Clarinda A's Baseball

For those of you who are not familiar with the A's program and my involvement, let me introduce myself - for all of the 54 years the team has been in existence my husband Merl and I have been part of it - first he was a player, then coach and manager (from 1961-1997) and during that span we have housed players, run the concession stand, done the recruiting and been part of the fund raising and promotional events. Currently we still are involved in most of that list and he is serving as General Manager. He is called Ebby, Mr. E, Big E, Coach, ME and I'm sure some titles that we probably don't know (or want to know) about - for the most part, I'm Mama E or Mrs, E.
I don't usually do a column for the newsletter or website, but with the unusual events of this past year I thought warranted it, so please bear with me.

A year ago in October Merl had surgery for prostate cancer after doing hormone therapy during the 07 season. It went well, with no follow-up treatment necessary. In April of this year he was diagnosed with colo/rectal cancer and had surgery on June 6th, with chemo and combination chemo/radiation just finishing up this November. He is currently recovering from a 25 day hospitalization during and following a November 21st surgery to repair a colon obstruction caused by the radiation.

2008 season had started at home on Memorial weekend and coming home from a three-day road trip (see story elsewhere) the A's bus caught fire in the early morning hours of June 1. It was a total loss of the bus, the team equipment and uniforms, as well as all the player's personal belongings.

Between the 1st and 6th it would have been so easy to just pack it in and cancel the season - but that is where the true essence of the A's program became evident.

A's board of directors, auxiliary and houseparent stepped up, as did the local Chamber of Commerce and our alumni. Before Merl had gone to Omaha for his surgery, we were assured that there would be funds to replace the team's shoes, gloves, etc. and that the season would go on as planned - only had to reschedule one game the day after the fire.

Three "F's" became, and continue to be, a very important part of our lives during these past months.

Faith - in our Heavenly Father and His impact on events. When the bus caught fire it could have been a disaster in injuries and possibly loss of lives, but there must have been many guardian angels looking out for the team, manager and driver. As you can see from the photos, there wasn't much left of the bus. The way the help came forward had to have been guided by Divine Providence - one pitcher from 1979 emailed following the fire to ask what he could do. After explaining that his 13 year old boy had been going through some old clippings and found some from his days in Clarinda he had searched the internet for the A's to see what he could find and it was just days after the incident and subsequently the player made a substantial donation to the bus fund - only the hand of the Lord could have prompted that young man to follow up after reading about his father's playing days. Faith has also sustained us during Merl's illness and surgeries.

Family - our immediate family has been nothing short of terrific with support and caring, but we would be remiss if we didn't include our extended family - those of you who have been part of the A's family. We have always said that is what the program is all about - being part of a large family and it has certainly been so true as you have offered encouragement and shown us such acts of kindness and love.

Friends - we have heard from so many of you who have been part of our lives through the years, not only locally, but from across the country. Messages have come from every corner and we are humbled by your words.

There is no way that we can truly express our feelings for the support of the program and us personally, but one thing we encourage each of you to do is to have regular physical exams - guys, check your PSA, gals, have your Pap smears and mammograms and all of you a colonoscopy - do everything you can to catch cancer in its early stages.

Plans are currently underway for the 2009 season - our 55th - and ME is going to be ready to continue his duties as GM knowing that with your support it will be a successful one.

Again, there is no way we can thank you enough for the calls, visits, cards and especially prayers during these past weeks, but we can wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. God bless each and every one of you.