Fifty-five years ago, Richard Bowman had a vision, and today that vision stands as a patch of green in Hokendauqua where kids can play and ballplayers can dream.

Richard "Dick" Bowman passed away on May 6, leaving behind a lasting legacy on the community that became his home, helping to create a playground that would include three baseball fields that are still vibrant today as the Hokendauqua Park and Playground Association.

One of Bowman's three sons, John "Beet" Bowman, who himself is active in Whitehall sports, said that his father saw a need once he arrived in Hokendauqua.

"Once he moved to Hokendauqua, he really jumped in with two feet and helped the youth," said John Bowman.

His contribution to the community also included coaching both baseball and basketball, as well as becoming an active member of the First Presbyterian Church of Hokendauqua, including its Sunday school and outreach programs.

Bowman was born in 1931 in Waverly, New York, and after graduating high school in New Jersey, served in the United States Air Force during the Korean War, achieving the rank of Airman First Class. That's where the love of planes took a firm hold, setting him on a career as an aviation mechanic. He earned a certificate from the Academy of Aeronautics from LaGuardia Airport and later headed to the Lehigh Valley when the Bethlehem Steel opened its aviation division and worked there for 28 years.

Bowman married Lila Marion Marks in 1953 and moved to Hokendaqua in 1960 where they built their house and raised three sons, Richard Jr., Thomas and John.

When Bowman arrived, the land that would eventually become the HPPA was essentially a flat piece of ground that over time would evolve into three baseball fields. John Bowman said that during the early days, the kids would fill their hats with rocks, carrying away all the impediments so it was an actual field.

"That's how we cleared the field," he said.

John Bowman also recalled that the lawn mower used to cut the fields was a permanent fixture in the family's driveway, always in constant need of repair as his father took on that responsibility as well.

They also operated on a shoestring budget, with John Bowman recalling they only had 12 baseballs for the entire year, and simple wooden benches for the players.

However, through their persistence it grew, eventually expanding to include a pavilion, refreshment stand, and their wooden benches were eventually replaced by dugouts.

Bowman was one of a number of residents who had the foresight to make this one-time soccer field into a viable ball field. That group included Ed Hartman, Joe Humenik, Mary Kalamar, Flora Geissinger, Henry Gerhardt, Althea Geiger, and later Steven Saganovich and Dale Horn.

Bowman also coached baseball, first with the Biddys beginning in 1961 through 1962, and then with the Knee-Hi 1967 until 1969.

John Bowman, the youngest of the boys, said his father coached his older brothers in a sport they all grew to love. He also coached Cadet basketball from 1969 through 1972, and then later refereed basketball in the Hokendauqua Instructional House League. He did that on Saturday mornings from 1968 through 1996.

John Bowman said that's where a lot of kids remember his father, sharing their memories on Facebook upon hearing of his passing.

"I had a lot of people reach out to us, saying how much they remembered my Dad from those games," he said.

With his commitment to youth sports, Bowman received the Outstanding Service Award by Hokendauqua Park and Playground Association. Bowman was also inducted into the Lehigh Valley Recreational Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.

John Bowman knows that what began as an undeveloped piece of land evolved into a sprawling park and playground complex that gave kids a place to learn the game of baseball, made his father proud. Generations have played on those fields, fathers and sons, and wives and daughters.

"He would be very proud because look what it transformed into," said Bowman. "He was proud of what he and his buddies put together."

As an umpire, John Bowman gets a chance to visit other area playgrounds, and although he admits he may be biased, he still believes what his father helped build is one of the best playgrounds in the Valley. In fact, his father felt the same way, referring to it as "The Crown Jewel of Playgrounds."

He reacted to a need in the community, forever changing the Hokendauqua landscape.

"He just wanted a place where kids could play," Bowman said.