2009 Baseball... Across Canada and the 'Western to Central' United States
(click red, underlined words, for the
corresponding pages of pictures)
Observations of Ann Dennis:
Background: The Goldpanner Baseball team has a split squad this year.
Half will stay in Fairbanks under the direction of son Todd... and half will go
barnstorming with Don and I.
For the traveling team, we have 21 players, although different ones will drive
in and join us from time to time... 3 coaches, a radio
announcer, a bus driver who will also double as pitching coach, and
members of the film crew from Eye Candy Cinema that did the movie on the team and league...
they are doing a documentary.
I am the internet cameraman and general "go-fer" depending on what
people need. There are no job descriptions in baseball! We
will travel nearly 6,000 miles although the bus drove an additional 2500 miles down from Fairbanks. The players will get $15 a day and coaches
and crew $20 a day for meal money and incidentals... hotels will run
the team $800-1000 a night although that is the one thing we request help with
when a team asks us to play. Gasoline is higher than we'd
thought and the bus is only getting 7 mpg so fully loaded, so gas will run
about $2500. Miscellaneous is $50 to $100 a day, keeping the laundry up
so the uniforms are clean... anything anyone needs.
Entry fees for tournaments will be $2200. It all adds up - let's
hope they can win some prize money along the way. When not
in tournaments, we will just be recreating the barnstorming trips of the 60's
and 70's,
and playing teams all along the way. Some of them will put us up for
the night, some are pitching tents in the middle of the ball field after
games... some have whole celebrations planned around our arrival and will have
barbeques etc... Overall it is
a BLAST!
Sunday July 5 Fairbanks, AK
Got up at 3:45 am in Fairbanks.... caught the shuttle to the airport
and started the disrobing and searching to get through security.
We actually had a security guy with a sense of humor and it made it so much more
palatable!!! They took our water bottles and Don's shaving cream
and a few toiletries, and sent us on. The stability of
the world depended on us not taking that stuff!
Plane ride
to Anchorage is only about 40 minutes................... then
a four hour layover. We had breakfast... Sat...and then
sat some more... Finally... lined up in Anchorage to get on the next plane
and in swooped four armed and uniformed overweight folks with an attitude and
they grabbed several old ladies, a man with little kids, and an old gal
traveling alone.... and put them through secondary searches. They
found nothing of course as we had already all been through it once....
we got onto the plane - at 4pm landed in Portland. At the
airport, we found Anthony Keel, the documentary photographer and producer filming the trip, took a cab to where
we'd left our van with Clif Holland (Panner 72-73) in Portland in April when we drove to Fairbanks... and headed for The Red Lion in Kelso,
Washington.
There we met the bus driver/coach,
Randy Barber and his wife.
They'd come in from
Fairbanks with
the bus at midnight last night. They had transported our large suitcases and all
the equipment
for the trip. They had washed the bus and were shining windows
as we drove up.
Don and I went to a store to replace the toiletries and found incredible
displays of fruit! After being in Fairbanks, it was like dropping
into heaven. We bought a ton of huge strawberries, cherries, bananas
etc., and a knife and some disposable pans to make everyone a fruit
plate.
Monday July 6
Kelso, WA (click)..
Longview WA
We got to sleep in a little later and did it feel good. The men got up and
Anthony took the van to get his equipment which was at Fed Ex.
He got back in time to get in the bus as Don and Randy took Randy's wife to the
Portland airport for her flight home (she'd spent about a week in Fairbanks and then the
first time trip down the Alaska Highway which they absolutely loved!)....
six players fly in between 8 and noon, whom they will meet at the Portland
airport and bring back here to Kelso, WA.
Jim Dietz, the head coach, called, and he is here at the hotel meeting the players
who are being driven in by their parents. I organized my
suitcases, washed my hair, and am ready for whatever the next days bring.
Anthony has filmed just about anything you can name during his career... I asked
him to tell some of his adventures and among other stories, he told us about being hired to film an
old treasure ship that was found off the coast of Venezuela.
As they were surfacing, they saw bullets going through the water...
someone was firing a machine gun at them... they came up SLOWLY
trying to avoid it all.... to discover armed soldiers had the whole crew.
MUCH later, after guns literally pressed to their faces, they were able to convince the
soldiers they weren't taking treasure from their land, just filming it, and they
let them go. He had several really
interesting stories, and opened his laptop to show pictures of some travels.
What an interesting life!! We should be doing a film on
HIM!
Afternoon: First Practice at Lower Columbia college field - issued uniforms and
equipment at the hotel... practiced in the evening. Longview has had
a 37 day drought - and today it poured. Swell! They
practiced anyway.
Tuesday July 7 09
- Longview, WA
Today was issuing final gear, a practice, and tonight our first game.
Longview, WA was incredibly welcoming - they treated us amazingly well.
We won the game 12-1, the first time many of these kids on our team have played together.
Wednesday July 8 09
From Kelso, WA to Kamloops, BC
We'll catch up with Jim Dietz, our head coach, when we hit Kamloops, as he and the assistant coach will just continue on from the
Seattle airport where they deposited a boy who already broke the
rules.
The rest of us got up at 4:30 am, packed gear and were on the road by 6 am.
We are due in Kamloops, BC by 4pm for a youth clinic, and have to get through
the border.
Later: At the border they made all the players fill out tourist forms - insisting
our bus was a "commercial" vehicle. You can't argue.
We lost about an hour, but made it to Kamloops by 4 - they'd changed the
youth clinic to 6, so that worked just fine.
All gathered... final equipment issued - the clinic and then practice - to bed late
at the old Plaza Hotel in downtown Kamloops, British Columbia.
Thursday July 9 09
Kamloops
(click) first game and then Cache Creek, BC for
the nightReally busy day... Don and I drove 50 miles to Cache
Creek, BC to secure hotel rooms for tonight only, as Kamloops is sold out on Thursday and Sunday
nights. (We knew this when we booked the rooms in March).
The railroad has contracted for the rooms as they bring tourists to town those
nights. So... we cleared the rooms by 11am... the
players took their luggage and equipment to the lobby and read or played games .. we secured the
rooms in Cache Creek and then drove back and went to the park about 5....
watched the tournament's opening game, and then our game. They are all 7
inning games, and we were tied 1-1 at the end of 7, with last year's
championship team. In the bottom of the 8th during a big
dustup double play, and one still on third, our first baseman threw the ball to
third, WIDE, and it went out into the field and their winning run came across.
They didn't WIN as much as we gave it to them. Ouch!
Now we have to beat our way through the losers bracket in order to have a chance
for the championship.
Friday July 10, 09 from Cache Creek back to Kamloops
We got back to Cache Creek at 1am...
slept 6 hours, and are ready to drive the 50 miles back to Kamloops again. Game
time today is at
3pm.
What
astoundingly gorgeous country!
Don and Aaron, our radio announcer, at Kamloops
Lake, BC.
.. was in the 90's today.
We all checked back into the old 1929 hotel right downtown.
Went to the park and (click) WE WON! Big! Tonight Don and I found a
Greek Restaurant and had a feast. Anthony, filming for
the documentary, put me on a camera today and I had a ball. I
have a whole new respect though... man did I ache after a couple of hours of that!
You can't move much or you move the camera, and I just did a couple of innings.
He has to leave us Tuesday and will leave the camera... I'll do what I can
but no way I can do whole games. So fun though.
Saturday July 11 - Kamloops, BC
Everyone had jobs this morning - Don and Randy the bus driver/coach, took the
bus in for a check up. No problems, just wanting to be sure all is
well. Anthony took the van and filmed the
area, for background of where we are. I went to the laundromat and later
did some paperwork and such... relaxing morning.
The team got to sleep in a little - the bus will leave for the field at 1:30 for
the 3pm game.
If anyone ever wonders if we should legalize pot, they need to come to
Kamloops. There is a storefront next to the hotel called "Hemp
Haven" or something similar. The town is packed with 18-25 year olds who obviously
have visited it - last night the streets filled with them, staggering
around and screaming and using unreal language that we could hear through closed
windows. It is a "bridge" for those who have gone onto
stronger things, and they accost you constantly looking for money - emaciated,
black jagged teeth from meth, a mass of lost humanity. It just makes
your heart hurt.
later: We won the game against
(click) Red Deer,
Alberta, 17-3; it ended after 4.5 innings with the
mercy rule (ahead by 10 or more after 5 innings). Afterwards, Don and I went
to WalMart and got cases of water and supplies. It is near 100
degrees, just
incredibly hot - the clerk says this is normal here. Whew... who
would have thought it, this far North.
Sunday July 12, 2009 last day in Kamloops -
The team was packed and sitting in the lobby at 7:30 a.m.
Aaron (broadcaster) and I got a maid to let us into each room for room checks
and the boys left them really nice. I am proud of them.
It isn't always that way with a baseball team. Young people filled the streets again last
night and yelled and talked loud and kept Don awake most of the night.
I woke up a few times, but was so tired I slept thru most of it.
The bus just left for the field - they took everything with them to the ballpark and checked out of rooms,
as we will leave from the
last game and head for our next stop. Here, today, we have a 10:00 am
game.... if we win that we have a noon game.... and if we win that, we play for
the championship at 3pm. We will see if we have enough
pitching for all of that. One time years ago we were at this
tournament, and had to work our
way thru the losers bracket. One pitcher, Floyd Bannister, pitched
the last of the first game, started the second game, and came in to save in the
third game... and got the win for each, including the championship
game. Not many pitchers have won three games in one
day.... He had pitched 9 total
innings for the day.
HOT again today. TV said 96.
WE WON... all three...(click)
one easy, one a
(click)
squeaker, and the last one was against
the only undefeated team in the tournament,
(click)
Everett, WA.
It was heart attack time, but they won!!!! $10,000 prize money
will help greatly with the rest of the trip. The hotel bill alone here is
almost $5,000! We had a streaker
right after the
game - he'd gone to the Goldpanner players and told them if they'd give him a
Panner hat, he'd streak. They said "Go for it!" ... he
did. Then a player came to Don and asked if they could have a
hat for him. Don said, "He negotiated with the wrong guy.... NO!"..
I don't know if he got a hat or not, but so far there hasn't been anyone
claiming they "lost" their hat.
After the game the boys showered, and loaded
into the bus. Don and I - Anthony the
producer/cameraman and Aaron the broadcaster, rode in our van, and we all headed
for Kelowna, BC. Got here about 10:30 pm and hit the bed!
The host team is furnishing the housing for us, and the motel is beautiful.
Don and I have a four room suite. We were expecting a cot, a
door and a roof. This I could get used to!
Monday July 13
- Kelowna, BC
Boys got their first day off with no
practice, and then played a really tough team at 7pm. The
(click)
Kelowna Falcons
are a team much like the Goldpanners, recruiting top college kids.
It was close but we won, 4-3. Don and I had a good meal
before the game - too much junk food eaten on the fly when you travel like this!
Tuesday July 14
- Kelowna BC
The hosts had a wonderful breakfast for our whole party.
Our assistant coach had to head home, so the head coach borrowed our van and
drove to the border to meet a replacement assistant coach, and one more player
who didn't get his passport in time to go with us a week ago.
We are 7 wins and 1 loss so far - the Fairbanks team is doing well up
there also, but their shortstop broke a finger, so Don is sending a spare we have
with this team to Fairbanks to finish the season and he'll catch up with us
again at the national tournament in Wichita in August.
Our documentary producer/cameraman, Anthony, had to go home also for
another job, and he will be replaced by another cameraman from their company.
Then Anthony will join the team again in Kansas. Don got up at 4am and
took him to the airport and I woke up then also.
We have talked to so many Canadians who are aghast that the US might pass
that health care bill mirroring their experiences on the way to total government
control. They all say "If you pass that, WHERE WILL WE GO
FROM UP
HERE?" They have to go to the US for anything serious as their
doctors have fled to the states, the patients can't get in for medical care in a
timely manner up here, and the whole thing is a total mess.
Game
(click)... another nail biter, but we won - 8 wins, 1 loss...
this is unreal. It is always more fun to win than lose!
The team we are playing is called the Kelowna Falcons, and by coincidence, a
falcon has built a HUGE nest on top of one the tall light poles at the ball
park. Every night he goes to the lake and comes back with a
big fish, and the rest of the game he flies around and watches all the activity.
I was able to get pictures of it last night, but (sigh) wasn't able to catch him
with the fish. (I got him with the fish later, on the picture
page from the menu, (click) Kelowna game 3).
click pics to enlarge..
in the second picture the falcon is flying
above... in the last picture, feeding a younger
one.
Got my web pages organized... 12 pages of pictures.... so
far.
Wednesday July 15, 2009
- last day in Kelowna, BC
They hosted a wonderful breakfast for us again. I made the
comment that when we roll through Sturgis, SD, I'll be hopping out to stay with
my family. One of the players said "You mean, like, at a red light?"
... No, I think I'll probably get a ride to mom's front door!
We play tonight and then leave early in the morning - cross the border
and go to Idaho for a game. Today will be spent getting
organized, resting, and then to the ballpark. The bus is
getting its tires checked out. No vehicle problems so far.
In fact, no problems at all, which is unusual with a group this large.
Son Steve wrote and asked for stories. He recounted
a trip he'd been on, the coach's father had come along. They
called him Rev Smith (not his last name... ) because he was always passing
the hat to get enough money for a bottle. The hotel manager
came to Steve and said he'd stopped the good reverend carrying out a TV on a
service cart, with a bed sheet over it. He wanted to call the cops,
but Steve tried to convince him it was a mistake of some sort... (he's from
Arkansas, has never stayed in a hotel before and probably thought that was part
of the service!) The
manager wanted to search the vans. Sure... there won't be anything in
them. They opened the back doors to the van the Rev Smith was riding
in, and out fell tvs, towels, clocks, lamps, just about anything that wasn't
nailed down. Steve talked FAST... and convinced
the guy the team would help return everything to its proper place and wouldn't
let the guy back into the hotel. They attached two
players to him, to watch him like a hawk, sneaked him in to sleep that night,
and "got out of Dodge" the next day before he could cause any more
problems. The good reverend got a one way ticket home as soon
as they hit a town large enough for an airport.
Another year in Ontario, CA we won the money at a tournament, Steve stood up to go get it
as the loud speaker announced with great flourish that our team was very
generous and had just donated our prize to the Mexican National Team who'd come
up for the tournament.
A quick eyescan of the audience told Steve to wave and accept the applause, and
sit back down.
On this trip a few nights ago, our coach, who is a wonderful disciplinarian, got wind of a girl
in a room. He waited till everyone should be asleep, and knocked on
the door... and discovered there was a second baseball team in the hotel that had
nothing to do with us, and they had underage girls with them.
He woke their coach, and they arranged some taxi rides home for the "guests"
and sent five of their players home. With a couple dozen boys
between 18 and 25, anything can happen! Our team is
exceptional this year, and what a pleasure that is!
..........
We lost the game tonight!
It
(click) was 0-0, with our pitcher throwing a perfect game 7.5
innings... they got a hit but didn't score... Then it
was 0-0 until the bottom of the 9th and they got one across.
So... final score was 0-1. Our hosts have been so good to us
that it is probably good they won 1 of the 3 games we played with them!
Filmed some - got a lot of pictures.
Back to the hotel for final packing - Aaron got an email at 9:30
tonight, that our game
in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho tomorrow night is at 5pm!! Yikes.... that
wasn't expected! It was to be at 7pm.
Thursday July 16, 2009
Up at 5, about ready to load the last of our things
- meeting Aaron (media guy) in the lobby at 7:30. As the boys get on the bus
they will give Randy (bus driver/pitching coach) their room keys... then Aaron and I will
go do room checks really quickly. The hosted breakfast is at 8, and we are
needing to be on the road as fast as we can get going.
...Went through the border at 11 a.m. Not so much trouble
getting into the U.S. as we had going into Canada. Baseball teams mean
more to Americans - It "computes" to them that you would have a
NON-commercial bus full of kids and play baseball along the way. The agent
Don and I had asked us all kinds of questions about where we were going after
Idaho, teams we play and things that had nothing to do with crossing.
Stopped just inside the US and gassed, got snacks, and are
rolling through the most gorgeous fruit country! Cherries are for
sale everywhere here! Apple trees are so laden they have to
hold the branches up with lumber. Vineyards and wine tasting and miles
of grapes line the road.
It feels so good to be back in the United States anytime you've been in
another country. Now to get out of the habit of taking
the mileage signs X 60, money X 85%, etc etc... No more
loonies or twonies or quarters with a red flower in the middle. No more
suffering (it was actually funny to us) through the Star Spangled Banner with the words wrong - an
"international opera singer" in Kalowna was looking right at us
standing 10 feet in front of him as he sang "and
the rockets red glare" at least three times in one verse when he forgot
the words...and we didn't dare even grimace or grin. Gas is more than
a dollar a gallon cheaper. A coke is now 65c instead of $2.85!
No more $17.00 tacos! We love America!!!
..............
Well.... we have had a FIRST! We have never been late
or missed a game, in all the years of travels. Today, we stopped to get
gas and the bus went ahead as we can always catch them. Don told them: "Turn
right in 21 miles!" "OK".
We never did catch up to them and had a bad feeling - Don even was stopped by
a patrolman for doing 68 in a 60 zone. It was at the top of a
hill and Don had been on cruise control, but had goosed it for the hill.
He didn't ticket us........... whew!
We arrived in Spokane, went to the hotel and there waiting was a kid in
uniform (Joe Pratt) who was joining the team and had driven up from his hometown.
We finally reached the bus by cell and learned to our horror they were at least
3 hours out still. They hadn't turned right in 21 miles and had
driven over 100 miles out of their way. "The Mighty Goldpanners" was
a team of ONE!
Don and I, and Joe Pratt in his uniform, loaded in the van and headed for
Coeur d'Alene and the game at 5pm, trying to figure our way out of this
one. All the players and all the coaches were on that bus, wandering out
in the wilderness. I asked Joe if he
could play ALL positions, and he said he was willing to try, if one of us would
hit for him. We got extremely silly and all of a sudden the situation
seemed hilarious. We weren't much of a team but by gosh we
were going to make it work!
We decided if all else failed, we'd sing, tell jokes and dance for three
hours till they got there.
Folks weren't laughing when we arrived... the stands were full,
the hot dogs were hot, the opposing team was warmed up, and it was 90 degrees!
The song "Shrimp Boats are a Comin' " kept going through my mind as I scanned
the distance for the first view of the bus............ and what a beautiful sight it
was..... more than an hour after the game was to have started... and
three hours after we had arrived at the Spokane hotel.
The boys piled out of the bus and had to take their uniforms out of the
laundry bag as they'd planned to launder them after we arrived at the hotel,
before the game. Whew... a little blue cloud
hung over them as they walked into the gate after dressing out in the open
parking lot! They hadn't had a bite to eat since breakfast,
were exhausted and HOT... but they played respectably and lost the
game 5-4 to a really good team from the West Coast League, the
Spokane River
Hawks. Check out the pictures from the red writing to the left,
or the menu below, Coeur
d'Alene.
Friday July 17, 2009 Leaving Spokane and driving to
(click)
Belgrade, Montana
Got up at 4:15 am, got ready, down to the lobby where our
large group pretty well decimated the free breakfast the hotel
offered, into the bus and van, and were on the road early!
We have a long drive, a youth clinic at 4pm, and then a game at
6:30. The host is going to pitch huge tents
on the ball field for the team to sleep in, and Don and I have a
cabin beside a river they said. This
is my last full day with the team as we get to Sturgis tomorrow
night. I look forward to family time, but have to admit
I will miss this group and all their adventures.
............. Wow! There are hosts and then there are
the folks from Belgrade, Montana. They take the ribbon for
exceptional hospitality! From the moment we walked into
the park, they made us feel so welcome. We got to know the
people involved in baseball and several from the stands, all equally
wonderful mid-western people. Being from South Dakota
and Colorado originally, we felt we had "come home"!
Johnny Graham had been our contact and we had been impressed with him from the
start. When we met him, we certainly weren't disappointed! You can
tell the program has had great community support. Over the years they have
built and added more to their ballpark, which has to be one of the premier parks
in the west. The scenery as you sat in the stands,
was awesome!
They had put together an all-star Montana team, that was very competitive.
The game was tight until the last innings when the Goldpanner bats started
humming. The final score, 10-3, doesn't totally represent
the game, which was close through much of the play.
After the game they had a warm meal for us and for the Montana players who
had come long distances to join their team. Johnny Graham had
even cooked the taco meat on top of all his other duties! The friendly and thoughtful women
who served made sure everyone had enough, and they probably will never know how
much everyone enjoyed it, after cold sandwiches from convenience stores!!
Johnny Graham, Ron Barnett, Chet Laymon, Dick Rothing, Don Graff
Ron Barnett guided Don and I to a quaint little log cabin in a beautiful setting,
for the night, while the rest of their crew put up hunting tents for the boys
and coaches to sleep in overnight. We will see that when we go
over for the breakfast they are cooking for us, at 7. We won't
forget this stop or the great people here! There
is a long drive ahead - I will get out in Sturgis, and the team will
go onto Nebraska.
One really exciting thing from Belgrade - a former
Goldpanner, Sherwin Scott, who had played with the original
team in 1960, came to the game with his wife. Don
and Jim had such a good time talking with him and some
hunting/fishing trips were planned for the future. See
pictures of him on the
Belgrade, MT
page of pictures.
Saturday July 18, 2009
We got up at 5 in order to be ready and at the park for their breakfast at 7.
Four of their men cooked potatoes, eggs, bacon - had various drinks... It
was wonderful. The boys slept well in the tents - the head coach went to
their clubhouse and slept on the couch - all enjoyed it a lot. We
reluctantly said goodbye to some of the greatest people we've met on the trip
and invited them all to Alaska. I hope they
come. Their coach told me he'd always heard about the Goldpanners team, Don and the Midnight Sun Game, and to have them come to
his town is the pinnacle for him. What a wonderful thing to say!
They treated us accordingly and it will end up being the highlight of the trip
for many of us just because they were such
good folks and have such an excellent program.
We are now driving towards Sturgis...
And when the bus rolled through Sturgis, the photographer (Ann) hopped out, so the
rest of the trip will have to be told with newspaper stories ..and
Don will take some pictures and write his remembrances.
THANK YOU!!! to our wonderful hosts and the new friends we met along
the way.
Ann Dennis
(Don picks up the happenings.....)
The group found various eating spots in Sturgis,
dropped Ann at her mother's house, and then trucked on
moving to Chadron, NE for the night. Entering Chadron we found a good
motel immediately and all found food--many at WalMart-- and bedded
down, except Coach Dietz who spent a couple of hours doing laundry. The
motel offered not only its laundry room but provided soaps, etc.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
This day was to be entirely travel with a pot-luck dinner set for 7 p.m.
in Dodge City, KS. A major interruption came just outside Wray, CO when
an inside rear dual on the bus threw its recap. Sunday afternoon
everything was closed except a convenience store. The woman there told
Jim Dietz there were two tire guys in town but one was certainly out
racing. She provided both numbers and we called, got no one, but did
leave messages. Coach Dietz wandered around behind the convenience store
and that is where the Schwartz Tire Co. was located. He noticed a racing
trailer behind a pick-up in the parking lot and peered into the window.
A man was power washing his racer in the back and came to the door after
Jim pounded for some time. He looked at the bus but did not have the
required tire in stock. He did call all the tire outfits in the
surrounding area but found nothing. It looked like a wait until Tuesday
when a tire could be delivered from Denver. The bus had a spare steering
tire but no spare dual. The load was too heavy and the distance too long
to drive on. It was decided Oakley, KS, would be the first good
opportunity to get it taken care of and that was too far. Then he made
one last call to the other tire company run by Richard Lapp. He had
returned from a motorcycle ride and stopped to check his machine and got
the message and was still at the store when the call came. He had the
group bring the bus over and he did not have the proper tire but quickly
figured by installing two new rims and two new tires he could solve the
problem. A lot of work--and three hours later--the bus rolled on.
We
were four hours late to Dodge City, arriving at 11pm, but would you believe all of the
people were still on hand at the Dodge House Hotel for the welcome
pot-luck. In addition Dodge City was the one place where our players
were being housed with families and all of those people waited. A
good meal, a short program of welcome, and we were all off to bed.
Monday, July 20, 2009
The busiest day of the trip unfolded as the
Dodge City people rolled out
the red carpet. First it was a one-hour trolley tour of the city, then a
walking tour of Boot Hill with a retired Marshal, then a museum visit.
At 11 a.m. a ceremony was held at the Long Branch Saloon and then the
Dodge City people hosted a fajita cookout on the Boot Hill grounds.
After lunch the players went to Youthville, a facility for children
without parents, and talked and entertained. We learned we had a
juggler and a break dancer on board! After a brief rest at the
Dodge House (owned by former Fairbanksan Justin Swift) we took the field
against the Dodge City A's. The host team got a walk off single in the
ninth to claim a 6-5 win. The Panner team was then fed another pot-luck
style dinner at the concession area of the ball park, joined by the
Dodge City players and coaches. General Manager of Dodge City is Phil
Stephenson, former Goldpanner and major leaguer.
Our
hostess was Debbie Setzkorn - she has few peers. Debbie
is called "No. 1 team mom"
and the 26 members of the Goldpanner party do not dispute that one little bit.
We are certainly grateful to all the good people of Dodge City, KS.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
A 6:30 a.m. start was needed as the original destination of Beatrice, NE
was changed to Clarinda, IA--about another two hours farther than
Beatrice. Beatrice folded its team on July 19 so the schedule was
quickly changed and we went to Clarinda for two games on the 21st and
22nd instead of Beatrice. The two days originally planned for Clarinda,
the 23rd and 24th, were changed to include Chillicothe, MO. Debbie was
on hand to see us off, loading us with drinks and cookies for the long
trip. Don veered off to the Kansas City airport to pick up Brian Kerley, a film guy
flying in from Boston to join us for the balance of the trip. All arrived
in Clarinda about 3:30 p.m. and got a little rest before heading to the
park. A superb pitching performance by Thomas Hoenshell boosted the tired but happy Midnight Sun boys to
victory. Clarinda has had a team since 1955 and General Manager Merl
Eberly has been involved all those years. Merl, who is battling cancer,
was a gracious host along with wife Pat and son Ryan, who manages the
A's on the field.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
The group slept in and boarded the bus at 10 a.m. for the 2 1/2 hour
trip to Chillicothe, MO. Chillicothe won the MINK League playoff on
Wednesday night, clearing the way for the Panners to play a two-game
series on a first-ever visit to the Missouri city. Lodging was at
the Grand River Inn and good eating places were plentiful. As
mentioned earlier the Chillicothe visit came about to fill the void
created when the Beatrice Bruins folded their team just ahead of the Panners arrival. A good game unfolded at Shafer Stadium and the
Panners walked away with an 8-5 win. But, the game was disrupted in
the seventh inning when
Chillicothe
protested the Goldpanners' batting order. The umpires, unfortunately
the poorest we had seen on the trip to that point, could not get
things under control and even ordered runs off the Panner scoreboard
before coming to the decision to deny the protest. The Goldpanners
did bat out of order as the Mudcats claimed, however, the protest was
not entered before the next batter had his turn and therefore was
not timely. The plate umpire actually told Coach Dietz after the
flap, "you will not get one more break in this town."
Friday, July 24, 2009
Another restful day. There was time to service the bus. We
also had time to get the team van serviced.
The Panners raced out to a 5-1 lead early in the
game and looked to be moving toward a sweep of the MINK champs when
something snapped--the pitching
deteriorated,
fielding woes abounded and the hitters slumped. The result was a
10-inning loss in a game that at one point was well in hand. The
Mudcats presented one of the most impressive players seen on the
trip in a speedy outfielder named Sandford. He actually was a player
that could be a game-changer, and it was his speed in the 10th that
led to the Panners' undoing.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
The travel this day was about 3 1/2 hours but was an easy drive and
there was good rest before taking the field in
Junction City
against the Generals. Junction City has a wonderful ball park which
was build as part of the WPA in 1933. The stadium is a prize but the
playing surface a little less. The pre- and post-game shows were
outstanding. The pre-game was highlighted by sky divers who
descended onto the field flying the American flag as the National
Anthem was played. The post game, which included a feed for the
players, was a first-class fireworks show. The entire on- field
presentation would make any minor league baseball operation proud.
The Panners' pitching woes continued and the team took a second
consecutive loss.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
The second day in Junction City meant more rest and it was good.
There was time to do laundry and find restaurants for a
change in the convenience store diet. The game was a very good one
with a fine pitching job by Thomas Hoenshell going by the boards in
a 1-0 loss. The Junction City hospitality continued after the game
and in the end rivaled the reception our team had gotten in Belgrade
and Dodge City. The Junction City team is just four years old and
plays as an independent, but is definitely one of the better
semi-pro programs out there at the present time.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Another day with about a 2 1/2 hours bus ride. The team was hosted
to a special meal at the Golden Corral after reaching
Hays, KS. The
game was the first of a week-long trip through the long-standing
really tough Jayhawk League. A light rain fell through the early innings but the
skies cleared and a good game unfolded, the Panners taking yet
another one-run loss at 5-4. As with some earlier losses the Panners
could not get over the final hump leaving runners at second and
third with one out in the ninth. Previous one point losses to this
point were 4-3 to Kelowna; 2-1 in extra innings to the Seattle
Studs; 6-5 to the Dodge City A's; 5-4 to the Spokane River Hawks; 6-5
in extra innings to Chillicothe; and, 1-0 to Junction City. The only
actual thumping to go with 12 wins was the first night setback at
Junction City.
Tuesday July 28, 2009
Travel to Liberal took about three hours but the bus and van took
separate routes. The van took a side trip to Dodge City where film
guy Brian Kerley, Jim Dietz and Don revisited with the folks of the
city. Filming was done at Cavaliar Field, Dodge House Hotel with
owner Justin Swift, the Youthville Facility and extensively at Boot
Hill. Most of the items shot were to document the initial visit when
neither professional cameraman was able to attend. The visit by the
Panners to Liberal was the third time they had been there, although,
the team had not been to the Oklahoma border city since 1975. When
the van arrived in
Liberal we went to the airport and met film producer Anthony
Keel who joined us for the balance of the trip. Anthony had done the
early part of the trip through Canada and returned after taking care
of other business. The game was all Liberal after a first-inning
outburst by the Beejays. The Panners were housed at the Days Inn on
Pancake Boulevard, across from the Rose Pontiac GMC Dealership in Liberal.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Wednesday was the last major travel day as at the end of the 4 1/2
hour drive from Liberal to Wichita the team checked in at the
Studios Plus East Suites and resided there the balance of the stay.
A small glitch came when the hotel did not have all the rooms
reserved--in fact only 4 of 12--and most of the team was put a few
blocks away at the Guest House Suites. After getting oriented in the
hotel it was only about a 30-minute drive to El Dorado for a game
with the Broncos. El Dorado had moved a league game up to the
afternoon in order to have the evening open to play the Panners.
El Dorado
appeared to be the strongest of the teams we had seen on the trip,
and after benefiting from another first-inning burst, rode to a win
over the Panners. (El Dorado went on to win the
national championship in Wichita on August 15th).
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Somewhat of a restful day. Dr. Bud Hollowell, who is to be an
honorary coach at the Aug. 1 ceremonial game opening the NBC
Tournament, arrived by plane from Florida. More of the players moved
to our hotel, though three rooms of them remained at the Guest
House. The evening game was at
Derby, about 15
minutes south of Wichita. The team arrived early for live batting
practice. The game followed the same pattern as the previous two,
except this time it was a dropped fly in the outfield that led to
Derby's big first inning lead in an eventual 6-3 game. Derby proved
to be a pleasant city with a great ball park. The Derby game
completed our tour of the Jayhawk League teams--Dodge City, Hays,
Liberal, El Dorado and Derby. It was the Panners' first ever visit
to all except having been to Liberal. The Jayhawk League teams were
all well organized and performed well on the field. The games were
pure baseball.
Friday, July 31, 2009
An off day. About noon the team gathered at a soup and salad
restaurant for a hosted team meal and afterward did a recap of the
trip. Most assumptions were general but Junction City was noted as
the best stop while Dodge City was the most interesting and
Belgrade, MT, was both unusual and exceptionally good. Umpiring was
not much of an issue except Coach Dietz felt the best job was done
in Belgrade and all realized the low end of the officiating came in
the two games at Chillicothe. In fairness to Chillicothe, they put
the game together on short notice and the umpires were imported. In
fact, one had just left the Alaska League after breaking his hand
and was limited to base duty.
Later in the day the team went back out to Derby and took batting
practice in the cages before winding down.
Saturday, Aug. 1, 2009
The big day. The entire trip was about getting to
Wichita in a
barnstorming fashion to play the ceremonial opening game of the 75th
NBC Tournament. Former Panner Phil Stephenson, now coach at Dodge
City College and General Manager of the Dodge City A's, joined us as
an honorary coach representing the 1980 national championship team.
The pre-game activities gave the Goldpanners a big stage to salute
the NBC, the team itself and Alaska's 50th year of Statehood. Steve
Dennis and his family drove in from College Station, TX, for the
game and youngest son, Stevie, served as the Goldpanners' bat boy.
Liberal held on to win the ceremonial game 6-5. The Jayhawk League teams
managed to sweep the Panners and left the barnstorming unit with a
final record of 12-12.
There had been some thought of combining the Fairbanks players and
the barnstorming players into one team and taking part in the
tournament play, but it ended up not possible.
Sunday, Aug. 2, 2009
This day proved to be an off day. The NBC had discussed a final
ceremonial game with a Wichita area team but that did not come
about. Most players visited a mall and some went to the stadium to
watch the early round games of the tournament. Dr. Hollowell flew
home after putting himself in the record books as a five decade man
for the team.
Monday, Aug. 3, 2009
Yet another travel day but almost the last. First it was a swing by
the Wichita airport to drop off some of the team members for flights
home. The rest of us drove to the Denver area, spending the night in
Byers, getting in position for all to fly home on Tuesday. Don drove
Anthony Keel to the Denver airport to pick up the car he had left.
Brian Kerely had flown out of Wichita earlier in the day.
Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2009
Busy day started at 6 a.m. when Don drove Carey Schwartz to the
Denver airport. The remaining team members and coaches departed for
the airport at 9 a.m. with most flights leaving between 12 noon and
1 p.m. When the last of players and coaches were dropped off at the
Denver airport Randy Barber drove the bus, Don followed and the bus
was parked. Randy took a late flight out of Denver to his
home in Tempe, AZ. Don continued on in the van en route to Sturgis,
S.D., to pick up Ann but shut down for the night in Scottsbluff, NE.
(Nearly 6,000 miles on a bus, 26 days and 24 games later, the
Fairbanks Goldpanners’ barnstorming tour is at an
end. They played in 18 different ball parks,
covering 12 states and British Columbia.)
Don and Ann drove to San Diego to regroup for 5 days - then drove
the 3,729 miles back up to Alaska to shut down the ballpark and close things up for
the winter. They will spend about 6 months at
their San Diego home, and then begin the process all over again for
the 44th year, 2010.
(click thumbnails to enlarge)
The 2-Disc Touching
the Game, Alaska DVD was released on
11/30/09. At a price
of $19.95, the DVD features the full-length director’s
cut of the film as well as plenty of extra features and
unseen footage. To order, click here.
This film was
3 1/2 years in the making and covers the entire
Alaska League, with a lot on the Goldpanner program and
interviews with famous players who have come out of the
program.
|
2009 BARNSTORMING TRIP
MIDNIGHT SUN GOLDPANNERS |
|
Ann
Dennis's Recap of the Trip |
|
01 Team Closeups,
Management and Crew Pics |
|
02_Longview WA - gathering and win game
12-1 |
|
03_Kamloops:
(Seattle Studs) loss
2-1 |
|
04_Kamloops:
(Kamloops Sun Devils) win
8-1 |
|
05_Scenery Cache Creek to Kamloops |
|
06 Kamloops Misc player pics |
|
07 Kamloops:
(Red Deer) win
17-3 |
|
08 Kamloops:
(Kelowna Jays) win
13-3 |
|
09 Kamloops:
(Seattle Studs) win
2-1 |
|
10 Kamloops:
(Everett WA) win Championship
5-3 |
|
11 Kelowna, BC:
Game 1 - win 4-3 |
|
12 Kelowna: Game 2
- win 4-3 |
|
13 Kelowna: Game 3 - loss
1-0 |
|
14 Kelowna Breakfasts - Leaving
for Idaho |
|
15 Coeur d'Alene Idaho:
loss 5-4 |
|
16 Belgrade Montana:
win 10-2 |
|
19 Dodge City KS: loss
6-5 |
|
20 Clarinda IA: win
2-1 and win 10-7 |
|
21 Chillicothe MO: win 9-5
and loss 5-4 |
|
22
Junction City KS: loss 6-1
loss 1-0 |
|
23 Hays, KS
loss 6-5 |
| 24
Liberal_KS:
loss |
| 25 El_Dorado_KS:
loss 6-1 |
|
26
Derby KS: loss 7-2 |
|
27 Wichita
- NBC
L 6-5 |
|
28
Jim Dietz, Midnight Sun Goldpanners
Coach |
|
29
Aaron Torres, Goldpanners Media |
|
30
Randy Barber, Assistant Coach and Bus
Driver |
|
31
Anthony Keel, Eye Candy Cinema |
|
32
The Bus
- Pictures of the Team Rolling Down the Road |
|
Contact us at
 |
|
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Driving to Alaska to start the season |
|
