Brute’s Bleat August 23, 2017

Bob Latour, a regular at Tuesday night’s Silver Creek Sportsman’s Park trap shooting range, watched Daryl Hennen and your’s truly take their turns on the trap range last week. This was a season first for both of us as we tested our ability with a scattergun. Anyway, Latour had a big smile on his face when we were done, commenting something like this, Harold, I want to see how you smoked Hennen in your column next week! Apparently my 19/25 was a wee bit better than what Daryl shot. Regardless, it wasn’t anywhere near Latour’s 24/25 when it was his turn. Man, that guy can shoot! In fairness to Hennen, he was trying out an O/U shotgun he normally doesn’t shoot which may have been a factor in the outcome!
* * *
Maple Lake’s Lakers scored two runs in the first two innings of their game with St. Joseph Friday night at Hamburg in the first game of the State Tournament. Donnie Mavencamp and Riley Decker got the RBIs with Decker scoring in the first inning after getting on base with a nifty bunt. His sacrifice fly in the second inning scored Brian Redemske. Starting off with “small ball” paid off big-time for the Laker who won 2-0 in a thrilling pitchers’ duel. Mitch Wurm’s five-hit shutout (five strikeouts) and a great defensive effort by the Lakers pit them against Jordan who finished the season with a 24-9 record. They will face each other Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in Green Isle. Our group of five, Ken and Daryl Hennen, Brian and Mitch Hedman and myself, took in the Watkins vs. New Prague game at Norwood after the hour and forty-five minute Laker game. It was another pitchers’ duel with New Prague breaking the 2-2 tie in the top of the ninth with a three-run homer winning 5-2. Watkins’ pitcher, Matt Geislinger, one of many Geislingers who have played for the Clippers during the last three (?) generations took the loss in an otherwise well-pitched game. . . Howard Lake was a 4-0 winner over St. Martin with Mike Dockendorf getting the shutout. The Orphans scored three of their runs in the first inning when St. Martin had a couple of errors. They have a tough game coming up with the Sartell Muskies on Sunday at 5 p.m. at Hamburg. The third team, Buffalo, played the first weekend and dominated their 15-1 win with Crookston, breaking open that game in the seventh and eighth innings when they scored 13 runs. Their next opponent is Fairmont. The fourth team, Hutchinson from this region, plays their first game Saturday against St. Peter at Hamburg, 7:30 p.m. Last year’s champion, Raymond, won their first game 10-1 over Mora and will play Buckman Saturday at 11 a.m. in Hamburg. . . Lots of baseball left before the Labor Day championship game at Green Isle, 3 p.m.
* * *
There were tons of people in ML Saturday for the Gear-Head Day who admired the huge number of vehicle that were on display on the downtown streets and avenues. I suspect nostalgia among the fans was at the peaking point for those looking for something from their youth they could connect with. I didn’t find a duplicate of a black and white ‘58 Ford that I drove for a few years so I’m assuming it wasn’t high on s’ lists. I admire the time and effort the owners put into restoring vehicles, others who transform vehicles in street rods, etc. The military vehicles from World War II and the huge assortment of motorcycles also caught my eye. I missed the two-man chainsaw demonstration, Randy Mavencamp and Hans Melgaard, which was another part of the day’s entertainment. They sawed donuts off a huge white oak log from Dale Decker’s back yard. Mavencamp said he was surprised how many people asked for huge slices of the log for souvenirs and accent pieces. He said the saw incorporated a Mercuy engine. Anyway, Gear-Head Day was enjoyed by more people than I’ve seen in Maple Lake for a long time and may have surpassed the St. Patrick’s Day Festival.
* * *
I’ve been itching to get back on one of this area’s lakes, but fishing had to take a back seat for some of the other events that also take time, like lawn mowing, daily hikes with Vanna and Anna, refinishing an outdoor bench, a crawl space plumbing repair job, etc. It’s getting to the point I may need to advertise for an assistant to get things done in my golden years!

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply