The results are in! After five grueling weeks–no, wait, everybody said they were having a good time…–the BLBC High-Low Fall League drew to a close Sunday afternoon. It was touch-and-go this past summer as to whether or not the tournament would even get off the ground, and we admittedly didn’t have perfect attendance throughout the five weeks of play, but a cordial group of fourteen bowlers managed to pull it off with no noticeable glitches. Since this was nominally a pairs tournament, a format was used which kept Skips and Leads separated into two divisions for scoring purposes. Because not relying on substitutes was an important goal, an interesting mix of alternative games was utilized when necessary. Everyone got on board to make it all happen successfully.

When the numbers were tabulated, both races turned out to be extremely close among the top three finishers. Lennon Hamilton held on to his tournament-long advantage in the Skips division for a narrow victory over a hard-charging Shawn Roney, who in turn squeaked past Dave McMullen for second place. James Judge had such a strong lead that his place atop the Leads division was all but assured even though he missed the finale, while Glenn Nunez barely edged out Cindy Moss for the final prize envelope.

It was a rewarding experience for me to direct my first tournament, made all the more so by the enthusiastic support of all the participants. Maybe we’ll try something like it again!

A few folks were missing for the obligatory final-day group photo, but you get the idea,

Glenn

If someone wanted to find Harry Gans in Berkeley, one only needed to try two places:  The Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club or the French Hotel’s coffee shop on Shattuck Avenue – you’d find him at one or the other before long.  After not having seen Harry for several months, I recently decided to ask the staff of French Hotel if they had any news of him. They told me that Harry passed away around the 4^th of July, with a memorial service at the French Hotel soon after.

Harry seemed to compartmentalize things:  never did the different streams of his life cross over.  Harry protected his privacy vigorously and most of us saw only what he allowed us to see of him.  He confessed some years ago to being in his late 80s (which meant he likely passed away in his 90s); he worked as a graphic artist; and as an illustrator he had several books to his credit, including a little PDF pamphlet that he co-wrote and illustrated that shows his dark sense of humor:  How to Survive Death (  http://wagele.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/book_how_to_survive_death.pdf ).  Harry also penned strongly opinionated letters to the editors of Berkeley papers.

Harry projected a gruff, misanthropic image; but — when you knew him — you found the shy, mischievous man who could be very sweet.  Harry showed his kindness with quickly, but skillfully, drawn cartoons given to people on a lark.  He saw humor in many things, and the gruff mask often gave way to a wry grin—if he liked you.  Harry also passionately disliked bullies, and felt no hesitation in barking at someone he felt crossed the line with poor sportsmanship or condescending behavior toward other people.

Harry came to bowling late in life, but he frequently bowled well above expectations.  Having started the game in his eighties, he did not have the gift of many years to hone it, but he made the most of his game and inspired younger bowlers to at least try as hard as Harry had to.  In bowling, Harry gave up the misanthropic act:  he knew that any bowler worthy of the name works for the good of the team and his club.  Harry never complained if he struggled to place his bowl where he wanted, and he never blamed others for his play.

In the clubhouse, Harry played in the monthly BLBC poker game, and everyone who knew Harry knew Harry’s game:  Texas Hold ‘em, high-low.  At the French Hotel coffee shop, the staff called him “Yo-yo,” because he liked to show off his yoyo tricks.

This link offers the full Harry Gans experience of a New Yorker talking about a New York institution:  Coney Island:  https://www.coneyislandhistory.org/oral-history-archive/harry-gans

Harry shared what he could of his life with the BLBC, and we are glad to include him as one of us – as a bowler.

Once again, on August 11, the San Francisco LBC hosted its McLaren Memorial Mixed Triples tournament, named in honor of John McLaren, the gardener and landscaper responsible for the San Francisco park system in its earliest years, not least its most famous one—it was he who insisted the Golden Gate Park include three lawn bowling greens. In addition, he is said to have planted 2 million trees throughout the City’s parks.

Because of ongoing improvements to two of the greens, this year’s tournament was only hosted on one green, and the entry list filled up pretty quickly. A full contingent of 16 mixed triples teams of bowlers from all over the Bay Area and beyond competed in the usual “rotational” format that has been the staple of this tournament since its inception. Each bowler plays each position (Lead, Second, and Skip) for four ends.

And once again, Berkeley bowlers turned out in force and with winning results: of the 48 players on the green, 8 were full BLBC members, and 4 were dual members.

On top of that, only two teams won all three of their games—both with Berkeley representatives. Giulia Gallo and her teammates, Brian Stewart (Newport Harbor) and Mike McNorton (San Jose), took 1st Place, with 3 wins and 24 plus points, narrowly squeezing out the all-BLBC team of Shawn Roney, Annie Brillhart, and Cris Benton, who came in 2nd with 21 plus points.

Congratulations to all BLBC bowlers!