Howard Mackey—long-time BLBC member, former BLBC president, former greens-keeper, former board-member, and former Memorial & Endowment Fund Trustee—passed away on April 15, 2019.  Howard crammed a lot of life into his 93 years:  he enjoyed taking it all in, and he could tell you hundreds of stories about sailing, RV living in southern California, life in the Bay Area from his childhood to the present day, and bowling.  Life did not just happen to Howard – Howard went at life with a remarkable combination of enthusiasm, stoicism, and old-fashioned directness. 

Bay Area lawn bowlers consider Howard a Berkeley institution, but Howard considered himself an El Cerrito product.  One of those rarities of California — a native — Howard was born to a family that lived in El Cerrito around B Street, near the current Harding School.  Howard remembered the days when the dog track (the site of the El Cerrito Plaza) was the epicenter of El Cerrito, then the colorful and corrupt town that escaped Alameda County DA Earl Warren’s reformist wrath by sitting just over the Contra Costa County line.  He sometimes talked about the squalid trailers not far from his home, where families who worked at the racetrack lived.  Seeing this had a profound effect on the young Howard.  He was proud of his parents’ work as supporters for what eventually became the El Cerrito Good Government League that in 1946 successfully recalled the corrupt city government and replaced 3 council members with league candidates.  He would say that there were many reasons for them not to do what they did – but he felt they did the right thing.  Howard seemed to live his own life making choices inspired by his parents’ integrity.

Howard attended El Cerrito High School and returned to teach there until his retirement.  The halls there have articles and photos of Howard serving his community.  This writer had the pleasure of coaching former students of Howard who came through the BLBC gates years later.  They would reminisce fondly about their time with him.

Howard would want the story of his life to include what a powerful combination he and his wife Barbara (also a bowler and a BLBC member) were.  They lived as though their good fortune, robust health, and ability compelled them to serve their community fully. 

Howard and Barbara joined the BLBC in 1993, and the couple bowled competitively for many years.  The BLBC’s winners’ board includes the Mackeys in all kinds of competitions.  They bowled regularly in PIMD tournaments and did the BLBC proud by bringing back many victories over the years.  And whether he bowled well or not on a particular day, Howard never let the fever of competition overwhelm him: he always started and finished a game with a handshake and sincere thanks for the play regardless of the outcome.

Howard bowled for many years as a lethal skip.  In later years he preferred to bowl as an equally lethal second.  Toward the end of his bowling days, he left the heavy lifting to others and shifted to bowling as lead.  When he wasn’t working on the green or in the clubhouse, he was practicing with 2 sets of bowls, but with neither mat nor rink markers.  He would bowl to a jack that he rolled anywhere on the green.  He then walked to the jack, rolled it out to another random spot on the green and so on.  During these practice sessions, Barbara might be reading on the bench near the memorial plaque in her name.  

When not bowling, Howard and Barbara served the club in countless ways.  Barbara served as board secretary for several terms and Howard served two terms as BLBC president. Howard and Barbara enjoyed running the Berkeley Jamboree for quite a few years.  They frequently were the first to come set up for events and draw games and just as frequently the last to leave when putting things away.  Howard stepped up to serve as greenskeeper for several years, a thankless job that he took on with grace and equanimity.  A common sight would be Howard hunched over a piece of machinery, confidently dismantling and reassembling it.  He might tell an observer about the first time he worked on a piece of machinery like it — and how he completely messed it up.  Ever the teacher, Howard wanted us to know that failure followed by trying again was the key to everything.

Barbara died in 2012, and that took its toll on Howard.  He did not dwell upon his loss in a public way, but if he was comfortable with you, he would speak of his loneliness and how strange it felt for him to wake up without Barbara there.  He also frequently spoke of the happiness and joy his family brought to him:  he knew himself to be lucky and was grateful.

 And that is how we at the Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club feel about Howard and Barbara.  They gave so much time, labor, love, and goodwill to the BLBC and its members.  A grateful BLBC community shall remember them fondly for what they cheerfully provided in so many ways.  We offer our condolences to the Mackey family.

Note: A memorial service for Howard Mackey will be held at the Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club on June 15, 2019.

The BLBC recently received news that former BLBC member George Goldman passed away in June of this year. George joined our club and bowled enthusiastically for quite a few years.  Several years ago he started treatment for leukemia, and the treatment gave him valuable additional time,but took its toll on his physical strength.  George himself likely would have admitted as much.  He proudly honed a rational approach to life and offered an unblinking and unsentimental assessment of his state and prognosis.  That sounds more serious than George was:  his curiosity and sharp sense of irony made George a voluble and entertaining raconteur. 

Outside of his lawn bowling life, George worked at the University of California in the Extension programs as an economist specializing in agriculture.  He was one of the charter members of the BLBC’s poker group. Imagine George and several other economists at the poker table waxing eloquent on various economic issues of the day in technical detail.  The non-economist at the table might think this distraction would help someone focused on the poker score.  Alas, for that non-economist (like this writer), when George sat at the table he won more frequently than he lost when the night’s counting out was through.   

Any conversation with George might cover economics, bowling,music, cooking, camping, travel, softball, or any other topic, really.  He was a charming, forthright, funny, curious and sincere man.  The BLBC offers its sympathies to the Goldman family.

(Note:  more information about George can be found from the notice in the San Francisco Chronicle at this link:  https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/sfgate/obituary.aspx?n=george-goldman&pid=189345558).

Berkeley bowlers put in a strong performance at the PIMD Men’s Singles Championship event and Jim Corr  came home with the 2016 title. (PIMD is the Pacific Inter-Mountain Division of BowlsUSA, comprising clubs in Northern California, Utah, and Hawaii).

The competition, held at the Sunnyvale Lawn Bowling Club the weekend of May 14-15, brought together 16 of the top players from all over the Bay Area. Eight contestants at the end of Day 1 went on to the Championship “A” and “B” Flights on Sunday, with the next four being placed in the “C” Flight and the lowest four in the “D” Flight. In his first game Sunday morning, Jim got off to a good start, beating Miguel Roliz of Rossmoor LBC, the only player who had defeated him on Saturday. This set up a semifinal match against Cris Benton, a fellow Berkeley bowler, that turned into a nail-biter. Jim took an early lead only to see Cris draw level and then surpass him to reach a 17-13 lead. With 18 points being the winning goal, Jim had to dig deep, but eventually managed to prevail by the narrowest of margins, eking out an 18-17 victory.

The final again matched two Berkeley bowlers against each other. Jim faced Frankie Napoli, a dual member of Berkeley and the Rossmoor Club. While not as close as the semifinal, the match nevertheless proved a tough one, Frankie coming within two points (13-11) of leveling the score, but Jim held on to take the game by 18-13 and the 2016 title.

Overall, with Rob Hoey winning the “B” Flight, Berkeley members ended up with four of the top five spots, a great showing. Congratulations to all.