sporting life
Far left, Shirley Reno and Faye Stratton play in a recent game. Larissa Hanson and Stratton take a break from throwing to take a photo. The mother-daughter duo are continuing the family tradition of horseshoe throwing started by Stratton’s mother.
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Women’s horseshoe league turns 50 Story and photos by Kristy Basolo-Malmsten
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n Western Marquette County, Tuesday nights are a time for ladies to get together and have some fun outdoors. Friends, cousins and even immediate family gather to pitch, chat and enjoy the fresh air. The Ishpeming-Negaunee Women’s Horseshoe league celebrated its 50th anniversary this season. The league’s players range 50 years in age as well, from those in their 20s to those in their 70s. In the case of Faye Stratton of Negaunee Township, her experience in the league is special as she has played with both her mom and her daughter. “Horseshoe nights make me think of my mom,” she said. “Good memories.” Her mom, Sylvia Lammie, was one of the original players in the league. Lammie, who passed in 2011, threw competitively until she was 83 years old. She was an inspiration to the women in her family — even placing second in the senior division for the Great Lakes Games. “My mom traveled to play in community horseshoe tournaments,” Stratton said. “She even did well in the senior division in the state games.” Now, Stratton is the only original player still partici-
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pating in the league, which was started by Pat Paquette in 1972. Paquette, who passed away in 2019 at almost 90, was honored by the league many times for her dedication to sustaining the league over the years. Stratton can’t be sure she played in the league from the very beginning, but remembers subbing at an early age. “I remember playing around the time my children were born, and loved it,” she said. Stratton and her daughter, Larissa Hanson, both say they learned to pitch at camp when they were young. Other family members were doing it, so it only made sense to learn so they could join the fun. “I remember my grandpa saying, ‘It doesn’t matter where you stand, the peg doesn’t move,’” Hanson said. “He taught us about getting the shoe to flip and how to lock it in.” Stratton’s current team, the Negaunee Township Quickshooters, won the league this year by one game. She threw every week of the season, and her teammates say she was a unifying force for her team. “I’m very young-minded, and I plan to stay that way,” she said.
September 2021
Stratton said the league win was special for her on the 50th anniversary. Her team has been in the top of the league standings for a few years, but just couldn’t pull past league leaders, Vick’s Little Store (formerly Tino’s), who won the league for several years in a row. “My mom is smiling down on this,” Stratton said. The connection with Grandma Sylvia is something that the mother-daughter duo draws on for focus even
