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FOSTER TWP. — In the village of Orangeville, if you asked someone about Sarah Sands, he or she might respond: “Sarah who?” But, if you call her by her nickname, “Salty Sands,” they’ll know right away who you’re talking about.
That’s “Salty” Sands — former professional baseball player, former school bus driver, former Civil Service worker at the state Capitol in Harrisburg and former employee of a U.S. Navy Research Center, where the original astronauts trained, and now, mother of two.
Sands appeared Sunday as a featured speaker at a program that coincided with a World War II re-enactment at historic Eckley Miners’ Village, and her message — especially to young people — was simple: “If you have a dream, then go for it. You can fulfill that dream if you remain determined. I had a dream and I got to live it.”
She recalled the sacrifices made by Americans during the war, the victory gardens, rationing, and news on the radio of Allied combat successes.
But Sands said her dream as a young person in the 1940s was to play professional baseball. She was a batgirl for the Orangeville baseball team in Columbia County. She also warmed up pitchers and even shagged flies in the outfield, but she wanted to play full-time.
This opportunity came in 1952 when, through a scout from Allentown, Paul Schuler, she signed a contract with the Rockford (Illinois) Peaches of the All-American Girls’ League. She said she signed for $200 per month, plus a per diem of $3.50 per day in meal money which was paid when the team traveled. And, the team traveled to destinations in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Illinois.
The league was featured in a 1992 film entitled “A League of Their Own” which starred Tom Hanks and Geena Davis.
Sands said she had a small role in the production and recalled traveling in 1990 to Skokie, Ill., where filming was being done.
For the most part, Sands played right field for the Peaches, although at times she also filled in at catcher. She said she batted .210, but was known for having a “rocket arm.” Sands told of leading the league in put-outs in throwing out baserunners from rightfield.
In speaking of World War II, Sands reminisced that the All-American Girls’ League grew out of the military draft. She said Phil Wrigley, owner of the Chicago Cubs, feared that baseball was endangered because a large number of players were summoned into military service and the sport would pass from the public focus.
In order to sustain national interest in the game, Sands said Wrigley decided to organize a women’s league. Teams were formed in such midwest cities as South Bend, Kalazamoo and Skokie, besides Rockford.
Sands said, “I was so blessed in my life. I fulfilled my dream. I got to be in the movies and now our league is enshrined in the baseball hall of fame.” She said that in response to a public petition, the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., created a display featuring the teams and players of the All-American Girls’ League.
Sands added that many of the players — 150 0f them in 1982 in Chicago — meet annually at a reunion. This year, she added, it’s in Sarasota, Fla.
Another aspect of the World War II re-enactment was the depicition of a 1940s radio broadcast which featured Gina Gibbon, of Hanover Township, as a lead singer and James Guydosh, of Wilkes-Barre, as an announcer/master of ceremonies. Gibbon performed the war era song “Kiss Me Once, Kiss Me Once Again,” and led a patriotic series which saluted the five branches of the military.
A rendering of the adventure western program “The Lone Ranger” was also part of the overall presentation, entitled “The Eckley Hour.”