter Brinley Arruda, 2, and Joe Arruda Jr. and his daughter Audrey Arruda, 2, throw out the first pitch. 
Brinley Arruda, 2, proudly holds a ball after throwing out the first pitch. She is being held by her mother Haley Arruda.
Town officials and players gathered for a group shot before the game began.
As young players look on, Joe Arruda cuts the ribbon to open the Wood Street fields he helped built. Photos by Sandy Quadros Bowles
Players thank Joe Arruda for his help in constructing the new field.
Joe Arruda’s sons Brandon Arruda and his daughter Brinley Arruda, 2, and Joe Arruda Jr. and his daughter Audrey Arruda, 2, throw out the first pitch.
Brinley Arruda, 2, proudly holds a ball after throwing out the first pitch. She is being held by her mother Haley Arruda.
Town officials and players gathered for a group shot before the game began.
MIDDLEBORO — His given name is Joe Arruda, but Middleboro Parks Department Superintendent Fran Cass has another, more recognizable moniker for the owner of Bridgewater-Raynham Sand & Stone.
He calls him, simply, “Superman.’’
Like the fictional cape-wearing hero, Arruda swept in and saved the day when the town faced obstacles in building sports fields at 163 Wood St., Cass explained.
The fields were officially opened with a ceremony Saturday, Oct. 26 that honored Arruda for his financial support of the project, which Cass described as “the gift that’s going to keep on giving.’’
After a ribbon-cutting and a ceremonial first pitch by his granddaughters Brinley Arruda and Audrey Arruda, both 2, the field hosted its first game, an intrasquad match-up between the Aces, an AAU baseball team.
The game was the first of what supporters hope will be many activities on the site, which will also feature a playground and walking track.
The fields were originally funded with a $150,000 award through the Community Preservation Fund, which is money that comes from a portion of residents’ tax bills and can be allocated for certain community projects.
From there, Town Manager Jay McGrail explained, the town hoped to use gravel from the site to do the needed work. But that didn’t pan out and when bids were issued for the work, the lowest amount was half a million dollars, an amount the town hadn’t anticipated.
When Select Board Chair Mark Germain heard about the situation, he thought of Arruda. And when Germain was called to ask for his possible help, the businessman said “yes’’ before the question was finished, McGrail explained.
The project ran into ongoing “hiccups,’’ McGrail said, and Arruda “put his money where his mouth is’’ and “kept throwing money’’ to make sure the fields were done to his high standards. His specific blend of soil mixture ensured that water won’t puddle in the field but they will still remain irrigated.
As he watched children playing on the fields he helped build, Arruda described the feeling as “overwhelming.’’
“These kids need a place to go out and play,’’ he said. “I have two boys, and I tell them to lead by example.’’
Arruda had said throughout the project that these fields should play an important role in the lives of neighborhood youngsters.
On the plaque he received for his efforts, his sentiments were summarized in a concise sentence
“Now the kids of Middleboro can feel like they are playing at Fenway Park.’’
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