It was a hot summer day when I walked the spacious Ginter Field in my hometown of Summit Hill, reminiscing in my mind the wonderful days gone by when the facility was the hub of recreational activities.

“How sad,” I thought upon the realization that no one uses the field anymore.

I’m old enough to remember a lot about the field, dating back in my boyhood days to the many times I watched some of the best Panther Valley High School track stars race around the quarter-mile track. Then, too, I remember the field playing host to hundreds of Little League, Babe Ruth, girls’ softball, knee-hi football and men’s softball games, and much more.

My good friend, John “Skeeter” Rutch, once in awhile will tell me about the old church league baseball games played there, when his uncle, the late Vincy Lisella, was one of the best baseball players to put on pair of cleats not only on that field but on any diamond. “It makes me sad to see the field empty,” “Skeeter” said, a feeling, I suppose, many old timers have about its emptiness.

Stories abound about the high school’s use of the field, which were before my time, but, needless to say, the Ginter once played the most significant role in the scholastic and recreational history of Summit Hill.

Just for curiosity, I walked the field both in length and width, just like the football referees once did. And then my mind went off to wonder, and I asked myself, “If it’s not used anymore, what benefit does the field have for its owner, Summit Hill?”

And the more I thought about it, the more I envisioned what some might suggest is a crazy idea of converting the land into housing. After all, the community is pretty much landlocked, except for the White Bear, but, in reality, that particular use of that acreage potentially could collectively bring millions of dollars in tax revenue to the borough, school district and county in years to come.

The field roughly measures 720 feet by 330 feet, which can be divided into 24 lots measuring 150 feet in length by 50 feet in width. If Walter, Berea and Amidon streets were extended west, you can easily put six lots on both the north and south sides of Walter and Amidon streets with Berea Avenue bordering their back yards just as it is now in the 0-100 blocks of those streets.

Sold at $50,000 per lot, the borough could generate $1.2-million in sales alone. Realty transfer taxes would give the borough and school $12,000 each upon closings.

And if an average $200,000 home is built on each $50,000 lot, that would mean 24 properties at $250,000, or $6-million in retail value of the land and houses. Based on the county’s 50 percent assessment ratio, it would add $3-million in assessed value to the tax rolls of Summit Hill, Panther Valley and Carbon County.

At the current millage, 108.8 mills (PV 64.55, Summit Hill 21.25 and Carbon County 13), $3-million of assessed value represents $326,400 in additional tax revenue, each year. Broken down, it would mean $193,650 annually for Panther Valley, $63,750 for Summit Hill and $39,000 for the county, and that’s just based on this year’s millage.

Let’s say each household averages earned income of $60,000 (a modest number). Twenty-four of them equals $1,440,000, which equates to $14,400 in earned income revenue for both the town and school annually, not counting, occupational and per capita taxes, both of which the borough and school charge.

Then, too, there is the potential of 24 water, sewer and garbage bills of hundreds of dollars each that could bring in additional revenue, not to mention the money 24 families would spend on our troubled economy.

I thought about growth like this in other towns, like in Nesquehoning, where a beautiful development (Little Flower Estates) built the town’s tax base; Jim Thorpe, where the Switchback Ridge development added to that town’s revenue; and even Hauto Valley Estates, which through the years sold lot after lot until many homes filled up that land.

I know, there are many considerations about the existing Ginter that come into play, such as easements, covenants, water and sewerage, but I wouldn’t believe no challenge is too much to overcome without grants and government intervention.

For instance, the playground could easily be moved to Memorial Park. After all, no one squawked when the wading pool that was once in the Ginter was filled in. The pavilion there is also of no use to the public, at least not that I see.

Payback of any grants the borough has invested in the field could either be paid back or, better yet, waived.

I know, the idea borders on craziness, but maybe it’s something to think about. I once read a quote, “Dare to dream big, then do something about it.” Perhaps “Ginter Gardens” may some day become a reality.