Summer 2003
Summer is here already and fall is getting closer! Many things have happened since we had our last newsletter. The biggest news was our women's softball team accomplished in snatching the championship title at the National Softball Tournament for the Deaf tournament in Clearwater, Florida!!There were 17 women's teams and LACD won all the way to the finals. Their championship game against the Colorado team was unbelievably memorable and very exciting!! They led from 7-3 until the last inning when LACD's pitcher got choked and gave Colorado one walk too many. However, when their backup pitcher took over, the top inning ended with 7-11 to the other team's advantage.
Our mighty ladies' faith remained still and continued to make solid hits. Kris Gray, as the first hitter during the bottom inning, hit a fly ball to LF and got ousted. Nancy Moore made a single to LCF then Mary Louise Romero tripled to RF, bringing Moore home. Pam Smiley, pinch hitter for Nicole Simms, singled between LCF and RCF, allowing Romero to run home. Traci Price received a walk then Jessica Courtright hit a single to LF. The score was at 9-11 with bases full. Suzanne Stecker made a nice double over LCF's head and tied the score! The stunned Colorado team tried their best but still gave Christina Morgan a walk, loading up the bases once again at 11-11 with only one out.
Angela Kuehn walked up to the bat and told herself to hit a fly ball, so she could bring one more run to win the game. However, Kuehn hit the ball so hard that it flew all the way over the fence, creating an outstanding grand slam! The score flipped up to 15-11!! It was the best comeback game everyone had ever seen!
Awards finally arrived at 3:00 a.m., Coach of the Tournament went to Ken Watson and Traci Price received the honor to be on women's 2nd All Star team. Pam Smiley, Christina Morgan and Kris Gray were also chosen to be on women's 1st All Star team. Naturally, Kuehn was selected as the Most Valuable Player, and NSAD honored the Golden Glove award to Debby Sampson for her fabulous defensive skills. Huge congratulations to our beloved LACD team!
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1 - Mary Louise Romero 3 - Angela Kuehn 4 - Christina Morgan 5 - Kristine Gray 8 - Melissa Kinney 9 - Sandra DeDios 10 - Pam Smiley |
12 - Jessica Courthright 14 - Nicole Simms 15 - Debby Sampson 17 - Traci Price 18 - Kimberly Minard 22 - Suzanne Stecker 23 - Jennifer "JB" Brezinski |
25 - Nancy Moore 30 - Deb Cole 31 - Teresa Ybarra Manager - Ken Watson Ass't Manager - Howard Sultan Team Mom - Etta Stecker |
A worthy note: many thanks to Deb Cole and Pam Smiley for coordinating the fireworks sales in Norwalk as our fund-raiser event where the team earned about four thousand dollars in profits. The money was intended for their trip to Florida which was definitely worth every penny!
Another good news, Arslan finally reached the settlement with us and paid 30 thousand dollars for the purchase of the old LACD building. We sold it to him in 1984, so we are thrilled to put this to a closure! Now we can move on and continue seeking a permanent place, perhaps at GLAD? More information about that will be discussed at the next general meeting in October.
We will have our first annual card tournament on September 20th from 10 a.m. through 4 p.m. at GLAD. Card tournament includes Mexican Train, Crown, Hearts, and possibly Bridge. Be sure to mark your calendar and join us on that day!
Speaking of which, Bob Bergan, with some help from Judy DeSalvio, has been teaching some of us how to play Bridge. If you like to take Bridge lessons from Bob, be sure to attend our social gathering on every third Saturday at 4 p.m. We are thinking of including chess games, and let one of the board members know if you are interested in playing.
My deepest apologies for not mentioning Betty Jo Fredrich's January passing in our recent LACD Topics. Helen Klim, also a LACD member and mother of Ursula Attia, passed away on June 24th. Helen and Betty Jo are sorely missed by many of us. Anne Wallis's mother died last May right before going to Reno. Mary Louise Romero, one of the softball ladies, lost her dad to cancer last July. Milt Miller, former president of LACD, also passed away from the big "C." He is remembered as the loyal bar worker at our old building on Main Street.
On a happier note, Russell Stecker was inducted into National Deaf Bowlers Association Hall of Fame in Minnesota in July. We are proud of him!! Deb Cole, one of the board members, bought a three-bedroom house in Rialto. Elaine Aikin and Richard Cato also bought a house in Riverside. John and Shelly Goul demolished their house and built in a new two-story plan on their old property in West Los Angeles. Meanwhile, they are still living in an apartment one block away from their house.
Donald Rosenkjar was elected as the new president of California Association of the Deaf (CAD). Congratulations, Don!!! Mary Greenstone is proud of her son-in-law, Jeff Lubman, for performing an excellent job on California School for the Deaf, Riverside's 50th reunion. Some of our members also served on the committee with him: Howard Sultan, his assistant, Mary Ann Sultan as the chairperson for registration, Kathy Seymour as Saturday-event chairperson, Scott Kramer as consultant, and myself as secretary. The reunion was successful and attendees claimed they enjoyed themselves very much!
A good number of our members traveled to various places during the summer. Sebby and Barbara Garro went to Deaf Seniors of America in Boston then visited their families in Connecticut and Rhode Island last May. Lenny and Paula Meyer also went to that conference. Don Millwee went to Oklahoma for his 50th class reunion and saw 18 classmates. Ray Harris and Rachel Stone went on a Hawaiian cruise last June. So did Bob Bergan and Adrienne Kosek. Scott & Judy Kramer, along with two other deaf couples, stayed one week at an island in Hawaii.
Ellen and Bill Davidson went on an Alaskan cruise for a week and 3 days last August. Coincidentally, Debby Sampson also cruised with her family to celebrate her mother's 70th birthday then flew straight to Florida (from Alaska) for the NSAD tournament. Traci Price took an adventurous backpacking trip in South America with her friends.
Another person who moved to Riverside, Anna Petrillo sold her house in West Covina and is now living in a nice apartment to be closer to her family, including her son, grandson, and brother. Anna's niece, Scarlett Bernstein, wed Jeremias Valencia in Lake Arrowhead recently. The wedding took place outside right next to the mountains and lake. What a beautiful scene!
Bernard Castaline underwent a cataract surgery on June 10th, and is now happy to see things better! Perrin, Bernard and Marilyn's son, is currently a travel agent for the deaf, and he already arranged some trips for his clients to places such as Laughlin, San Clemente, Las Vegas, to name a few. He also has two cruise trips planned: Mexico in April 2004 and Alaska in July 2004.
As usual, a friendly reminder is sent your way: our next general meeting will be on October 18th at 2 p.m. It is important to show up as we plan to discuss about the possibility of having a permanent place in Eagle Rock. Your feedback and input are always highly valued. See you all at the card tournament in September and general meeting in October!
Etta