MORE BOJONS AND BASEBALL

My niece Sarah. She was a beautiful girl, she was a superb athlete. She was taken away from this life so early, She was attending college in Georgia on a scholarship. She was a softball player. Sarah had graduated from Chatfield HS in Littleton, CO. in 1995. While attending high school there she was the first female athlete at Chatfield to earn a letter in each and every sport that a girl could participate in at that time. My sister Mary had been fortunate enough to watch her play ball a few times. Sarah was a unique person. She did not put on airs. Everyone loved her. When she passed away coaches and rival players from other schools sang her praises. She was the type of person to put others first. I believe because of her kindnesses she was very gifted when it came to sports. She exemplified what a great Bojon is like. I wish I had some of her high school and college photos to share with you. But I will always remember Sarah with a smile. She was a pitcher and a darn good one too.

Women played ball during WWII while the men went off to war, the gals formed their own leagues. Here is an example of great pitching female style.

My cousin Juliane lives in New York. She has a daughter Jessica. Jessica has a daughter Cambrie. Recently Jessica said Cambrie wanted a glove and bat to play ball. I told her, you need to buy that girl a ball, a glove and a bat. She has Bojon blood running through her veins, she loves baseball! Juliane is the daughter of my dad's youngest sister, Auntie Millie. Her brother Sammy already shared a wonderful memory about our grandma Kocman and her love of baseball and ice cream floats on Sunday afternoons. Sammy keep those memories coming. 

 Sean is the son of my niece Holly. This boy has major Bojon blood in his veins. Both of his parents are super smart but this boy is not only smart but a terrific ballplayer too. He is wearing his "catcher's" gear. Hmmm...... Cousin Mike Barnett said his son was a catcher too! Do you see the pattern here? Hmmm......Bojons and Baseball go hand in hand!

Frank Richard Papish (1917-1965) was a major league pitcher. He played with the Chicago  White Sox, the  Cleveland Indians and finished his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He batted right handed but threw left!  He was quite young when he passed away, age 47. But I know the name and I know Frank was a Bojon! I was trying to get additional information about him but his bio is quite short. 

I hope you will share any of your favorite athletes here with us and photos. I use a lot of my own photos and google images so I welcome any and all photos you would like to share.

I have said it before, Bojon people are unique. They are smart and talented and have good genetics. If anyone has any other info on Frank Papish please share it. I can not find any info that he grew up in Bojon town but so many have that I am thinking since he is a Pueblo boy he had to come from the greatest neighborhood in the city of Pueblo.

I have one more quote to share. It is from the movie Bull Durham, Ron Shelton, 1988 "I believe in the church of baseball. I tried all the major religions and most of the minor ones. I've worshipped Buddah, Allah, Brahma, Vishnu, Siva, trees, mushrooms and Isadora Duncan. I know things. for instance there are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary and their are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I learned that- I gave Jesus a chance."

I would like to see our entire neighborhood of Bojontown to be declared a historical area and be preserved.  When I think of all the wonderful people who made it a great place to live, I smile. I would also love to see the Grove revitalized and allow those that live there to remain in their homes and homes such as the Steblay home which survived the 1921 flood be declared a historical landmark. I hear a lot of stories about what they plan to do with the land once they remove people from their homes. It is never a good deal for the homeowners. 

Runyon Field has been a landmark in Pueblo and the Grove since the 1930's and I have told you previously my dad was able to catch behind the plate in 1938 when the great Babe Ruth was up to bat. I can not imagine the excitement my dad felt to be playing ball with such a great player. I remember the night games, we would be visiting Grandma Steblay and we could hear the announcer over the loudspeaker. Of course, that was a long time after those 1930 heydays. But the ball park is still standing and it is quite a legend.  I would hate to see people forced out of their homes for the convenience of others. But it seems to be the norm these days. So instead of getting sad and upset I will continue to be nostalgic and learn more about the people who made our neighborhood great and shaped the future for the rest of us. It is up to us to pass this on to our own children and grandchildren and continue this heritage search . I appreciate all of you that come over and read these posts and I love the comments, especially when you can add to the story of our phamily. I hope you are enjoying this journey.

Until tomorrow  Lahko noč.