Seeing Stars in Greenville
That game [When Greenville Beat the Yankees, June 2017] was the beginning and end of my baseball career. As a 14-year- old, I sold refreshments in the stands or shagged over-the-fence balls at Majors Field.
When the Yankees were warming up out on the field, I got my glove and ambled out on the field near Joe DiMaggio. I was much too awed to speak to him. Soon a medium-hot grounder came my way, and Joe said, “Wanna get that, kid?” Boy, did I! My chance to be recognized by the major leagues!
About a yard in front of me, that ball took a hop and beaned me. Next thing I knew, the great DiMaggio was standing over and looking down at me. “You OK, kid?” he asked.
I was, but my fantasy baseball career was beyond repair.
David Smith | Sonora
Southwest Texas EC
Look It Up in Alpine
Just finished the great bookstore article [Blue Highway Literature, June 2017]. One that you missed is my favorite bookstore in Texas, in little old Alpine.
Every time I visit, I find books that none of the chain stores carry. Next time you are in Alpine, give the store a look.
Jack L. Cooper
Nueces EC
Glory Days in Bremond
The first Polish settlers to arrive in Bremond were my great-grandparents, Joseph and Katherine Bartula [Bremond Says “Witamy!”, Currents, June 2017]. They came to America in 1873 from Austrian Poland.
They worked for the Roberts family until they were able to save $6.20 and then purchased their own 62-acre farm. As a kid, I remember summer vacations picking cotton, hunting squirrels and rabbits, and fishing in creeks. There were no lights (electricity).
I remember the excitement one summer in the ’50s. The community was abuzz that the REA [Rural Electric Administration] was bringing electricity to the area. The next summer, each room had a bulb on the end of a wire in the middle of the room. Glory days!!
Raymond A. Bartula | Houston
Sam Houston EC
Taking 42 to Nevada
Our family took the 42 dominoes game [The Top Spot, January 2017] to Nevada 50 years ago when we moved here. Parents, children and grandchildren have all learned to play. No tournaments here.
Betty Pawelek | Elko, Nevada
Karnes EC
Remembering the Explosion
In 1941, my parents moved to New London. The lady living next door to them had lost a son in the explosion [The New London School Explosion, January 2017]. When she found out that my mom was pregnant, she begged her to name the baby Donald, after the child she lost. My mother agreed to do it because she felt so sorry for the woman.
The baby turned out to be a girl, and they named her Linda. In later years, my mother thought about how silly it was to make such a promise to a person she barely knew. She said she “just felt so sorry for her.”
Linda Lively | Kingsland
Central Texas EC
