Turkey Bowl Revisited
Greetings From The Booth!
As this is Thanksgiving week, I hope we all take a moment and reflect on the things for which we are truly thankful. We at Royal Broadcasting recently finished our annual Camping For Hunger week-long food drive. In a challenging economy, this year’s CFH raised over 14-thousand pounds of food and about $17 thousand in monetary donations for Front Royal-Warren County C-CAP, and this would not have happened without the generosity of the community. Helping to unload all of that food from the Camping For Hunger Bus Saturday was a humbling an awesome experience, and made me even more thankful for my Thanksgiving meal.
As I write this post, several of our area high school football teams are still alive in the VHSL playoffs, and play in regional championship games tonight (Friday 11-25). The 2b title will go to either Strasburg or Central in what should be a great game. In a Class 3 regional championship game, the Warren County Wildcats have a tough task as they head to Nokesville to take on the talented Tigers. On paper, Brentsville looks like the prohibitive favorite but the games aren’t played on paper.
Thanksgiving always takes me back to a time when I was younger, faster, and less breakable. Like many weekend warriors across the USA, I always participated in a “Turkey Bowl” football game back in the day. For me, that game was usually played on the Friday of Thanksgiving weekend, and almost always at the Rosemont School lot in Martinsburg (WV). I had the honor of being the captain of “Woodward’s Skins,” while our opponent was a team led by Todd Lyons, aptly named “Lyon’s Lions.” After all, it’s tradition that the Lions play on Thanksgiving, right?
Like any athletic field, ours had it’s unique qualities. The Rosemont lot ran adjacent to a blacktop playground, so “asphalt rash” was not unusual in one of our Turkey Bowl games. And, although two-hand tag was the preferred style of play, hard hitting was not ruled out. After a full afternoon of football, we left those games muddy, sometimes bloody, but full of memories that have filled the years.
At some point we all got old–I’m not sure exactly when that was–and the Turkey Bowls were just something remembered in group texts and phone calls as we all went our separate ways. But there are times when, as the saying goes, “my mind writes checks my body can’t cash,” and I’m pretty sure I can hit Kevin Funkhouser with a perfect spiral as he runs a fly pattern along the row of pine trees…
If you’re still fortunate to be able to play in your own Turkey Bowl, savor the time…it’s all too fleeting.
Until the next visit from The Booth, Happy Thanksgiving!
RW
Martinsburg’s Mayor passes away after a year on the job
Martinsburg City Council announced the sudden passing of Mayor Harriet Johnson.
Johnson’s death occurred late yesterday Jul. 6 after only a year on the job.
Johnson was the city’s first female mayor in its history.
She is remembered for her contributions to the city and her want to get Martinsburg ready for the next generation.
Johnson is survived by her husband Tom with no cause of death given at this time.
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HSWC welcomes new veterinarian
The Humane Society of Warren County welcomed a new veterinarian to their team, Dr. Alicia Pownall of Martinsburg, West Virginia.
Dr. Pownall is a graduate of Mississippi State University’s college of veterinary medicine.
She will lead a new project for the Humane Society, a spay and neuter clinic.
The new clinic on John Marshall Highway is currently under renovations and will open later this summer.
The new clinic, the Linda R. Lorber Campus, will offer low cost spay neuter and vaccine services to our community and local rescue groups.
Dr. Pownall has previous experience in a no cost mobile clinic that traveled through Native American Reserves and offered similar services.
For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.
Berkeley Co. Sheriff seeks information
Two people are dead and one person has been injured after a shooting in the parking lot of Laddie’s Bar and Grill in Martinsburg on Saturday night.
The shooting was reported just after 8 p.m. two of the victims were found dead at the scene with the third victim being transported to Berkeley Medical Center for emergency treatment.
His condition is unknown at this time.
Berkeley County Sheriff’s Department is enlisting the public’s help in the matter.
Anyone with any information is asked to get in touch with the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office at 304-267-7000.
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