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   In the wake of Lewis & Clark

      The following "Northshore Citizen" column appears in the Bothell/Kenmore Reporter newspaper edition of June 2, 2004.

      (Editor's Note: The writer just completed 10 days retracing the route taken through Idaho, Oregon and Washington by Lewis & Clark and the Corps of Discovery from 1804-1806.)

           Thanks to Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, to a Boston neuroscientist, and to a lifelong pal of major league baseball legend Johnny Pesky, my chances are looking pretty fair for a ticket to at least one game of a dream World Series between the Red Sox and the Cubs.

            Here’s how this connects with the explorers, Boston and the Pesky friendship: it started with the opportunity to retrace the footsteps of Lewis & Clark and their venture West from Missouri 200 years ago – particularly the stretch between the Idaho-Montana border and the mouth of the Columbia River.

Having spent my formulative years in Lewiston, Idaho, I was intrigued with the idea of a river-trip retracing the 1804-06 route of the Corps of Discovery offered aboard M.V. Sea Bird out of Portland. (Admittedly there were a number of gaps in my history lessons about Lewis & Clark as I was likely in my mid teens before making the connection between Lewis and Lewiston, or Clark and Clarkston).

If one needs labels to describe our college-friend travelers, our foursome included neuroscientist Suzanne, her neurosurgeon husband Ed, my historian-librarian-grammarian wife Nan and myself, the baseball fan who grew up following the minor league Lewiston Broncs professional team, but who could easily be swayed to pull for the Red Sox this year.

On the first evening out of Portland heading east on the Columbia River, we engaged Gordon and Helen Williamson of Boise in conversation on the rear deck of the Sea Bird. The neuro-folks from Boston learned that “Gordie” had a connection with Boston through Pesky, the Red Sox great of the 1940s and 1950s. Pesky, now in his 80s, still puts on the Red Sox uniform before home games and hits fungoes to the outfielders, Gordie mentioned. Suzanne had no idea what fungoes were so it was at that point I felt obliged to enter the conversation.

Turns out Gordie and Pesky were both from Portland where they competed against one another in high school, American Legion and semi-pro baseball.
Spring training in Yakima

In the summer of 1938, Gordie and three others were invited to spring training in Yakima where the local team, the Pippins, were members of the old Western International League (W.I.L.). It was there that Gordie first took a dislike to the New York Yankees.

“A Yankees scout told me I would never make it to the ‘bigs’ because I was too short,” Gordie said. “I’ve hated the Yankees ever since.”

Mariners fans can relate.

Our traveling companions from Boston jumped right on that story revealing themselves as first rate “Yankee haters” themselves. From then on, the neuro-folks couldn’t get enough of Gordie’s baseball and other yarns of life on the circuit. The 84-year-old retired Boise dentist was full of baseball lore telling how in 1938 he didn’t make the cut in Yakima but a scout from Lewiston spotted him and invited him to play on the Lewiston Indians professional team that summer.

Gordie drove to Lewiston with the scout, Lewiston’s own baseball legend Lloyd (Bucky) Harris, owner of the Owl Drug at 5^th and Main. (Everybody in baseball has a nickname. At Lewiston, Gordie played with “Snag”, “Scrappy”, “Gabby” and “Digger” among others).
Lowest of the baseball minors

The Lewiston Indians folded even before the season started. They were scheduled to play in the Pioneer League, an even lower level minor league than the W.I.L.

Bucky Harris rounded up the locals and organized the Lewiston Indians semi-pro team where players get paid for each game, hardly enough to put food on the table or find a room, even in those days.

So, Mayor E.G. (Elmer) Braddock, one of the local doctors in Lewiston, invited Gordie to live with his family that summer while he played ball and Bucky offered Gordie a job at the drug store.

“Mr. Harris asked me if I had any experience,” Gordie tells of his employment. “I noticed that the Owl Drug had the best looking girls in town working behind the soda fountain so I told him I’d like to work behind that counter. And, I did.”

Lewiston was good to Gordie. The next season the Pioneer League took in Lewiston to play against southern Idaho and northern Utah teams, and Gordie played third base. Johnny Pesky was moving up the ladder in the Red Sox organization.

“At the end of the 1939 season, I thought a lot about going back to school,” Gordie reminisced. “Dr. Braddock was good enough to loan me the money so I could go to the University of Idaho that fall.”

Since he had played a season of pro ball, he was not eligible to play collegiate baseball, “but I coached the Idaho Vandals freshman team.” Most of the games were played against the frosh at Washington State College (now University, I know) coached by the Cougars’ then head basketball coach Jack Friel.
Life experience worth degree

World War II interfered with his studies and Gordie entered the Army to serve in a chemical warfare detachment. Following the service he went to Creighton University in Omaha to complete dental school. In 2002 the University of Idaho recognized his life experiences and awarded him a university undergraduate degree.

“Even though I live in Boise,” Gordie emphasizes, “I’m a Vandal through and through.”

Gordie keeps in regular touch with Pesky and has a promise from the one-time Red Sox second sacker that he’ll deliver a couple of Series tickets to Gordie if he’ll go back to Boston.

“I’d like to,” Gordie admitted over dinner on the Sea Bird.

“It’s settled then,” Suzanne exclaimed, “the beds are already made, you must come to Boston for the World Series.”

Now if we can only get that settled as easily with the Red Sox. Those traveling Yankee-haters – connected by the journey of Lewis & Clark -- are watching the major league baseball standings daily. The opening game of the 2004 World Series is on October 23.

         (Note: Fungo bats are quite slender, but shaped like a regular baseball bat. Coaches use these devices to hit grounders to infielders and fly balls to outfielders during warm up for the ball games….or at least they did in Gordie’s and my days…no mean feat either).

The
Northshore
Citizen  
newspaper would have been
100 years old in 2003
Over the years
it covered events in Bothell,
Kenmore and Woodinville

The weekly
Citizen
gave way in January 2002
to the
Bothell/Kenmore
Reporter,
now mailed free to homes
in both communities

Past '03 columns...

July 16
August 6
August 21
September 4 
September 18
October 1
October 15
November 5
November 19

December 3

with the late Peg Phillips

John B. Hughes
was editor and
publisher of the
Citizen Newspapers from
1961-1988
and now writes
a column for the
Reporter under
the title of
Northshore
Citizen

Hughes serves
as grand marshal
under the name of
Hugo B. Jonsen
of Grace and is in
charge of the town's parades, special events
and celebrations.
For some odd reason, most of the town's planned events have been cancelled of late.

Hugo and 
Mayor-for-Life 
Terry Jarvis
co-publish
The Greater
Grace
Daily OnLine
Gazette
from new offices in 
Grace Town Hall
P.O. Box 967
Grace, Wa 98072

(425) 482-4076