Cubs share slices of American life

CHICAGO – Want to see a cross section of Americans this Fourth of July?

Then watch a baseball game.

Sure, baseball has blossomed into an international game. But it remains America’s pastime, drawing passionate fans from big cities to small towns and everywhere in between.

Like every team, the Cubs feature players from every corner of the country. So on this holiday, enjoy a tour of the U.S. from a group of Cubs players who are living out their American dreams.

Aaron Heilman, Logansport, Ind.

Heilman, 30, grew up cheering for the Cubs from his hometown 140 miles southeast of Chicago. About 20,000 people live in Logansport, where former baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis and actor Greg Kinnear once lived.

“It’s a pretty small town,” Heilman said. “It’s probably most well known for when the railroad used to run through there. It used to be a pretty big stop along the way. They had a festival during the summer, the old Iron Horse Festival. They do train rides and things like that.”

Logansport also features a quaint downtown that sounds similar to that of Woodstock or Crystal Lake.

“We’ve got Sycamore Ice Cream, which is pretty famous,” Heilman said. “It’s a local custard stand. There’s a BK Root Beer stand. You drive in and they come up and bring it to your window. It’s kind of old school. There are a few places like that, where it’s nice to enjoy the summer evenings and take your time and not really rush around.”

Sam Fuld, Durham, N.H.

Fuld, 27, did not have to wait until after high school to experience life in a college town. He grew up near the campus of the University of New Hampshire and attended Phillips Exeter Academy, whose alumni include U.S. President Franklin Pierce and the sons of Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses Grant.

“It’s definitely a college town,” Fuld said of Durham. “Its population about doubles when school is in session. Hockey is king there, and skiing, just like any other New Hampshire town. Baseball is not too big, but every now and then, they get a couple of players out of the state.”

Summers were quiet without college students in town, Fuld said.

“I liked it when they came back,” he said. “There was always some action going on there. It was pretty much a ghost town without the kids in town.”

Mike Fontenot, Slidell, La.

Fontenot, 29, might have the thickest Southern accent on the Cubs, topping fellow Louisiana native Ryan Theriot and Texas native Micah Hoffpauir. About 25,000 people live in Slidell, which is on the shore of Lake Pontchartrain and officially is listed at 3 feet above sea level.

“It’s 20 minutes north of New Orleans,” Fontenot said. “My dad worked in New Orleans for 10 years, a lot of people did. There is a lot of the Southern Creole stuff going on in Slidell.”

Despite its size, Slidell has produced professional athletes such as New York Knicks guard Chris Duhon, Bears running back Matt Forte, and retired NBA veteran P.J. Brown.

“The sports were good there,” Fontenot said. “We’d compete with a lot of the schools over in New Orleans, so it made for all-around good athletics.”

Kevin Gregg, Corvallis, Ore.

Gregg, 31, also grew up in a college town. Corvallis is home to Oregon State University.

“It’s a small town,” Gregg said. “I think we’re moving in on 50,000 people, but it doesn’t feel like it.”

Gregg’s description of Corvallis made it easy to understand why its population has increased.

“It’s about a half hour from the ocean,” he said. “We’ve got rivers that run around it. We’re an hour from the mountains, an hour from Portland. We’ve got everything in every direction, really.”

Jake Fox, Greenfield, Ind.

How small is Greenfield? Fox had 11 classmates in his seventh-grade class, which made for a strange transition a couple of years later when he commuted to a 1,000-student high school in Indianapolis.

“The biggest thing I miss about being home is that feeling you have about being in your own home where you grew up,” Fox, 26, said. “It’s the only place where you can really get away from everything and just escape.

“So if I had to give a tour of Greenfield, the first place I would take somebody is my home,” he said. “We were out on 6 or 7 acres. We had cattle. It’s just a place where there’s fresh air, green grass, big trees. Whenever we showed up, there was always a party. Especially now, Dad always pulls out the grill and fires it up. We have our own beef and fire up the grill, whether it’s steaks or burgers or whatever. That’d be the first place I’d start.”