November/December Ringer Digest

MINNESOTA HORSESHOE PITCHERS'

Ringer Digest

November/December 2021

A Charter of the NHPA

Official Publication of the Minnesota Gopher State Horseshoe Pitchers' Association

MGSHPA GETS A

NEW PRESIDENT !!

Hibbing's Ray Pierce Jr takes the wheel January 1st

At the recent MGSHPA Board meeting held in Forest Lake on October 2nd, Rick Wright announced that he was approached by a qualified person who wanted to assume the duties of president. Rick will be resigning his position effective at the end of 2021, and Ray Pierce Jr from Hibbing will assume the office January 1st, 2022. The board unanimously voted to approve this action. The following are messages from our outgoing and incoming presidents.

Not only is Ray Jr a strong organizer and promoter of horseshoes, he is also an accomplished pitcher. He began pitching in Palmers bar league in 2007, and began pitching sanctioned shoes in 2012. He has improved his skills over the years and qualified for the men's championship class at the 2021 State Tournament.

Ray Pierce Jr Bio

I was born and raised in Hibbing MN. I was a 1990 graduate of Hibbing High School and attended Hibbing Community College. I married my wife Anna on September 21, 1996. I have 3 sons, Raymond (22), Travis (21), and Austin (17). I currently am employed with Cleveland Cliffs as a millwright and also I am the Head Coach of the Hibbing High School Wrestling Team.

I have been an active member of the MGSHPA since 2012. Prior to joining the Hibbing Horseshoe Club, I pitched on a local league for about 10 years. I have pitched since I was a kid at our cabin or family gatherings and have always enjoyed the sport of horseshoes. While courting my wife I used to take her to the courts on some of our dates (she always beat me). My wife and I have attended the MGSHPA State Tournament every year since 2013.

Since joining the club and sanctioning with the MGSHPA, I have developed a greater passion for our sport and have worked hard to promote and build our Hibbing Club. I was elected Secretary of our club from 2012 – 2018. During that time, I was tournament director for 2 Minnesota State Doubles tournaments as well as several Hibbing Open and League Tournaments.

I look forward to the challenges of building our sport and promoting horseshoes throughout the state. I know it is a daunting task, but I am confident in the MGSHPA officers and staff, as well as my own skills and abilities. Please feel free to introduce yourself to me anytime and let me know if you have any questions, concerns or new ideas.

Rick’s Last

“President’s Message”

Hey Everyone.

Now that the 2021 season is coming to an end, I would like to thank everyone who participated in the club tournaments that were available as well as our MN State tournament held in Hibbing this year. After coming back following the Covid year, we had a good turn out for our State tournament. The Hibbing Club and State officers did a wonderful job to make this a fun competition event. The banquet was held at the local Elks Club in town where we had a nice dinner, handed out all the well-deserved awards and ended the night with music and dancing.

While everyone was enjoying the rest of the evening, something exciting happened for our organization. Ray Pierce Jr came to me and said that he would like to be president. After a long talk with Ray, I knew he was the guy for the job. He has a lot of new and fresh ideas and that is what we need in these changing times. He also told me that his mother, Sue, was interested in the currently vacant CB & L director. I presented all of this information to the board and I am proud and excited to say that both Ray and Sue were voted in as our new President and CB & L director. I am very excited for Ray to share his ideas and thoughts with our membership. He will officially take over Jan 1^st, 2022 and is looking forward to getting started. I am proud to say that he is starting out with a very hard working and dedicated board. Sue is also excited about her position and has already been working with Jerry LaBrosse, Jeff Washburn and Ray to update our Constitution & Bylaws.

As you all know, I have been president for 20 years and VP for 6 years. We have made a lot of changes during this time, some good and some not so good but we worked through it all together. It has been a privilege to have been your president and to have worked with all of you over the years. Like I told Ray, I love our organization and I will continue to support it in anyway that I can. I look forward to hearing the new ideas that our President has for our organization.

Please welcome our new President, Ray Pierce Jr and our new CB &L Director, Sue Pierce and offer your continued support like you have supported me all these years. Thank you all!

See you on the courts!

Rick

Regional Director / Stats Guy

By Josh Olson

Greetings

I hope everyone is staying warm and enjoying the fall weather we are having. Fall/Winter Leagues are now underway, Tournaments are starting to happen and yup the snow won’t be to far behind either.

ANYWHO, I wanted to touch base again on the 2022 Tournament Schedule, you will see that I have the up-to-date list of the Tournaments from the Tournament Directors that have reached out to me. PLEASE, lets get this Schedule looking better than it does, if there are any clubs or anyone that is looking or wanting to run a Tournament at your club or different courts reach out to the Club/Court Contacts and get some details out there.

I will look to have a FINAL Schedule out at the Next Digest of the new year so please spread the word if you see tournaments that are normally on the schedule not on here. Have them contact me to get the details finalized.

Below is a list of tournament dates we have reserved into 2022

MGSHPA Fall Meeting

Sunday, Sept 5^th, 2021, Noon

Hibbing, MN

Attendance: 42

Call to order
Minutes of Spring meeting; reviewed, details discussed. Motioned, seconded, passed.
Bylaws change of council limit on spending without a membership vote. Proposed limit is $2000.
Financial Report; reviewed, motioned, seconded, approved.
Officer Reports
Josh RD, Stats, Web; newly elected NHPA IT director.

1. WT report, 27 members attended; 11 placed in the money and received trophies. 2022 WT will be in Monroe, LA 7/11-7/23/22. The NHPA site has information if you are interested. 2023 WT will be in Lansing, MI; dates will be finalized at the next WT.

2. e-shoe: is where you can check on active membership, tournament schedules, etc. Tournament Directors post directly to e-shoe, after obtaining a code from the RD (Josh).

3. Webmaster position, Josh is interested in passing this onto another. Helen and Lori both spoke up about this.

Jeff VP, RBL

1. Ran down the list of active leagues and tournaments. Rockford will continue with league, but unlikely to host tournaments. There is a rumor that WSP has some possible issues regarding their courts. Jeff has not had this confirmed.

Jerry Digest

1. Special State tournament issue will be posted next, get anything you want included, in one week.

2. Please send in league stories, junior write ups, profile reports.

3. If anyone is interested in learning how to do the digest, I have been doing it a long, long time and am willing to train someone.

Rick: Announced move-ups. Women; Sarah J Nelson, Tina Bussey, Anna Pierce, Patti Oakes and Michelle Foard. Men; Ray Pierce Jr, Jerry Werk, Russ Girtz and Joe Mueller. Elder; Jim Syverson, Peter Heltunen, John Pierce, Dick Dvorak and Richard Bussey.
Ann Sec/treas: 450 members, 436 adult, 14 junior/cadet (2019-551, 2020-290). League directors are welcome to email or snail mail in their renewals. Any member can renew on e-shoe, but you will have an additional fee. E-shoe, it would be nice to have more report functions.
Rocky VP

1. Ran down the list of leagues. It took me awhile to get out and connect with my leagues. For September 11^th observance, this is our 14th year, we host a horseshoes and cornhole. $20 entry. Call Rocky if you are interested.

Michelle Media

1. Posting on facebook, tik-tok, etc. I don’t play enough in tournaments, because of taking videos. I am happy to post fun tournaments as well as sanctioned events.

April Jr Director

1. Little big league (with Helen and Michelle) we had 18 members and had a great time. We advertised in the community education for our area.

Joe Nominations

1. I did receive some nominations this year. Reminder, if you want to nominate someone for hall of fame, please look through the qualifications. Edi Holland award; we want someone who is fun to play with and always up-beat.

MN Doubles 2022
This used to be MN State doubles, this changed a couple of years ago, because the council is not, nor have we been involved in running this tournament.
Hibbing has voiced interest in hosting this tournament. They will host in 2022 in Hibbing. Past tournaments have been hosted at Genola, Bloomington, Forest Lake, etc. The date and location are at the discretion of the hosting club.
Coordinate with the RD (Josh) to add this to the tournament schedule.
2022-2023 State Tournament
Last year, our tournament was cancelled, which was when we should have taken bids for the next year tournament. Everyone has the month of September to get in touch with Rick Wright if you have any interest.
Old Business: nothing brought up
New Business: nothing brought up
President Election –2021
This is the year, we were supposed to vote on the new president. Nobody submitted for the position.
I have learned a lot in 20 years. I surround myself with people that are smarter than me. It is not a hard job.
As of right now, I will remain the president. If anyone, in the next 3 years, has any interest, please talk with me.
It is a 3 year term. A letter needs to be submitted, which will be posted in the digest, so members have time to learn about the person before attending the next membership meeting.
Open Forum
Lori, at 3:00 pm, at the space theatre, $5 per person, there will be some door-prizes, come one, come all and enjoy!
Wright; the area has very sparse club/pitcher support, but it is a nice place. Linda Froelich used to run that club. It would be nice if anyone has the ability or interest, in keeping those pits active.
Historically we have had a presentation at expo’s, past locations have been Canterbury park, State fair grounds (with horse expo in April), ect. Members spoke of having fond memories of past events.
We do need to find innovative ways to promote.

11. Adjournment; motioned, seconded, passed.

Thank you Ann Hagman, MGSHPA Sec/Treas , for preparing these minutes.

MGSHPA Officer Meeting

October 2, 2021 10:00 am

VFW Forest Lake

In attendance: Rick, Jerry, Ann, Jeff, Michelle, Joe, Rocky, Lori, April, Sue and Ray.

Call to Order
Minutes of Fall membership meeting
Print out was read in the meeting.
Discussion: Move-ups, Plan is to announce at beginning of shift on Saturday to remind folks to check and see if they made move-ups before taking off to avoid people missing out on playing in Championship round.
Motioned to accept, seconded, accepted.
Financial Report
Current balance: $5098.73
Membership total for 2021 is 451.
Motioned to accept, seconded, accepted.
Officer Reports
April: will continue to work on recruiting kids.
Rocky: trailer with courts is in storage.
Joe: we had a lot of nominations.
Michelle: Brooklyn Park, I am their new president. I am posting TikTok videos; one in particular has almost 500k views. A lot of interest came from that, asking where they can play. I am up to about 7,400 followers on TikTok.
I plan to do a video of all the different clubs that have sent me information.
Jeff: clubs are finishing up their end of year activities. Looking for a word version of the CBL, for editing purposes.
Jerry: Next digest is November. Changes will be announced. Get me articles before the end of October. The digest goes to about 1000, we get about 30-33% of people click on it and look. Sponsors? None for years. Jerry will add the advertising rates.
MN Doubles 2022 – Hibbing
This will be held 2 weeks after the state tournament. September 17, 2022.
2022 – 2023 State Tournament
No bids received; any interest will be considered.
Rick, Jerry, Pat Stumpf and Caroline; met with Genola to discuss holding the MN State tournament there full time, and maybe 1-2 other tournaments. He asked for a letter to be sent.
Larry, the Mayor, seemed agreeable to this plan. A letter has been drafted to send, as requested. Proposal was to keep the $1200 fee for the state tournament, $150/day for a 1-day tournament and $100/day for a 2-day tournament (prefer end of July and into August). No tournaments will be held after Labor day, to accommodate their winter storage. Terms to be reviewed every 5 years.
Host club is not required, concessions could be a local club (lions, boy scout troop, etc.).
Discussion: at Genola, who does court maintenance? The council members will convene a committee that will complete court maintenance prior to the state tournament.
Old Business; none proposed
New Business
President Elect

i. Ray Pierce Jr was nominated, seconded, passed.

CBL (Constitution and By-Laws) Elect

i. Sue Pierce was nominated, seconded, passed.

Web Master Elect

i. Lori was nominated, seconded, passed

Rick proposed selling the portable courts are currently housed in Hibbing. Ray Pierce is interested in some of the courts/rubber ($100/set), a proposed price for the trailer is $4,500.

i. Discussion: how many sets? There are 34 courts (17 sets). 12 are on deck to sell, the state wants to hold 2 sets for promotional purposes, this leaves 3 sets left.

ii. Rick will discuss trailer storage with Tim, We will hold off on a payment to store until May, until the proposal to Genola is settled.

iii. Proposal to sell court sets (if Genola agrees to State tournament proposal), seconded, all agreed.

State tournament financial report was given to Rick
Jerry has a CBL proposal. To pattern after NHPA a bit more, add 2 VP to make a total of 7 on the council. The additional VP would not need to be from a certain district. I am in the process of writing this up for the Digest.
Lori; web master report. Lori and Josh had a conference call for quick training. Officers page, phone numbers and email remain posted, but addresses have been removed.

i. Discussion: input requested for home page, structure, etc. Please if you see something wrong or you do not like, let me know. I can

Open Forum
FOH list was not in the state booklet. The list will be sent to Jerry to post in the Digest.
Adjournment: 11:48 motioned, seconded, approved.

Thank you Ann Hagman, MGSHPA Sec/Treas , for preparing these minutes.

Hibbing Horseshoe Club Hall of Fame

By Rory Pierce

Two new members were inducted into the Hibbing Horseshoe Hall of fame Tuesday September 14th at a ceremony held at the Hibbing Algonquin Club. Virgil Anderson and Lenny Sandberg became the newest members to be entered into the prestigious hall. Rory Pierce, a member of the HOF committee, who inducted Lenny Sandberg said “It’s great to see all of their families come. They take pictures and applaud, you can tell they are very proud. It’s really an honor for me to be a part of it.” The two new members brings the total HOF members to 12. The Hibbing Horseshoe Hall of Fame was created to recognize those who have Hibbing roots that have gone above and beyond in our sport, whether it be success on the courts or promoting our sport. “We have a 10 person committee of horseshoe enthusiasts from the Hibbing area, who receive nominations and cast a ballot. It takes seven yes votes to be selected” said Ray Pierce Jr. “If someone you know deserves to be recognized, let me know and I will give you what you need to begin the process.”

Pictured here HOF Inductees

Virgil Anderson and

Lenny Sandberg

Hibbing Horseshoe Club 2021

Left to right:

Back row: Ryan Pierce, Pete Heltunen, John Pierce, Tim Schmaltz, Rocky Pierce, Mike Gustafson

Middle row: Richard Lampton, Tina Bussey, Ray Pierce Jr, Raymond Pierce Sr, Sara Rock, Ashley Anderson, Dan Koshak,

Front row: Rich Bussey, Anna Pierce, Sue Pierce, Virgil Anderson

Members missing from picture: Kelli Pierce, Raymond E Pierce, Sara Burris, Lenny Sandberg, Troy Koschak, Mike Salminen

South Vice President

by Jeff Washburn

Greetings to all our fellow horseshoe friends and their families. Our 2021 pitching season has come to an end after a summer filled once again with a full complement of weekend tournaments run by our local clubs. It was very good to see our State Tournament back in action after the 2020 cancellation due to the pandemic. Thanks to all the pitchers who supported this event, the Hibbing Horseshoe Club for their outstanding effort, and congrats to all the class winners. By the time you read this, Halloween will have come and gone, and I still haven’t been able to locate where the candy is hidden in our house.

The Holiday season is right around the corner which is one of my favorite times of the year. For me, and for many of you, it is a good time to reflect on what is really important to each of us in our lives, and that is our family, friends, and hopefully good health. Let’s also keep our personal thoughts and ideas of what each of us can do to support the growth and wellbeing of our great game of horseshoes. Planning to stay active in your local league, choosing to perhaps pitch in one or two additional tournaments next summer, helping out at your local club’s annual tournament, and maybe encouraging a friend or family member to give horseshoes a try are a few easy ways to help our sport.

Now is also a good time to renew your membership in the NHPA and MGSHPA for 2022. Its as easy as going to our MGSHPA website, click on Membership signup, and then select either New Member or Current/Returning Member. You can also download a membership application form from the MGSHPA website and mail it in.

Here’s to hoping each of you and your families have a very Merry Christmas and a safe, healthy, and Happy New Year, with lots of ringers.

Cheers, Jeff

North Mankato Horseshoe League News

By Matt Paap

The North Mankato Horseshoe Club closed the 2021 season with repeated ringers and many memories. The Club proudly followed traditions and competed at a high level.

Once again, North Mankato Fun Days Tournament Directors Erwin & Rosie Tischer organized one of the premier horseshoe tournaments of southern Minnesota. As the famous Fun Days parade came to a close on July 10, the sounds of horseshoes ringing the stakes were heard throughout Wheeler Park. The tournament was host to 46 competitors hoping to claim the first place prize. North Mankato Club’s own Steve Miller captured first place with an undefeated (5-0) showing, followed by North Mankato Club’s Bob Klein in second place, and Shoreview Club’s Jeff Washburn in third place.

The North Mankato Club hosted the annual club tournament on Saturday, August 14, featuring 40 Club participants. The first place title went to Steve Miller from Team Wayne’s World with another undefeated (5-0) showing, second place claimed by Mike Creech from Team Roadhouse 169 Bar & Grill, and third place claimed by Bob Klein from Team Wayne’s World.

The annual North Mankato Horseshoe Club Awards Banquet was held on September 20 at the Eagle’s Club in scenic downtown Mankato. Over 95 guests, including club members, husbands, wives, team sponsors, friends, and family were in attendance. The guests enjoyed a fantastic meal as the 2021 awards were presented to recipients as follows:

Presidential Awards: Warren Albrecht, Erwin & Rosetta Tischer

Player of the Year: Bob Klein (D1), Randy Albrecht (D2)

Rookie of the Year: Andy Haala (D1), Brody Friedrichs (D2)

First Place Teams: Wayne’s World (D1), Hromadko Construction (D2)

Second Place Teams: Roadhouse 169 Bar & Grill (D1), Frandsen Bank (D2)

Third Place Teams: North Mankato Legion (D1), R Henry Construction (D2)

Recognition Awards 35+ Years: Erwin Tischer (38), Linda Duenow (38), Warren Albrecht (37), Gary Graff (37), Brian Duenow (35)

30-35 Years: Lonnie Frank (33), Vern Radel (31), Mike Frederick (31)

25-30 Years: Steve Culhane (29), Wayne Davis (28), Don Swift (27), Robert Allen (27), Bob Klein (26), and Steve Miller (26)

Thank you to the players, supporters, and Club officers for making the 2021 season successful, and memorable. The North Mankato Horseshoe Club looks forward to many ringers, memories, traditions, and great competition in 2022.

Achievement Award Division 1 Linda Duenow, Division 2 Tom Thissen

In Memory of Harold Schrader, Wayne Davis & Wayne Hohenstein

Rookie of the Year Division 1 Andy Haala & Division 2 Brody Friedrichs

Division 1 3^rd Place

North Mankato Legion

Division 2 1^st Place

Hromadko Construction

Division 2 2^nd Place

Frandsen Bank

Division 2 3^rd Place

R Henry Construction

Presidential Award

Erwin & Rosie Tischer

Division 1 2^nd Place

Roadhouse 169 Bar & Grill

Recognition Award for 35 Years of Service

L to R: Erwin Tischer, Linda Duenow, Warren Albrecht, Gary Graff & Brian Duenow

Recognition Award for 25 years of Service

Bob Klein, Robert Allen, June Davis accepting for husband late Wayne Davis & Steve Miller.

Not Pictured Steve Culhane & Don Swift

Division 1, 1^st Place

Wayne’s World

Recognition Award for 30 years of Service

Mike Frederick, Not pictured Lonnie Frank & Vern Radel

Division 1 Team Player of the Year

Roger Gersch, Zachary Fuhrman, Linda Duenow, Bob Klein & Marvin Akkerman

Not Pictured Mike Creech

Presidential Award

Warren Albrecht

Promotion / News Media

by Michelle Foard

First I would like to introduce myself as the new Brooklyn Park Club President. This past summer Brooklyn Parks club number were quite low from 2019. So anyone looking to play I invite you to check out Brooklyn Park. Please contact me with any questions. Brooklyn Park has already claimed a tournament date of June 12th. So we hope to see many of you out there.

Isanti fall league is up and running. Helen Hawkinson is gonna run Turkey Toss ll in Isanti on Nov 13th. Deadline is Nov 6th to sign up.

I still have some videos to make from the State Tournament. I have created 13 videos so far. One video got a lot of views. 417.6k views so far. Lots of questions and comments on the video. Several asking where they could play. With that video it also increased the number of followers to just over 7400. I plan to get more videos made from the tournaments being played this winter. The Tik Tok page is slowly making progress. All videos can also be seen on Facebook.

Have a great fall and Holiday Season.

Let me know what you think of this short video:

https://www.facebook.com/MGSHPA/videos/1036938083720223/

Hokkala Inducted into Archery Hall of Fame

Longtime MGSHPA member Jerry Hokkala is an expert archer !!

Family + Love of Horseshoes = Lifetime Legacy

By Cathy Ziemann

Who knew that back on July 2, 1971 a family reunion and some backyard horseshoe pitching would result in a 50-year tradition?

Maybe that wasn’t my Uncle Richard Stromberg’s initial thought, but that is the legacy he leaves behind. The 50th Annual “Grebmorts” (that’s Stromberg spelled backwards) Horseshoe Tournament was held on August 7, 2021. For 50 years (minus 2020 due to COVID and the year my grandma died, 1976) we have held this invitation-only tournament – rain or shine! The tourney in 2021 was definitely a rainy day.

Every summer, family and friends would descend on our grandparents’ home in New Prague for a backyard picnic and friendly but competitive horseshoe competition. What sport could be better for the young, the old and everyone in between? And year by year, the number of family and friends participating grew, and we got more organized. Double elimination bracket play, doubles team format consisting of one man & woman or junior, and we started awarding trophies. Over the years, the tournament has moved to North Branch and held at one of my uncles’ homes.

One special trophy that we started awarding in 1973 is called the “Hulgar Award”. This award is named after my grandpa, Hulgar (Sam) Stromberg. It is the trophy awarded in the consolation bracket and is made to look like an outhouse. After many years, the winners of the Hulgar Award started making the trophy for the following year and the trophies got more creative over the years.

We also award a “Sharpshooter Award” to one man and one woman, for the most ringers in a tournament. Competition is fierce between those playing, everyone wanting to throw as many ringers as possible to have bragging rights for this coveted award. The record for the most ringers thrown in one tournament is held by Colleen Szabo with 46 in 2003. I will brag and say that I have won this award 10 times!

The love of horseshoes and competitive play drew many of our family to become sanctioned players all throughout Minnesota. Former and current members of the MGSHPA include: Richard Stromberg, Cyndi Stepka and Colleen Szabo – all part of the Montgomery Club; Ronnie Stromberg – Fridley and Montgomery Clubs; Robyn & Dave Holien - Forest Lake Club; Cheri Newcombe, Jackie Johnson – Fridley and then Brooklyn Park Clubs; Mick Ziemann and myself – Fridley, Brooklyn Park and now Forest Lake Clubs.

We had 34 teams participating in this Golden Anniversary Tournament 2021, and the number of spectators exceeded those pitching. This incredible turnout is a testament to our long family tradition. The weather, always a crap-shoot in Minnesota summers, and our motto rain or shine, was tested this year with the scattered showers and downpours thought the day.

For my Uncle Richard, the real lure of these annual tournaments was to bring family and friends together, and playing horseshoes was a means to do just that. He was a true promoter of the game of horseshoes to family and friends. We lost Richard in May of 2020, but the love of family and Horseshoes is the legacy he leaves behind.

Helgar Brackets

Helgar Awards

Helen’s Corner

By Helen Hawkinson

Luella Cave (“Lu”) has been pitching horseshoes since 1978 when she was 35 years old. Last week she had her 79th birthday. She currently resides in Sartell and pitches in Rice. Lu started pitching because her husband wanted her to play, so she tried it and fell in love with the sport and never stopped. Six of her 8 children pitched horseshoes. Christy, Corine and Collette qualified in Jr. Girls Championship Class and Christy and Corine were Jr. Girl Champs. Christy still competes.

Lu’s favorite shoes to pitch are Gordons, and she throws a flip. She has pitched in state and world tournaments several times. She has 2 second place titles and 7 third place titles in state. Lu qualified 3 times at world with a 70% average in 1987 in Eau Claire, WI; 74% in Columbus, OH; and 65% in Spearfish, SD. Lu said all averages were lower in Spearfish that year because it was outside and the weather was a factor. One of the most memorable events was that year in Spearfish playing against Sue McLaughlin. The score was 36 to 18 and Sue only needed 4 points to win. Lu said she was relaxed at that point because she didn’t think she had a chance. She then started getting doubles and kept getting doubles and she beat Sue to 40 points.

The most important thing is to relax, take a breath before you pitch and then let the shoe go. Lu loves the sport and continues to pitch for the fun of it. Well we are very happy to have you on the courts.

50^th Donnelly Threshing Bee a Memorable Event !!

By Jerry Werk

We want to thank everyone who supported our 50th Annual Donnelly

Threshing Bee Tournament in August. We had 28 pitchers. In spite of

60 mph winds and 2.8 inches of rain Saturday morning (just as we were

getting started), we scooped out a little water, tossed in some dry clay,

wrung out some wet clothes, and got all our tournament games in.

Special thanks to Josh, Cody, and Randy for anchoring our canopy during

the storm – they did get a little more than wet!! We are also

grateful for the “weather monitoring via cell phone from home” by Mark Smith

in the midst of the storm. It was a memorable 50th Anniversary for our Donnelly Threshing Bee tournament, and we appreciate everyone’s “we can still do this” attitude on Saturday morning. After a rough start, the remainder of the weekend was beautiful.

Attached is a picture of Richard Giese of Holloway, MN, with Jerry Werk. Richard was the lucky

winner of the Bean Bag boards – our raffle prize for all the pitchers who entered the tournament.

All pitchers also received a commemorative “50th Anniversary” Donnelly Threshing Bee patch for entering.

Hope to see you next year for number 51.

Thanks, Jerry!

Jerry Werk