Rotary Messenger

Rotary Club of Eau Claire Editor: Jerry Reinecke July 22, 2013

In This Issue Burleigh Grimes: ’s Last Legal Spitballer • Burleigh Grimes: by author Joe Niese Baseball’s Last Legal (Thank you to Joe Niese for providing this Program Summary.) Spitballer Burleigh Grimes is forever remembered as the ill-tempered spitballer with the perpetual five o'clock shadow. For nearly two decades, he brought his Guests surly disposition to the 's mound. His life-or-death mentality resulted in a reputation as one of the game's great • Ron Pfankuch (Guest of competitors and a spot in the Jack Bartingale) Baseball Hall of Fame. The 4-Way Test Along the Of the things, we think, way he say or do: suited up 1. Is it the ‘Truth’? for eight different 2. Is it ‘Fair’ to all concerned? ball clubs 3. Will it build ‘Goodwill’ and and played ‘Better Friendships’? alongside a 4. Will it be ‘Beneficial’ to all record 36 Hall concerned? of Famers. In all, Grimes spent over half Our Calendar Joe Niese is a librarian and a century in member of the Society for • July 29 – Rotary District professional American Baseball Research. 6250 Group Study Exchange baseball as a His articles on baseball have to Brazil by Team Leader player, appeared in The National Karen Hebert, Member of , Pastime and Nine: A Journal of Baseball History and the Chippewa Falls Rotary coach and Club Culture. His first book, scout. Burleigh Grimes: Baseball’s • August 5 – U.S. Open Last Legal Spitballer, was Chainsaw Sculpture This biography published in spring 2013 by Championship by Larry covers all McFarland Press. He lives in Doyle, Event Chairman aspects of his Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. life, from his View his website at • August 12 – Emerald Ash www.joeniese.com Borer in Eau Claire and early childhood Wisconsin by Todd Chwala, in Clear Lake, City of Eau Claire Parks Wisconsin, to his twilight years in that same Superintendent town. In between are highs and lows, brawls, five marriages, a near-death • August 19 – “Rotary Kool- Aid” by William Pritchard, experience and 270 major league victories. Chair, District Membership Development and Retention Burleigh Grimes (1893-1985) gets ready to deliver one of his infamous . Committee; and Joe Ruskey, Grimes was just 26 years old when the was banned in 1920, but he was one Chair, Rotary Foundation of 17 veteran hurlers exempted from the ban. When he retired in 1934, he was the Committee last of the legal spitballer s.

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Our Calendar (continued) Summary of Visit with Rolf Thingvold • August 20 – Board Meeting (noon at Bank Mutual) (Editor’s Note: In 2004, a Group Study Exchange team from Norway visited our District 6250. While in Eau Claire, Bill Hilgedick hosted Rolf Thingvold , • August 26 – Rotary one of the team members. In June, Bill, his wife, Jane, and their daughters International Grants made good on their promise to visit Rolf and his family. by Tom McCarty Our Club’s president that year was Karen Hebert . Now a member of the Chippewa Falls Club, Karen led our District 6250 GSE Team to Brazil earlier this year. At our July 29 meeting, Karen will be our speaker and talk about Officers/Board of her GSE experience.) Directors for the 2013-14 Rotary Year (Thank you to Bill Hilgedick for providing this article and pictures.) President – Pat Thoney Rolf was part of the GSE team that visited us nine years ago and we have stayed in touch since then. We promised to visit him and this was the President-Elect – Matt Hill summer to make good on the promise. Vice President – Jerry Kuehl Secretary – John Stoneberg Rolf's daughter Guro (now 21) was an exchange student in our district in 2009 and spent her year in La Crosse. She had a wonderful experience as Exec Sec / Treas – Jerry Reinecke an exchange student and is Past President – Mark Morse spending part of her summer Avenues of Service: vacation touring the United Club – Knute Nelson States. She will be staying with Community – Sherry Mohr us for a few days near the end of July. She spent time with us International – Bill Klish during our visit and she quickly Vocational – Bill Klish became good friends with our New Generations – daughters, Katie and Julia. Howard Ludwigson

Contact Us Rotary Club of Eau Claire P.O. Box 671 Above: Bill Hilgedick (right) and his Eau Claire, WI 54702-0671 Norwegian host, Thor Thingvold, www.eauclairerotary.org enjoy a boat ride on one of the Pat Thoney, President fjords. [email protected] Left: Bill (left) and Thor stand on Jerry Reinecke, Exec Sec & Treas the “old road” near Thor’s cabin. 715-838-7640 The old road was used in the [email protected] 1500’s and runs from Olso to Rotary District 6250 Bergen. www.rotary6250.org Rolf lives in Number of Members: 45 Forde and his cabin is in Hemsedahl (easy

to find on Google Earth).

Since his participation in GSE, Rolf worked with his contacts

in LaCrosse and established a Sister City Group Study Exchange team from Norway visits our Club in relationship 2004. From left: Rolf Thingvold, Hege Nygard, Team Leader and Rotarian Halvard Mogster, Trygve Martinsen and June between Nikolaisen LaCrosse and

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LaCrosse in very much the same way as the GSE. There is an area in the main park in LaCrosse dedicated to Forde and the relationship they have with the town. If you go, look for the big Viking Ship.

We spent four days with Rolf as our guide and host and saw the sights in Bergen, rode the Norwegian railroad through the mountains, spent time in some of the villages, boat rides on the fjords, and time at his cabin to relax and hike in the mountains. The sun set there after midnight and was up again at 3:00 AM but it never really got dark.

Rolf had great things to say about the GSE experience he had and sends his thanks to our club for participating.

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