Swap Shop

www.southernsenior.info 13 Men like Granville “Expert” Smith, Frank Frierson, Randy Holliday, Vic Sanders, Al Courtney, T.J. Jarrell, Cotton Jarrell, Melvin Jarrell, A.L. Franklin, Woody Spiers, Ed Malley, Bob McNatt, Herb Hubbell, Bill Wolfe, Jim Meit- zler, Laverne Stuart, Mike Leleux Sr, Richard Buckley, Mike Sheffield, and so many others. I can’t recall all of the names of those who gave so much to youth baseball, but there were even more. Our teams were sponsored by the Shriners, Optimist, Jaycees, Lions Club, Bank of Picayune, Tower Loan, Crosby Chemicals, Rotary, Kiwanis, American Legion, VFW, Jones & Garrett, Paul’s Pastry, Pasquales, and First National Bank to name a few. We also had men who served as umpires that became fixtures at our games. Morris Bond, Ernie Ainsworth, Joe Willoughby, and Charles Strahan showed up every night, did the job, took home what I’m sure was very little in pay, but like the great coaches, made the game better for us. We played at two fields in Picayune during that time. The ‘Snowball Stand” or “Behind Gibson’s” as we referred to them. Behind Gibson’s” is now a fire station and fire train- ing facility nestled behind the Claiborne Hill shopping center in north Picayune. The Snowball Stand field was on West Canal Street where the Mississippi Power building is today. Lots of great memories and fun times were had at that location for us over the years. I recall one of my favorite stories as told by my mother who was always in attendance at our games. It was not uncommon for mothers to bring field peas and butterbeans to the games and shell them while watching the games. Times were different, but good. My mother (Lois) was sitting in the stands watching me play and she was sitting near Carolyn Purvis who was at the games watching her oldest Dale play. Stan and Lee, her younger boys, were nagging Ms. Carolyn for some money to get some bubble gum. My mom said Carolyn dug into her purse and could not find any change (lose coins). She reached into the wallet portion of her purse and proceeded to give Lee a one-dollar bill with these in- structions “Lee, get you and your brother one piece each and bring me the change.” Lee and Stan quickly romped out of the park, down the sidewalk under the oak trees to the “snowball stand” and returned later with their jaws stuffed tight with bubble gum. My mom recalls the boys couldn’t talk because their mouths were so full of bubble gum. And as fast as they could unwrap a piece, Lee and Stan were shoving it in their mouths. My mom said they looked like bullfrogs with their puffed-out jaws. Carolyn was furious. My mother said Carolyn took the unwrapped gum from their hands, picked up the wrappers from the bleachers by the boys’ feet, and promptly took a brisk stroll back down the sidewalk to the snowball stand. As the story goes, Carolyn said she waited in line, and when she got to the window she asked, “Who was the moron that gave my boys 100 pieces of bubble gum?” The startled owner stepped up to the serving window and replied, “Well, they put a dollar up on the counter and said ‘we want some bubble gum’, so I figured they wanted a dollar’s worth.” Carolyn told him, “Are you that stupid to do such a thing? Here’s what’s left, give me a refund for this” as she put about 70 pieces of gum back on the window’s ledge. The owner followed instructions with no objection. On another occasion, a fan on the opposing team kept complaining about the umpire. I was catching for our team, and I thought the umpire was calling a very solid and fair game. The opposing fans evidently thought oth- erwise. After the second inning was completed, the umpire walked to opposing team dugout and told their coach that he had someone somewhere on his side of the stands who is acting like they want to finish this game as the um- pire and if they don’t’ stop, I’m about to give them my gear. The coach was puzzled for a moment, but then it registered with him as to what was going on. He told the umpire give him a minute and he would take care of it be- fore we restarted the game. The coach walked over to the fence and said something to his fans. Whatever he said, it quickly put an end to the heckling and complaining. After the game, I found out from a good friend of mine who was a player on the other team what was said by the coach. He relayed the following to me as what the message was. He said the coach said the following. “Hey, if you want to call the game, come down here right now. Otherwise shut up. If you can’t be quiet, go home, wash the clothes, and fix supper.” I asked my friend “Are you sure that’s what he said?” He said, “Yes, it’s the same thing he told her last game. My mom is not a good listener and sometimes my Dad has to threaten her to get her to shut up.” I miss those days, especially as I grow older. Summer was full of fun. Special thanks to all of those who made those the best of times. S