All posts by Cris Benton

Club Members, Club Projects, Volunteer Work

Spring Workday shines

 Ethan Bortman reports from 7.000 miles away

Once again, I am pleased to report that last Sunday’s drill and fill workday was a huge success.  I was amazed when I Facetimed Leslie at 1 PM to view the activity from afar and there was nothing to see other than a few munching on pizza.  The work was completed in record time.  Very impressive indeed.  It is this type of volunteerism and cooperation that enables our green to be the envy of PIMD.

Many hands make light work!

A big shout out to the volunteers (listed in random order and including several who called in sick):  Alexandra Terninko, Rolly, Phil Watson, Leslie, the Bentons, Kern, Steve Harris, Annie, Gary S, Chris High, Glenn, Douglas Frey, Martin, Charles, Mike O’, Stephen Ng, Ben Corson, Marty Lorber, Daniel, Mark Baker, Cathy, Tom Birt, and, of course, our four terrific GKs…Patricia, Janie, Judy, and Sarah.  If I missed anyone, please let me know.

For those of you who were unable to participate, stay tuned because most likely there will be another workday in the fall.

The green on Thursday, 27 March

Update: Janie and Patricia just sent a photo of the green from this morning (four days after sanding). The green has received a gentle watering compliments of a cold front and the sand is settling very nicely into the grass – by all accounts a quickly paced recovery is underway.

For more information on this annual maintenance ritual read on.

Continue reading Spring Workday shines →
Community, Special Events

Terry Taplin Visits

Terry Taplin, the Council Member for Berkeley’s Second District, stopped by today’s draw game for a tour of the club and an introduction to bowling.

Our City contacts back in 1930.

The club is located in Mr. Taplin’s district as are well over a dozen club members. Our long history with the city dates back to BLBC’s inauguration in 1929. Our green and clubhouse are situated on City property so it is a fine thing to have the opportunity to brief the Council Member on developments at the club and our upkeep of facilities.

Council MemberTaplin displaying fine form on the green. We hope he comes back to bowl.

It was lovely to meet the Council Member and his staff. We appreciate their taking time to visit.

Club Projects, Volunteer Work

Then and now

While working on the website, I stumbled upon a photo (above) from an open house the club hosted back in August 2017. I was instantly blown away by how much progress the club has made since then in the area visible in the photo. For comparison, here’s a similar image (below) taken in March 2025, almost eight years later.

Looking at the old and new photos, I couldn’t help but think about how much volunteer work and club projects have changed our facilities. It’s impressive how much the green and supporting elements have progressed. In the 2017 photo, I can spot eight places where improvements have been made – some small and some substantial:

Read on for a quick enumeration of progress recently achieved just in the area shown in the photo.

Continue reading Then and now →
Club Members, Special Events, Volunteer Work

Green Maintenance soon

We approach the Ides of March and that means it is time to lavish even more attention on our lovely green.

Work day on Sunday, 23 March, 2025

The Greenskeepers need your help with tining, plug removal and sand application/removal, among other tasks. There are also some light duty tasks in addition to those that are outlined below.  For newer members, this is a great opportunity to learn more about how our green is maintained and to meet other members you may not know.

We will be providing pizza and light snacks for those who volunteer, please let us know if you will join for that.  

Below is an outline of main tasks and timing.  We hope to be done by early afternoon and can use your help even if for a short period of time.

Starting around 8:30 we need 6 volunteers to shovel the plugs from Jose’s tining into wheelbarrows.

View of tining plugs, numbering over 200,000, being swept up for removal.

Starting around 10:00 we need 4-8 volunteers to shovel sand into wheelbarrows and then use buckets to dump the sand into the mechanical spreader. The larger number of volunteers would allow for breaks. 

Starting around 10:30 we need 2-4 volunteers to sweep sand into the plug holes along edges and corners only. Jose will use the tractor with a broom/mat to sweep the sand from most of the green.

The club has most of the equipment, but we could use snow-type shovels and sturdy dollies. Please bring them along if you have those.

Spreading sand to fill the holes created by tining.

We do have some work/gardening gloves, but please bring your own if you have those. 

Please reply to this email by Sunday March 9 to let us know that you can join and what time slot, or to let us know any questions.

Following the workday the green will be closed for approximately one month for continued maintenance.

Club Members

Club Lifters

Embarrassed by the sorry state of the old lifters floating around the club, I made a new set of club lifters. These have three sizes: short (yellow), medium (red), and tall (blue). The intent is that these lifters stay at the club for use by anyone who needs a lifter.

Club lifters
Rental Events

AAA visits

Annie Brillhart’s perfect blend of entrepreneurship and proselytization continues this year. Take for example Monday’s lovely event that introduced a dozen new folks to our game while providing critical financial support for the club. From Annie’s report:

“This afternoon we hosted 12 regional reps from AAA. We divided them up into three pairs games, and we had enough coaches on hand to make sure all our guests not only had a great time, but also had a proper introduction to the game of bowls. As always, everyone had a great time!

Huge thanks to coaches Cathy, Ted, Phil, Jim and Erwin. We couldn’t hold these events without our volunteer coaches!”

Club Members, Tournaments

2014 Fall Ladder

Casual bowling has been enlivened this spring by a ladder match organized by Jim Corr. Players can challenge those holding the three places above them on the ladder – great fun. Here are the recent standings.

PlaceNameHandicapGames Played
1Shawn Roney018
2Lennon Hamilton411
3Nikki Schrager018
4John Hooper121
5Cris Benton121
6Phil Grattan112
7Frankie Napoli021
8Jim Corr023
9Erwin Vista16
10Ray Francis14
11Des Simpson211
12Cathy Dinnean18
13Harry Gans58
14Howard Mackey18
15Ted Crum25
16Sarah Allday36
17Geoff Chandler46

Jim Corr has done a marvelous job organizing the Ladder Matches with timely communication, clear instructions, and the occasional pedagogical riff. His guidance included the following:

Prompt email notification of when a challenge has been issued is essential. You need only email the coordinator and the other player (not the whole group). Also tell the coordinator if a date has been agreed, and, please, please, email the coordinator the result immediately once the game has been played so that he can keep the ladder up-to-date and warn people if someone they had planned to challenge is now out of reach.

Rolling the jack: if one player states at the outset that they wish to roll the jack rather than set it, the other player must accept without complaint. Only if both agree to set the jack should it be done that way. And, whatever is agreed, the same method then prevails throughout the match.

Scoring the handicaps: You should start out as if the handicaps represented the first end. So, if a “5” player is against a “3” player, the first line on the scorecard should be marked 5 on the side of the “5” player (and 3 if you are the “3” player). Two “5” players would start out with 5-5, two “0” players with 0-0, and so on. You might want to put an asterisk or maybe an “H” for handicap beside that first “end” so that it’s clear that it represents the handicap and not a played end.

Club Members, Special Events

Berkeley Jamboree 2014

Which would it be? The first definition of jamboree in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is “a noisy or unrestrained carouse.” This seemed improbable as I watched 42 bowlers from around the Bay Area arrive for the 2014 BLBC Jamboree. To the neighborhood’s relief definition no. 2 –  “a large festive gathering” –  was more applicable for our fine day of bowling under pleasant skies. jamboree 2014-101Holding court in front of a clubhouse festooned with banners and ruffles, Tournament Director Howard Mackey orchestrated event logistics using naught but the notes on two sheets of paper. The format was three rounds of 10-end triples, matches that provided participants with new teammates and a new rink for each game. In testimony to the Greens Committee’s hard work, the rinks bowled well (for the most part) and those challenged by the peripheral lanes met that challenge with good cheer (again, for the most part). jamboree 2014-106At the end of day some folks were up in points; others down. But all had enjoyed a fine day of bowling in good company and, of course, ice cream. jamboree 2014-104

Club Members

Report on Sanding the Green

The club’s hard working Greens Committee provided, via an Annie Brillhart e-mail, a post-sanding update on the green condition:

Jose mowed, plugged and sanded the green today. As promised, he brought a heavy duty blower and attempted to remove as much of the “top” sand as possible. He left quite a bit of sand at the north end (nearest the equipment shed) because he fertilized that area. The rest of the green is sandier than I expected, but Jose will continue to remove the “top” sand every Tuesday and Friday. He assures me that “most” of the green will be in great shape in time for the Jamboree tournament. He said that pesky “east” section might take a little longer, but we typically avoid bowling in that section already.

As to bowling: You can commence bowling tomorrow (Sunday). Please bowl North-South. It will be sandy, but not as sandy as it usually is this soon after he plugs and sands.

Kudos to these club members who meet the daunting challenge of green maintenance head on!

annie-almost-idle

As an extra treat here is a rare photograph of Annie in an (almost) idle state – it lasted all of 30 seconds.

Club Members, New Bowlers, Visiting Bowlers

Notes on the Green

New initiative: Let’s vary rink layout

The Greens Committeee has determined that, for the integrity of the green, bowling should adhere to a schedule of alternative directions on certain days of the week. Rinks need a chance to recoup in the areas where mats, bowls and feet are placed–typically two to six meters from the ditch. Please note the schedule below and maintain this schedule when bowling ladder games as well as draw games. In other words, you will need to be prepared to bowl east-west if that is what the schedule calls for on the day of your match.

 Set rinks to run North-South on:

Wednesdays
Saturdays
Sundays

 Set rinks to run East-West on:

Mondays
Tuesdays
Thursdays
Fridays

Upcoming Green Maintenance – April 5 & 6

It is that time again.  Phil relays:

We have asked Jose to plug and sand the green on Saturday April 5th.  This will adversely affect play for approximately a week. So, there will be no draw games scheduled until Friday April 11. Also, because of this, the birthday party scheduled for March will be postponed until April 27th and combined with the April party. We very much regret this inconvenience, but trust that you will understand that maintenance of the greens is a major priority.

So, the grounds crew will plug and fill the green with a bit of leveling flourish here and there. We will have sandy rinks for a few days thereafter. Now, where are those old bowls?