The Inbox

The Pangborn Croquet Club

A top-quality six-wicket croquet court is now available in central Maryland, in the city of Hagerstown. The court is inside the Pangborn city park. It features a crushed stone dust, sand and clay mixture surface. This surface is fast, level and smooth. It does not need to be mowed, and it self-levels with each rainfall. The court is near full size at approximately 100 feet long by 70 feet wide. The court is fenced in, which keeps balls in and passersby out. It also has a lighting system, heated restrooms 50 feet away and is currently available seven days a week from sunrise to 8 p.m. A playground is located next to the court with a beautiful fishing pond next to the playground. Downtown Hagerstown is five minutes away by car or bike and has all the amenities any small city would have. Pangborn is also connected via a short bike path to the Fairgrounds complex with too many great activities available to list. The court is accessible to Pangborn Croquet Club members and guests. Visitors and beginners are always welcome when a member is present. Anyone may become a member and USCA members and anyone wanting to play croquet are welcome. Email us and we will coordinate a member to be present. We need new members to help get this club off the ground and keep it going. The court is the creation of croquet player, musician and entrepreneur, Ian Harshman. (Ian is known as Ian Carey in the music world.) Harshman noticed the area in the park that used to be home to a lawn bowling club. Abandoned for many years, the area was overgrown with young trees and weeds. He and a handful of helpers cleared all the weeds and brush, resurfaced the court with new crushed stone dust, leveled it and installed wickets. Sadly, we lost our good friend Harshman this summer when he passed away at the waytoo-young age of 46. But his legacy lives on with the club. If you would like to try out the court or get more information, contact us at pangborncroquet@gmail.com.

–Gil Rocha

WESTHAMPTON MALLET CLUB’S NEWEST TRY-OUT

Meet the Westhampton Mallet Club’s newest try-out: Winnie, granddaughter of Bev and Randy Cardo!

2021 TCCC JUNIOR/SENIOR WONDERLAND TOURNAMENT

On October 24, the Tega Cay Croquet Club’s (TCCC) Anderson Lawn looked like a scene from “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” for the annual TCCC Junior/Senior Tournament. This event teams the club’s junior members with some of its adult members for a golf croquet tournament. This year, the event was held one week before Halloween and the juniors decided the players would dress as characters from the classic book “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” by Lewis Carroll, because in the book, Alice plays croquet with the Queen of Hearts. Alice and the Queen use live flamingos as mallets and hedgehogs as balls. The juniors also volunteered to bring refreshments that resembled food mentioned in the book.

Most of the players arrived early to compare outfits. The tournament had an Alice, a Queen of Hearts, a Mad Hatter, a Cheshire Cat, a Tweedledee, a Mock Turtle, a Dormouse, a Rabbit, a Bloodhound and a March Hare. Most of the adults were dressed to represent the Playing Card Guards. The tournament director, who was also the timekeeper, came as the White Rabbit. The mallets were decorated to resemble flamingos. Because hedgehogs were hard to find, regular croquet balls were used. Drinks and water were served. Beside them a sign warned “Drink Me to Shrink to Small.” Some of the food consisted of brownies and cupcakes with marshmallow mushrooms growing out of them. Beside them a sign warned “Eat Me to Grow to Large.” White roses were painted red. After introductions, instructions and pictures, the GC tournament began. With nine teams being in the tournament, a modified Swiss format was used on the two courts. All teams (except one) played three 25-minute games. A lot of spirited competition occurred, but no one lost their head. At the end of round three, the team of Kinsley Young and Barbara Williams were undefeated and took home the specially made, first-place trophies with flamingo mallets and hedgehog balls on them. The second-place team of Caroline Mandon and Marilyn Rhew also won custom-made trophies created by George Fiegel. Caroline Mandon (Tweedledee) took home the prize for best outfit. A good time was had by all!

–Terry Hunt