The 4th Annual Jason Dunham Memorial Golf Tourney was a great day
I write the words to share what my eyes see and my heart feels
The word “potter” is quite common and has multiple definitions or history. Potters work with clay to make various and sundry dishes, ceramic vessels, “pots” and cookware. Potters plant seeds and transplant seedlings into larger pots. When Jim Potter fields a golf team they are certainly not from a “Potters Field.”
This past Saturday featured the 4th Annual Jason Dunham Memorial Golf Tournament at the Wellsville Country Club & Restaurant.
Pictured here, (left to right) on the winning team, photo bombed by non-team member Tim Hardy, are Wilson Andrews (white shirt), Andrew Potter, Jim Potter, (Hardy) and Kevin Habberfield.
The Potter team went out and fashioned a miraculous 16 under par score to win the tournament in grand style. A few showers and one downpour darkened and dampened the day but did not slow this team of golfers, except during one brief stop. They shared a “halfway shelter” with us during one downpour. I must have been prescient, as I grabbed my camera, purchased recently for just such occasions as this, and asked permission to take a picture of this team. That was only the second picture I took all day, and the picture was taken, on a whim, well before the end of the tournament.
Before continuing with other details of this event I would like to remind everyone that this tourney is a memorial to Marine Corporal Jason Lee Dunham, son of Dan and Deb Dunham of Scio, NY. Corporal Dunham sacrificed his own life by covering a live grenade with his helmet before it exploded. This saved the lives of, or certainly serious injury to, his fellow 3rd Battalion 7th, Marines during the Iraq War in 2004. Corporal Dunham was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions.
I had to reach out to event coordinator Justin Lambert for the final details as I was unable to stick around for the awards ceremony. In addition to the details that will follow, he wanted me to pass on his “special thanks” to Kyle Young and Kyle Kockler for “helping to get this tournament to tee time.”
Other “place” winners were the 1st place ladies team of: Michelle Alvord, Sally Chaffee, Lisa Smith, and Tracy Walker and a second place men’s division team of Kyle Kockler, Mike Davis, Brad Joyce and Darion Mattison.
Prizes and proceeds of the tourney were shared between various winners and the beneficiary charities. The charities that were supported by the proceeds were; LEEK (www.savage.org), Heroes and Horses (www.heroesandhorses.org), and the Southern Tier Lightning Softball Team, whose members, came for support, and to help with setup, raffles, and on course assistance.
The winners received nominal amounts and prizes, with the balance going to the charities, including half of the $780 50/50 drawing. The winners got less than $100 and a sponsored Bonadio “beverage” bottle. Other prizes such as for: Longest Drive, Closest to the Pin, etc consisted of sleeves of golf balls, vouchers, etc.
There were several event sponsors, including The Wellsville Sun, who sponsored a hole and my team, and I would like to share the whole list, but my contact advised that his list to me might be lacking a few so rather than “slight” some, I won’t list any others.
Shown with this “Hole Sponsor” is a back view of one of my teammates Chase Robbins. Chase (a second cousin), his dad Gary and Rich Hoshal were my partners. Despite “Chase-ing” to a bogey free 6 or 7 under par, the closest we got to the Jim Potter team 16 under, was in the rain shelter, where I “knowingly” – NOT – took the picture that heads my article. I have teamed with the Robbin’s family several times, very successfully, and will do so again in the Mickey Donahue Irish Scramble tourney, where we have a winning history, at the Bath Country Club later this month.
My Wrambling’s would not be complete without living up to the title so I will offer a couple of the typical “wramblings.”
Migratory bird update: The Baltimore Orioles have mostly left, or are not feeding “en mass” at our feeders. But, there is dedicated group of fledged juveniles that have stuck around, and which are extremely active at our jelly feeder. We did not want to re-supply this late in the season as they typically leave in July, so we combined our two typical “hangers” into one, with left over grape and orange marmalade mixed. They love it! It is getting dangerously near empty, and it may run out soon. “We” don’t want to buy more jelly, but “I” may have to sneak a little into the feeders just to get them to stay a little longer. My wife would probably notice if her jar of red raspberry jelly seemed to have emptied so I’d better be discreet. In addition to a very successful year with the Oriole visitations is a booming population of Rose Breasted Grosbeaks.
Their presence continues seemingly undiminished, and the population has grown nicely. We have two Sunflower seed feeders on the deck railing 15 feet away from our back door. The fledglings aren’t in the least afraid or disturbed by us. We come and go from the back door, mere feet away from them and they continue feeding, undaunted, and at the most look up at us as we walk by.
Last week, and this past weekend, finally saw the completion of our late summer pool opening. The only task remaining is one final attempt to harness the minor leaking from the 1-1/2” plastic pipe fittings. Every year, without fail, I have the same problem. Wraps of Teflon tape are “supposedly” sufficient to seal the seepage along the threads. IT DOESN’T WORK, at least for me. I asked Jacques (Jacques Pools- Coudersport, PA) our pool guy what the magic to getting a good seal was, and contrary to the instructions for taping the joints his answer was that he uses a lot of tape. I’ve tried that as well but have never experienced 100% leak stoppage. The leaks aren’t large and don’t even offset the pool water height rising as the result of the rainstorms, but they are a nuisance. I ordered a different kind of Teflon tape, which is a little “thickerer” and softer so after I finish this Wrambling I will give it a try. Of course, this necessitates disconnecting currently water filled piping but if it works…problem solved.
This may be a repeat topic, but recent activity has prompted me once again to add my personal opinion on an item that has concerned me for quite some time. While I was still active in teaching activities, and especially those related to Industrial Training programs for local industries, I was invited to participate in activities related to attracting “Non-Traditional” students into “manufacturing” related careers. By ‘non-traditional” the focus was largely aimed at educating and interesting young ladies into predominantly “male” career fields. The initial organization was named STEM, which was an acronym for “Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.” Traditionally, the career paths for the young ladies were into the ARTS, historically, also considered Liberal Arts. Therefore, the new focus, industry, and manufacturing, was aimed “away from” the arts.
Not to be outdone, the “liberal arts leaning”, or influenced, institutions also created their version of this student career development and named it STEAM, adding the “Arts” component back into the mix. That is somewhat contrary to the initial driving force behind the initiative in the first place.
As a college educator immersed in “technical education,” involved with industrial and manufacturing related fields I understood the rationale, and motivation, of the creation of the STEM initiative. I had first-hand knowledge and experience with the problem they were trying to address.
With all due respect to those that wanted to add the “Arts” into a career field exploration, your efforts only diminish the initial intention and detract from the primary objective.
