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May 2019 • ALAMO TODAY & DANVILLE TODAY NEWS • PAGE 1
& M AY 2019
TR AVEL AND FRIENDSHIP VIA 4-H STATE PICKLEBALL: FAST TO LEARN, FUN TO PLAY By Jody Morgan EXCHANGE By Fran Miller
Head, heart, hands, and health - for more than 100 years, these four words have expressed the 4-H mission of engaging youth in reaching their fullest potential. While 4-H likely brings to mind the image of white jeans and green scarf-clad youth parading livestock at the county fair the core content includes life skills, leadership, public speaking, and community service. In addition to the classic 4-H category projects such as poultry, sheep, horse, and swine, 4-H has broadened its scope to include geocaching, sewing, cooking, rocketry, robotics, and virtually any subject for which a member has an interest. And
within Alameda County and Contra Costa County, 4-H content also includes travel and friendship for teens ages 13 to 18 via the State Exchange program.
See Exchange continued on page 14
Photo by Alamo Rotarian, Skip Kuebel, Cyber Island Graphics.
A mad dash was made in the hunt for hidden eggs at the recent Easter Egg Hunt and Family Fun Day sponsored by Rotary Club of Alamo. The event attracted over 2,500 including 800 children and their families. The weather was perfect and the kids had a great time finding the eggs hidden throughout Livorna Park. In addition to the Egg Hunt and a visit by the Easter Bunny, there was music by the East Bay Banjo Club and the Alamo Elementary School Chorus as well as fun activities including face painting provided by volunteers and the Monte Vista High School Interact Club, which is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Alamo.
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Born on a Bainbridge Island badminton court in 1965, pickleball gained momentum as a competitive sport as it spread across the country without losing its original laid-back essence as old-fashioned family fun. Since Bill Dougherty initiated pickleball play in Rossmoor in 2009, the number of enthusiasts in Walnut Creek and nearby communities has increased exponentially every year. Researching the story with pickleball’s progenitors, Beverly Youngren and Jennifer Lucore discovered that five decades after the events that got the game going, each of the princi- Kris Hunter, WCPB President, poses with Bill pals had slightly different Dougherty who put pickleball in play locally in 2009. (Photo courtesy of Kris Hunter) recollections. In Pickleball: History of more than 50 years of Fun! published in 2018, the authors faithfully record those occasionally conflicting memories. Summering on Bainbridge Island with their families, the Pritchard, McCallum, Smith, Bell, and Brown children began lamenting on a July day in 1965 that they had nothing to do. To squelch their whining, Joel Pritchard sent them to the badminton court to devise something. Surprised by their extended absence, the parents went to investigate. The kids were happily engaged in playing a sport of their own invention. Over the course of that summer, the adults became hooked on the still nameless game. Rules followed their desire to keep scoring points equally possible for all family members regardless of size or gender. A tree hugging the court’s baseline dictated an original regulation permitting service to happen with one foot in the court. Underhand service worked best. Joel Pritchard wanted to hit the ball a bit harder, so he lowered the badminton net to hip height. Two rules minimizing the taller, stronger player’s ball-smashing advantage at net were adopted. The served ball had to bounce once on each side before a volley could be made, and no volley could be played within an area by the net initially termed the no-volley zone, now called the “kitchen.” Wiffle balls, readily at hand for early experiments with equipment, soon
See Pickelball continued on page 18
The Editors Serving the communities of Alamo, Diablo, and Danville
Volume XIX Number 5
Volume X Number 5
3000F Danville Blvd. #117 Alamo, CA 94507 Telephone (925) 405-6397 Alisa Corstorphine ~ Publisher Editor@yourmonthlypaper.com The opinions expressed herein belong to the writers, and do not necessarily reflect that of The Editors. The Editors is not responsible for the content of any of the advertising herein, nor does publication imply endorsement.