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Page A4 The Joan De Arc Crusader / Saturday, July 4, 2015 Front Page A1 / Editorials A2 / Sahuaro, Astronomy A3 / Crossword A5
When tetherball ruled the earth By J. Bueker
The playground is
the one area at Sahuaro School that appears as vast to me now as it did when I
first laid eyes on the place in 1963. Everything else—the offices, the
cafeteria, the classrooms—all seem remarkably tiny when I visit the school these
days. The diminished stature of the lunch room particularly amazes me: how did
this huge space grow so small in just 50 years? The playground alone retains its expansive character. Perhaps my perception of it remains unaffected because it inhabits the great outdoors and is thus so disproportionately large compared to the school buildings. The planners of Sahuaro set aside an ample amount of real estate for the grounds surrounding the school, and half a century later, not much has really changed there. Oh sure, the original swing sets and slides and monkey bars that I knew are long gone. But the same old softball backstops are all still where I left them when I graduated in ’72. The monolithic concrete irrigation wells remain in place. And there are still a few tetherball poles standing. Ah, tetherball. I have no clue regarding the status of tetherball among today’s youth, but when I was a kid attending Sahuaro, tetherball was huge. At one point it was by far the most popular activity at recess time, bar none. If you were an accomplished tetherball player, you had status among your peers, regardless of any other possible considerations. The tetherball craze inspired many families in Surrey Heights and Westown to install poles in their own backyards, and the Buekers were no exception. I can’t recall the details, but our first attempt at installing a tetherball pole was not entirely successful. The cement foundation was not laid properly I seem to remember, resulting in a “leaning tower” syndrome when the pole was inserted into the ground. Located in the western end of the backyard, this tetherball site was soon abandoned. It seemed our attempt at having backyard tetherball on Joan De Arc had ended in disappointment. Then one morning after breakfast, quite out of the blue, my father made a rather peculiar request of me. “There are a couple of small rugs sitting out in the backyard,” he casually informed me. “Go out there and pick them up for me.” This errand struck me as both exceptionally unusual and mildly annoying, but of course I obediently complied. I located the pair of small rugs lying on the ground in roughly the center of the yard near the back fence. As I drew them up, a newly created cement tetherball pole anchor was revealed. This one was clearly well constructed and much superior to the previous attempt. I was delighted by my father’s little surprise and returned inside the house to find him chuckling. “That one should work better for you,” said the man. Meanwhile back at Sahuaro School, the all-time epic tetherball match was about to take place. It was the spring of 1968, and at this point in time I was reaching the zenith of my tetherball playing abilities: I had been playing the game for about a year and my exceptional height and reach conferred a formidable advantage upon me against nearly every opponent I faced. But on this fateful day I would meet my ultimate challenge. Bobby Gess was arguably the best natural athlete I would encounter during my grade school and high school years. We would become classmates and teammates in Miss Eden’s fifth grade class the following school year, but in the spring of 1968, we were still unknown to each other. Our introduction would take place at the tetherball pole that day during morning recess. Now the typical tetherball match required perhaps 2 minutes or so, and sometimes considerably less. If one player possessed significantly more skill and experience than his opponent, it could all be over rather quickly. Once that ball whipping around the pole gathers significant speed and momentum, it is all but impossible to stop. Since morning recess lasted 15 minutes, 5 or 6 games could in theory be played in this space of time before the bell chimed to signal our return to the classroom. Gess and I were first to reach the pole that morning and so we had dibs on the first game. About a half dozen other kids gathered in line to await their turns. However there would be no other turns that morning. Bobby and I fought to a complete standstill through the entire 15 minutes of recess. My height and reach advantages simply were not decisive against this guy. He skillfully countered everything I threw at him, and it took all my strength and ability to fend off his powerful, high arching returns. Back and forth and it went, thrust and parry, on and on. After about 10 minutes of this, our classmates waiting in line began complaining loudly that their recess time was rapidly dwindling away while Bobby and I slugged it out, depriving them of any chance to play the game. We of course ignored this petty whining. Gess and I were fighting for nothing less than Sahuaro School tetherball supremacy. They were privileged indeed to be witness to this monumental contest. Finally the familiar ding-dong knell sounded, signaling the end of recess, with the game still completely up in the air (pun intended). Our classmates started grumbling and walking back to get in line for the return to class. Bobby and I had no choice but to abandon our game, although of course neither one of us wanted to quit. We reluctantly headed back and agreed the game was a clear tie. My interest in tetherball began to wane after this epic match, and I soon took up other sports like football and basketball. I probably felt that I had played the ultimate game of tetherball and nothing remained to be done in this realm. That unfinished game really ought be decided though, one way or the other. Perhaps it’s not too late for Bob and me to go ahead and finish the match. What say you, Mr. Gess? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ JDA
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