Merchants to hold fastball reunion

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By Murray Green

The former national champions Camrose Merchants fastpitch team will be holding its reunion here on June 9 to 11.

One of the most popular pitchers on that team, Glen Jevne, is excited about the reunion. “The players were so close for so many years. You are part of a big family and then when I retired, that was it. There are a lot of guys I haven’t seen since. This reunion will give us a chance to reacquaint with all of the players who were connected to the Merchants over the years. Hopefully, we can spend some time together and I’m excited abut it,” said Glen, who still lives in Wetaskiwin.

The pitcher started his career with the Wetaskiwin Car Capitals before joining the Camrose Merchants.

“Peter Brown, everyone knows how great he was, was leaving Camrose and manager Jim Reed was looking for a pitcher. The Car Capitals were struggling financially and deciding if they were going to continue. So, that is how I joined Camrose,” explained Glen.

“Camrose was always better at recruiting players and Jim was always a creative manager. He was very knowledgable of the game and also inventive. Players wanted to play in Camrose because it was a

Members chose rural-first banking.✽

We’re thrilled to announce that members of Encompass and Vision have voted in favour of a merger between our two credit unions! This November, subject to regulatory approval, our two credit unions will unite under the Vision banner with a mission to provide financial services by rural Albertans, for rural Albertans. Learn more at whatsyourshare.ca

Good neighbours make good partners

project Encompass Campaign 2022 publication Camrose Booster client Vision Credit Union size 7" x 4.5" 1/4 page horizontal Merchants to hold fastball reunion docket 4080-1 good program. I had a busiinsertion Week 1 iVY desiGn inc. 403 275 3909ness in Wetaskiwin, so I didn’t want to have to move | info@ivydesign.ca to Saskatoon or somewhere out of province. I wanted to be close by, so Camrose was a good fit for me,” said Glen.

“Everyone made me feel welcome here. Ray MacMillan and Cookie Appleby were very good players and Don Pruss was a great catcher. The team had so many characters and we had pretty good success,” he recalled.

Weekend plans include a Thursday night (June 9) kick-off mixer and golf registration at the Norsemen Inn. Friday morning begins with the golf tournament at the Silver Creek Golf Course and the evening will be highlighted by an old-time Merchants exhibition ball game at Kin Park beginning at 6 p.m.

On Saturday, a meet the players session starting at 11 a.m. will be held at Retro. The evening concludes with a banquet and dance at the Camrose Regional Exhibition Grounds and 6 p.m.

“Back in 1982, it was our first crack at nationals. We breezed through the first round and played Victoria in the final and lost a close game. It was then that we realized that we could compete. Then in 1983 we returned to nationals, but ended up with a bronze. Then we put it all together in 1984 and won nationals. It certainly was a highlight for the team and organization. Alberta had some strong teams, so getting out of province was a big thing for us. We always had great battles with Alberta Brake and Clutch (Calgary) in those days.” For old time’s sake, Glen is thinking about throwing an inning at the reunion game. “I’ve been thinking I may want to do that. I pitched a few years ago to see if I could still do it. My arm was fine, but my hip was hurting and it reminded me why I retired in the first place,” Glen laughed. He recalled the various tournaments he attended with the Merchants team including California and Hawaii. “I remember traveling on those old buses. I was small enough to crawl up into the luggage area and go to sleep. One time I woke up and I was completely taping in so I couldn’t move. I shouldn’t have fallen asleep,” shared Dale Kendall, one of the organizers of the reunion. “I feel very lucky to have played here in Camrose. I went to a golf tournament in Daysland and people stopped me and wanted to talk about ball. They still

The 1977 Camrose Merchants won league, world series and Hawaii events.

remember me and the good games played in Camrose,” added Glen. Players from the inaugural first team to the junior and girls teams will also be taking part in the celebration. It will be honouring 50 years of the sport. Reed brought the Merchants to Camrose in 1976, which set in motion a winning tradition of men’s softball. Email camrose merchants@gmail.com, call Tammy at 780-679-8964 or visit https://camrose merchants.eventbrite.ca for more information.

Grow the conversation about elder abuse

By Murray Green

The Alberta Elder Abuse Awareness Council (AEAAC) is celebrating 20 years of being a voice.

Currently, there are approximately 700,000 Albertans over the age of 65, and an estimate is that roughly one in 10 seniors are experiencing abuse. Abuse ranges from physical, psychological, sexual and emotional, to the most prevalent form, financial abuse. Check out website for more information at www.albertaelderabuse.ca/.

Every year, World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is on June 15.

The Alberta Elder Abuse Awareness Council is a group of Albertans dedicated to increasing awareness and supporting a community response to elder abuse. The AEAAC was first formed in 2002. Since that time, resources have been developed, such as the Staying Safe handbook for older adults; several learning events have been hosted, such as Taking Action Against Elder Abuse for service providers; and online learning has been offered with Core Alberta. In Camrose, the case manager is Kari Cameron. Kari is the support worker and advocate with over 20 years of experience in the human services field, working with children, teens, parents and families, having worked in home visitation, childcare and school settings and at the family resource network. Kari can be reached at 780-672-0141.

In Camrose, the community support agencies are Camrose and District Support Services, Service Options for Seniors, Camrose Senior Centre, Hospice Society of Camrose and District, Camrose Adult Mental Health Hub and Seniors Coalition.