January 17, 2013 PDF Edition - Wilbraham-Hampden Times
January 17, 2013 PDF Edition - Wilbraham-Hampden Times
January 17, 2013 PDF Edition - Wilbraham-Hampden Times
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Page 0 The <strong>Wilbraham</strong>-<strong>Hampden</strong> TIMES<br />
<strong>January</strong> <strong>17</strong>, 013<br />
From Tee to green<br />
250th anniversary celebration golf<br />
tournament tees off in May<br />
By Dave Barry<br />
Turley Publications Golf Writer<br />
Are you ready to be part of a once<br />
in a lifetime event, a special,<br />
very special, golf tournament<br />
being held, Monday, May 20,<br />
<strong>2013</strong> at the Country Club of <strong>Wilbraham</strong>?<br />
This tournament is one of many events<br />
taking place as <strong>Wilbraham</strong> celebrates its<br />
quarter-millennial anniversary; its 250th<br />
birthday.<br />
The golf tournament is an opportunity<br />
for local golfers (residents and former<br />
residents of <strong>Wilbraham</strong> and their guests)<br />
to take part in the historic birthday of the<br />
town. Just imagine when the next milestone<br />
celebration comes along, the 300th<br />
in 50 years, and the people look back and<br />
remember the 250th event.<br />
Not often does one get the chance to<br />
be part of a historic moment that will live<br />
on for decades and decades. A Time Capsule<br />
will be buried as the <strong>2013</strong> celebration<br />
comes to an end and hopefully will have<br />
items from the tournament, pictures, and<br />
names.<br />
Traditional<br />
Open to men and women it will, in<br />
some ways, be a traditional tournament.<br />
Play will be a scramble format in foursomes,<br />
with low gross and net prizes<br />
awarded. There will be hole-in-one contests<br />
during play as well as a putting contest<br />
(more on this later).<br />
Golf is preceded by lunch, group picture<br />
of all players and then followed by a<br />
social hour and dinner. Each player will<br />
receive a commemorative shirt and hat,<br />
plus logo golf balls.<br />
There are several different and special<br />
parts which are unique to the Anniversary<br />
Tournament celebration. One will<br />
be a display dealing with the history of<br />
the game, golfers and clubs of the past.<br />
On hand will be a long time student of the<br />
game to describe and answer questions<br />
about its earlier years. Pay attention, a test<br />
will follow later at dinner on how many of<br />
the clubs of yesterday can you correctly<br />
name.<br />
During play a putting competition<br />
will take place for each player. What<br />
makes this competition different is that<br />
you cannot use your own putter or balls.<br />
Historical putters, dating back many decades<br />
will be used and the balls provided<br />
will be ones from the past. If you are lucky<br />
WILBRAHAM - Maddy McCloskey<br />
needed roughly 10 minutes Wednesday to<br />
set a pair of records for the <strong>Wilbraham</strong> &<br />
Monson Academy girls swimming team.<br />
In a tri-meet at the Canterbury School,<br />
Maddy touched first in the 500-yard freestyle<br />
and 100-yard backstroke, setting<br />
school records and pool records in both.<br />
“I trained all summer and I want to be<br />
good. I want to get somewhere,” Maddy<br />
said.<br />
Maddy stayed undefeated in individual<br />
events, pushing her winning streak to<br />
10. She’s now part of five school records:<br />
three individual events and two relays.<br />
“Maddy swam really well,” coach<br />
Moran said. “She paced almost perfectly.<br />
She’s really maturing into a legitimate<br />
frontline swimmer. She’s worked extremely<br />
hard. She’s become extremely<br />
focused in the last two years. She works<br />
hard to improve her technique and she<br />
consistently works hard in practice, which<br />
is always exemplary.”<br />
Maddy improved upon her school<br />
and make one of the putts you will qualify<br />
for the final putt off held during the social<br />
hour. Once again the competitors will be<br />
using the old putters and possibly even an<br />
older type ball to determine the winner.<br />
The committee is encouraging participants<br />
to dress in the styles of early years<br />
- knickers, Hogan hats, even a dress shirt<br />
with appropriate tie, vests. You might<br />
consider those brightly vibrant colored<br />
shirts and pants (red, green, orange, yellow,<br />
plaid, checkered, polka-dot), golf<br />
shoes with tassels from the 60s and 70s.<br />
I suggest you check out those old pictures<br />
you have of how you dressed in the past.<br />
There will be a group at the course to<br />
judge the best dress for the day.<br />
Photographer On Course<br />
Prior to starting play a group picture<br />
will be taken as part of the history of the<br />
250th celebration. During play a photographer<br />
will be on the course to take pictures<br />
of each group. Both will be available<br />
at dinner to purchase. These would be<br />
keepers and a memento of the event and<br />
your participation. Decades later picture<br />
your grandchildren looking at these and<br />
saying to their children: “There are our<br />
grandparents and your great-grandparents<br />
celebrating the town’s 250th birthday in<br />
<strong>2013</strong>.”<br />
TIMES photo by Dave Barry<br />
Making plans for the 250th Anniversary Celebration Golf Tournament to<br />
be held May 20, <strong>2013</strong> at the Country Club of <strong>Wilbraham</strong> are (from left)<br />
Vaughn Rist, Dean Helm and Dave Barry.<br />
mark with a time of 5 minutes, 27.77<br />
seconds in the 500 free. A few minutes<br />
later, in her most competitive race of the<br />
Memorabilia highlighting the 250th<br />
will be on display and for sale, lapel pins,<br />
tee shirts, original ink drawings of historic<br />
homes, the center of town, commemorative<br />
“<strong>Wilbraham</strong> <strong>17</strong>63” wooden signs.<br />
Since December 2010 a volunteer<br />
committee has been meeting, planning a<br />
number of events to mark this special moment<br />
in time and a series of fund raising<br />
efforts. The first of which was a town-wide<br />
tag sale this past May, plus a fundraising<br />
letter sent in 2011 to residents.<br />
Many of the events are free and open<br />
to the residents, which include family activities,<br />
picnic, a parade, fireworks, music<br />
concerts, various art exhibits, tours, open<br />
houses and the recently held, highly successful<br />
First Night in the center of town,<br />
which attracted scores of families and<br />
town residents, young and old.<br />
First Night was made possible because<br />
of the generosity, support and<br />
involvement of numerous individuals,<br />
groups, businesses, community organizations,<br />
including the 100-plus residents<br />
who submitted recipes for the Cook<br />
Book.<br />
The first printing of the cookbook<br />
sold out as did the Anniversary Calendar.<br />
The <strong>2013</strong> celebration is getting support<br />
from the <strong>Wilbraham</strong>-<strong>Hampden</strong><br />
season, she established a new standard in<br />
the 100 back in 1:02:51. Both were pool<br />
marks as well.<br />
“I felt ready before the 100-yard<br />
back,” Maddy said. “I felt nervous because<br />
I was going against a girl who was<br />
my biggest competition of the year. I was<br />
going for a win and my best time.”<br />
Ivy Durepo also set a pool record<br />
Wednesday, winning the 50 free in 25.2.<br />
“Mr. Moran pointed the record out to<br />
me before the race,” Ivy said. “I thought<br />
I could definitely do it. I was behind the<br />
block and ready to go. I was thinking<br />
how I was going to put all my effort into<br />
it, get a really fast turn and fast finish. I<br />
did, and I looked up at the time and said,<br />
‘Alright’.”<br />
Ivy, who was recently accepted into<br />
Connecticut College, broke the pool record<br />
by more than a second.<br />
“I’ve been going faster than last year<br />
so at the end of the year I think I’m going<br />
to put some big, huge numbers on the<br />
scoreboard,” she said.<br />
<strong>Times</strong>, <strong>Wilbraham</strong>-<strong>Hampden</strong> Rotary<br />
Club, <strong>Wilbraham</strong> & Monson Academy,<br />
United Church, Shriners, the Masons,<br />
the Country Club of <strong>Wilbraham</strong>, <strong>Wilbraham</strong><br />
Schools, Minnechaug Regional,<br />
students and staff, various music<br />
groups, the Public Library,<br />
town departments; Selectmen<br />
and Treasurer’s<br />
offices, DPW, police<br />
and fire, to name a<br />
few. It has become<br />
truly a community<br />
event involving a<br />
growing number<br />
of groups, citizens<br />
and residents of<br />
<strong>Wilbraham</strong>.<br />
There is an<br />
insert in this week’s<br />
<strong>Times</strong>, a Registration/Entry<br />
Form to sign up for the<br />
tournament. The field is limited<br />
to 112 players (28 foursomes). Cost<br />
is $125 per player. Make check payable to<br />
<strong>Wilbraham</strong>’s 250th Anniversary Committee<br />
and return to PO Box 61, <strong>Wilbraham</strong>,<br />
MA 01095.<br />
Register Early<br />
Get your group together now and<br />
send in your paid entry form early. Foursomes<br />
preferred but individual entries<br />
will be accepted and assigned a group<br />
by the committee. First come, first in and<br />
the deadline is April 15 for entries.<br />
If playing and wish to bring a guest<br />
to the dinner use the Registration Form<br />
in the paper. Mark the dinner box with<br />
number requested and send payment<br />
of $30/person as directed above. If not<br />
playing and would like to attend the dinner<br />
do the same. These should be ordered<br />
prior to the tournament. No tickets required.<br />
We will have a list of those making<br />
payment.<br />
The insert also lists a number of tournament<br />
sponsorships available. Funds<br />
raised go to the 250th Anniversary Committee<br />
to help pay the expenses of events<br />
associated with the celebration. For more<br />
information on these contact Vaughn Rist<br />
at 413-478-8878 or by email at hrsrist@<br />
netscape.net.<br />
If you need more information or<br />
have questions about the tournament or<br />
dinner contact Dean Helm at the Country<br />
Club of <strong>Wilbraham</strong>, 596-8897 or email<br />
dhelm@ccofwilbraham.com.<br />
McCloskey, Durepo set records in pool<br />
Ivy Durepo set a pool record in the<br />
50-yard freestyle with a time of<br />
25.20 seconds.<br />
Turley Publications submitted photo<br />
Maddy McCloskey set a pair of records<br />
for the girls swim team in the<br />
500-yard freestyle and 100-yard<br />
backstroke.