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Show Page 3 Times Newspaper Wednesday, November 27, 1996 Thanksgiving Editorial Of all the holidays of the year, perhaps none is so satisfying to the soul as Thanksgiving. It is not yet time for the garish Christmas hubbub, though it may be hovering just around the corner. Faded into memory are the costumes, pranks, and excesses exces-ses of Halloween. Thanksgiving is simply a time for reflection, a time for introspection. A time to gather loved ones near and to celebrate the gift of life. A time to pause from the frenetic pace of the workaday world and take a mental deep breath. It is a time to look back over the waningyear, to offer heartfelt gratitude for blessings received, and to look Frank Evans speaks on life It's funny --- the twists and turns that fate takes in this interesting in-teresting experience we call life. You might say I came to meet Frank Evans because Sherman Bowen ran over Sterling Ludlow's arm. But that's the short story. Let me explain. Sherm Bowen was my father-in-law. My husband, Lon, was born and raised in Spanish Fork and grew up in a home right next door to the Ludlows. Sterling was about Lon's age maybe a little older and he was an exceptional athlete. His budding baseball career was en- hanced, however; when Sherm accidentally backed a car over Sterling's arm one time when he was backing out of the driveway between the two homes. When the broken arm healed, Sterling had a sliding pitch that was hard to connect with. After playing college ball at BYU, Sterling was drafted by the Yankees and played in the minor leagues. He never made the majors, but he went on to a career working with students in an alternative high school setting, set-ting, and he became a pro baseball scout. In his baseball scouting, Sterling became well acquainted with men who had played and starred in Negro League baseball, before the time when the sport was integrated on the professional level. This year, Sterling has invited several of these friends, including Frank Evans, to visit him at his home in Spanish Fork and to connect with the local community by speaking to young people and encouraging them in various aspects of their lives. Since Sterling Ster-ling and my husband have maintained main-tained some connections from the past in their work with youth today, I have been invited to interview in-terview these men and write some articles about their lives, their work, and their visits to Utah. That's the long story. Frank Evans, 76, of Loachapoka, Alabama, looks like a man of 50, but he has been involved for that many years and more as a player, coach, manager, and scout. He started playing in the Negro League in 1948 as a first baseman, outfielder, out-fielder, and catcher. He played for the Cleveland Buckeyes, the Birmingham Black Barons, and the Kansas City Monarchs, among others. He has been honored by the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, as a player, coach, and scout. Some ' majorleague organizations have rated him as the best hitting instructor in-structor in organized baseball. Frank was picked up by the legendary Satchel Paige to tour with his All-Stars after Evans got on base with a bunt in Detroit's Briggs Stadium in a game with the Birmingham Eagles before a big crowd. Frank was a bit intimidated and tried to avoid talkingto the superstar, --- a time to look back, and ahead to future days of service and giving one way of showing thanks in deed to a beneficent Deity. Matching perfectly this holiday of thought and feeling is the autumn season, a time of harvest, har-vest, of gathering in that which is good, that which will sustain through bitter days of cold ahead. "I like spring," wrote Lin Yutang, "but it is too young. I like summer, but it is too proud. So I like best of all autumn, because its leaves are a little yellow, its tone mellower, its colors richer, and it is tinged a little with sorrow... sor-row... Its golden richness speaks not of the innocence of spring, nor of the power of summer, but of the mellowness and kindly wisdom of mm yp-i lSJAB)(y)Tfl y 1 " 1 11111 111111 " "". " . . 11 .,.. Q- v; ,s : . - - -E' FRANK but Paige finally pulled him aside and said, "Come be with my All-Stars. Any time a man bunts like you did on me..." Frank remembers Paige well. He also remembers Josh Gibson and Cool Papa Bell, Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams. He remembers the long trips, crisscrossing the country to play exhibition games. He remembers remem-bers the elaborate "shadow ball" games, a promotion where the sometimes crazily costumed players would act out imaginary scenarios with a make believe baseball. And he remembers honing his skills in a little country town, ricocheting tennis balls off the chimney to hit with a broomstick bat. He remembers the benefactor who bought him the tennis balls through the years, and who drove from Birmingham Bir-mingham to Detroit to see him play when his pro career took off. There were the humiliations , of the racism that stalked America at that time. Eating at restaurants where, if blacks , were served at all, the proprietors broke the dishes after the meal as a final insult. There was the resorting to onions and sardines with crackers crack-ers on the bus when better meals couldn't be obtained. And there was the time the Ku Klux Han nearly strung him up. Frank was in Alabama in 1968, on his way to sign a white ballplayer for Kansas City. He was stopped at a roadblock and found himself in the middle of a rally, surrounded by Hansmen, a fire, and a leather collar attached at-tached to a chain and pole. There was no way he could have scuffled scuf-fled to get away, he said. Surprisingly, he was not afraid. Suddenly, someone in the crowd recognized him as a ballplayer. "All of you have watched him play. Let him go!" came the shout. And he was free. When he reported the incident, the highway patrol escorted him to South Carolina. "I didn't get scared," Frank said, "until I got in the hotel. Then I woke up in the middle of the night and was scared." Despite it all, or maybe because be-cause of some of it, Frank Evans is a man of faith and a man of love. "You have to continue to approaching age. It knows the limitations of life and is content." In Utah Valley, unseasonably warm November days this fall . have given way to rain and cold. Days of brilliant blue sky juxtaposed jux-taposed with trees and their leaves of rippling gold, have dissolved dis-solved with the chilling rains, leaving bare-limbed trees and decaying leaves that are a more sure sign of the wintry days to come. Impressive was the sight last week, however, looking down from the Brigham Young University Univer-sity campus into the valley below. Wisps of rain-laden clouds floated through the air, but sunshine broke through momentarily -long enough to create a partial EVANS have faith," he said. "Continue to love. Your religion, your faith your faith in the Man Upstairs can be taken away in a struggle to hate or hurt. You have to learn to love and to deal with people. 'You feel better if it rains and you say, 'Lord, have mercy, have your way.' He's going to have it anyway." EXPIRES 112796 ;y...--...........MljUi.il,,ii.u.n. mum.mJ.i'nwK- .i.iL 'WMi ujuw-imih. , JOIN THE MILLIONS WHO FOUND THE INTERNET LEGACY COMMUNICATIONS INC. is proud to be one of Utah's first providers using Microsoft's Windows NT as your gateway to the internet. 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Unbelievably, bathed in the rainbow's refracted light, and appearing to be the "pot of gold" at its end, was the large American flag from the grocery store parking lot just down the hill. A professional photographer could have captured the story perfectly, but it was one of those sights that makes an indelible impression a photograph in the mind and heart. Surely gratitude for country is high on the list of blessings enumerated " during the Thanksgiving season. Coming close on the heels of Veterans Day remembrances, appreciation for the United States of America and A solid employment scene is in view for the Orem area this winter. The projection, for the three-month period ending March 31, reflects local company responses to Manpower's Employment Outlook Survey, released today. Manpower official Michelle Vargas said, "Our latest survey indicates 33 of those interviewed inter-viewed will staff up during the winter months, while 6 are prepared to reduce their labor-force. labor-force. Another 61 say present levels will prevail. Employers were less enthusiastic about the same period in 1996. "At that time, 33 said their personnel requirements had increased in-creased but 16 intended to decrease staff. Three months ago the forecast was virtually the same, when 41 affirmed workforce additions and 13 reported cutbacks were in order." Job opportunities are foreseen this winter in durable and non-durable goods manufacturing, education and services. Public administrators and wholesaleretail merchants voice mixed intentions. On a national basis, the traditional first quarter decline is less than seasonally expected as 21ofthose interviewed plan mem Shareware Si to, VISA fltl ... forward patriots both the famous and the unsung who have made great sacrifices for the benefit of all citizens, is a sentiment that comes easily to mind. And whatever an individual citizen's feelings on the outcome of recent elections, there is also thankfulness thankful-ness for the opportunity and responsibility to express one's opinion and philosophy by voting. "Gratitude," said Aesop, "is the sign of noble souls." Thanksgiving should be a time to nurture that latent nobility within each individual heart, as we look back, and as we look forward. for-ward. hiring increases, 11 anticipate reductions, 64 see no change and 4 are not yet certain. The employment outlook survey ;, Manpower Inc. conducts the Employment Outlook Survey on a quarterly basis. It is a measurement meas-urement of employers' intentions inten-tions to increase or decrease the permanent workforce, survey is based on telephone interviews with more than 16,000 public and private employers in 487 U.S. cities. Manpower Inc. is the world's largest temporary help firm, annually providing employment to 1.5 million people through more than 2,200 offices in 41 countries. Looked forward to reading about team My name is Lisa Whiting and I run cross country for Mountain View High School. I wanted to thank you for the coverage you had on our team. I think you did a great job and we would really look forward to reading about our team in the paper. Sincerely, Lisa Whiting tveet A 'Pageant Ticl(ets Outlets westfleld Real Estate, 763-8900 5333 West 11000 North, Highland Steve Peterson Interiors, 785-3056 285 East State Street, Pleasant Grove American Liberty financial Service 281-5591 310 East 4500 South Suite 220, SLC Provo Park Hotel, Administration Office 101 West 100 North Provo, 377-4700 Banbury Lane 226-1163 479 South Orem Blvd, Orem Dallas Roberts Salon 756-1413 1 50 South 200 East, American Fork First Federal Mortgage 224-1888 - 1875 South State, Suite 220, Orem i m m& m mm tm mm Be prepared before driving this holiday weekend The Utah Safety Council estimates es-timates that three people will die in car crashes over the upcoming up-coming Thanksgiving Weekend. To help keep motorists safe this holiday weekend and throughout the winter, the Utah Safety Council offers these winter driving tips. Brush all the snow off your windshield, windows, mirrors, roof, hood and trunk, so that you have clear vision at all times. Minimize gear shifting to prevent skidding, accelerate gradually and brake gently by pumping your brakes. If you have ABS brakes DONT pump your brakes, but maintain a constant con-stant pressure on the brake peddle. ped-dle. If your car does skid, steer in the same direction that the rear is sliding, being careful not to over correct. Have an emergency kit in your car at all times in case of an emergency. An ideal kitcontains a flashlight, blanket, warning flares, scraper with brush, tow chain, jumper cables, shovel, candle, matches and lastly, two carpet remnants. A carpet remnant rem-nant is useful to gain traction if you become stuck. Place the remnants in front of the driving wheels and then slowly drive over them. Traveling with Children Always ensure children are buckled properly at all times. When on a long trip, plan rest stops no more than one and half hours apart. Infants and children enjoy and need lots of attention. Reading, singing and playing quiet games will help keep your children happy. Thanksgiving is a holiday to relax and enjoy your family. Do not let your holiday be interrupted inter-rupted by a tragic accident. For a free Winter Driving Checklist, call the Utah Safety Council at 262-5400 or 1-800-933-5943 outside out-side Salt Lake Metro. Westfleld Real Estate presents of Jiomes hvistmas |