Hulne: Community support has kept Marcusen Park alive
Published 3:26 pm Wednesday, July 2, 2025
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Flood after flood, Marcsuen Park is still standing on the banks of the Cedar River, and it’s not due to luck.
Marcusen has already faced two floods this summer, including one that covered the whole field just a week ago. But the hard work of the Serratore and Ciola families, along with players and volunteers alike have been taking long shifts to clean out the field and make it playable as we enter the prime baseball days of summer. Thanks to their efforts, the Austin Post 91 Legion baseball team was able to resume its home schedule and get back in the park this week, even though it was underwater just a week prior.
Marcusen Park remains a fixture in Austin due to the dedication of the local community, including the Marcusen Park Baseball Association, which has kept the park up and running for more than two decades. There have been upgrades to the park over the years, but mostly the effort is to “Keep the Memories Alive.”
Marcusen Park was once the premiere place to watch or play a ball game as Emil Scheid and the Austin Packers used to fill the stadium to capacity, with fans sitting inside the outfield fences. In the 1950s, Dick Seltz guided the Austin High School baseball team to vast success well into the 1980s.
Over the years, future Minnesota Twins like Kent Hrbek and Joe Mauer would play at Marcusen.
In the spring, the Lyle-Pacelli baseball team calls the field home and the Austin Legion, Austin VFW and Austin Greyhounds use the field during the summer.
If you’ve been to Marcusen before, or have never gone, there is no better time than the summer to swing by and catch a whiff of nostalgia.