As grounds crews prepared the baseball field behind the Skagit County Public Utilities District headquarters for another season, one man was doing some digging of his own.
"It has kind of became a mission," said Tom Wenzl. "Where did the history of this park go? How did we lose the history of this park?"
The park is now officially named PUD Field, but for decades it was known as something else.
"All the kids that played here knew it as Pop Gunn Field," said Wenzl. "It was just forever Pop Gunn Field."
Royal "Pop" Gunn was a star athlete in Mount Vernon a century ago. He became a beloved high school football coach, teacher, and later a legendary sports writer for the Skagit Valley Herald.
The field was named for Pop in the 1970s, but there is no sign of him whatsoever now.
Literally.
The sign that bore his name disappeared years ago. No one is quite sure when or why.
So, Wenzl, a retired Mount Vernon cop, did some detective work.
He tracked down people who knew Gunn. Guys like Dave Prutzman knew Gunn when he covered Mount Vernon High School sports for the Herald in the 60s.
"He was near and dear to a whole generation of kids that came through here," said Prtuzman.
Gunn often wrote about Prutzman's prowess on the basketball court. Prutzman has all of the clippings in a yellowed scrapbook full of memories.
What set Gunn apart, however, was his interest in all the kids. Unlike today, he didn't think you had to be an all-star to get covered.
"When you're 10 or 11 years old and he's interviewing you, putting your picture in the paper for Little League baseball, you couldn't wait to pick up the paper the next day and see what he was gonna say," said Prtuzman.
Gunn made all the kids feel like they mattered, which is what Wenzl wants to do for Gunn's memory.
He's mounting a campaign to get PUD Field rededicated to Pop Gunn and to have a sign put back up in his honor.
Just like an old scrapbook, it would be something to bring memories to life and bring Pop Gunn back home.
"If we don't do something to preserve our history, it just becomes lost," said Wenzl.
If you have any connection to Royal "Pop" Gunn, contact with Tom Wenzl at tomw@mountvernonwa.gov.
