Every spring, children all over the U.S. dust off their mitts and run out onto the field to "play ball."
And for the generations of kids who grew up in the Glen Oaks Village, their "sand lot" was the Glen Oaks Oval — located just a few blocks to the south of Little Neck on 260th St., and 74th Ave.
So while today's Remembered Place isn't technically in Little Neck, for over 60 years, the Oval has been home to many childhood dreams of Major League fame — something worth remembering.
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"We treasure our small patch of green located at the heart of Glen Oaks," said Bob Friedrich, president of Glen Oaks Village Co-op Board.
Built on land conveyed to the city in two separate parcels of land, the Oval soon became intertwined with the community that surrounded it when the Glen Oaks Little League formed back in 1952.
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"The Oval and league helped foster that sense of community in the area ... we [the Glen Oaks Community] are very family oriented," Friedrich said.
A family many in the area say was forged with spring season openers and summer barbeques at the Oval.
"I grew up in Glen Oaks ... played in the little League here from 1970 - 1973 ... today I coach," said Dennis Noonan, current vice president of the League's new Challenger Division.
Noonan recalled many care free days playing ball at the Oval.
"We only had one field back then, though the league was much more competitive ... we've since shifted our focus to being more instructional," he said, a change he as both a coach and parent of someone in the league "appreciates greatly."
The first recorded Little League is believed to have been established back in the early 1880s and was formed for pre-teen children in New York.
But it wasn't until the 1920s, when the American Legion formed the first "official" baseball program for teen-age boys, the "International League," which exists today.
Still for the locals of Glen Oaks Village, it all began on the Oval back in 1952 with that first spring opener — a tradition which remains in place today.