All 50 States: Attend a Church Service

Standing in front of the pulpit at West Parish of Barnstable UCC, West Barnstable, Massachusetts, May 12, 2024

As I began my quest to visit all 50 states, I found myself doing the same activities in each state. One of those activities was attending a church service on many a Sunday morning. Having grown up in a Protestant church, I patronized Christian churches, mostly Protestant, but with a few Catholic churches included. I picked only three of the churches deliberately (Georgia and Virginia being the others), with most visits being determined by where I was staying or traveling.

On Mother’s Day 2024, I reached the goal of having attended a church service in all 50 states. Number 50? The West Parish of Barnstable United Church of Christ, located just off US 6 in West Barnstable. It is the oldest* church on Cape Cod, having been chartered in 1616 in England and emigrating to Massachusetts after they were released from prison. (*The dispute is with another UCC congregation in nearby Sandwich. That congregation came over before the West Parish congregation but did not charter themselves until they arrived. West Parish’s church building dates from 1717, the Sandwich building is newer and made the cover of an Elvis gospel album.) West Parish began as a Congregationalist church – its 1717 sanctuary has box seats (literally a pew in the middle of a boxed off area) and a pulpit that towers above the pews. Otherwise the sanctuary seems rather plain. (If interested in this architecture, look up pictures of the Old North Church and the South Meetinghouse in Boston, probably the two most famous.)

Having wandered into churches most of my adult life, I decided to fully embrace this opportunity. I signed the guestbook and noted that this visit was #50. I accepted a name tag from the women greeters, and I spoke to many of those circulating before the service. Everyone was welcoming and gave me a “Visitors” gift bag. The preacher, Rev. Reed Baer, preached a sermon on social activism – of the Blessed are the Peacemakers variety. After the sermon I walked upstairs to the balcony and waited for the crowd to disperse. Rev. Baer gave me more information about the church’s history and took the picture you see at the top of this entry. He was tickled by my achievement, but I didn’t want to delay him too long from the rest of his ministerial duties. I took a few pictures of the exterior and went on my way.

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Other interesting experiences from my church visits:

1. Georgia (2003) – I attended Sunday School lessons with President Jimmy Carter at Marantha Baptist Church in Plains. I stayed for the church service afterwards, as well.
2. Virginia (2006) – I attended one of the last services at the old location of Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg. Rev. Jerry Falwell did his best to scuff the line between church and state, exactly the way I expected he would. I stayed out of the view of the cameras.
3. Colorado (2017) – The Stillwater Cowboy Church, Fruita – my first cowboy church experience. The entire service lasted 45 minutes. As it was Memorial Day weekend, we were asked to greet one of the veterans in the audience.
4. Delaware (2013) – First and Central Presbyterian, Wilmington – I attended an Easter breakfast before the service, allowing me to cross off another goal of mine – “Eat a meal with complete strangers.”
5. Iowa (2011) – First Federated, Lisbon – I came into town while the power was still out after a storm. As a result, everyone in the small church had to sit in the first few pews until the lights came back on. Liturgically this church followed the pattern of taking an Old Testament and a New Testament scripture and try to weave them together. Refreshingly, this is the only time I have heard the preacher say that he had no clear idea how they were connected. (I think other pastors have given it their best try.)
6. Nebraska (2015) – Dundee Presbyterian, Omaha – this is the church Warren Buffett grew up in. But I could tell that he has since left the faith, or at least given his money elsewhere. The church was on my route to the College World Series that afternoon.
7. Idaho (2013) – Community Presbyterian, American Fork – I was asked by a member how I found the church. I responded that I had used Google and then filtered out all LDS and Catholic churches. Her response: “You had only one other option, didn’t you? That community church over in Lindon?”
8. I have attended church services with various friends and family members, most of whom had no idea they were helping reach this goal.

All 50 States: Church Services (the List)

I have kept a list of the church services I have attended on my various travels. I picked the churches based on their proximity to where I was staying. Or where I was planning to travel that day.

Here is the list:

Order	State	Year	Church	Name
9	ALABAMA	2005	Montgomery	Aldersgate United Methodist
44	ALASKA	2018	Wasilla	Mat-Su Evangelical Covenant Church
36	ARIZONA	2014	Goodyear	Estrella Mountain Church
17	ARKANSAS	2008	Hot Springs	Central Baptist Church
47	CALIFORNIA	2022	Esparto	Countryside Community Church
42	COLORADO	2017	Fruita	Stillwater Cowboy Church
46	CONNECTICUT	2019	Storrs	Storrs Congregational Church UCC
31	DELAWARE	2013	Wilmington	First and Central Presbyterian
5	FLORIDA*	2002	Sopchoppy	Sopchoppy Congregational Holiness
6	GEORGIA	2003	Plains	Maranatha Baptist Church
45	HAWAII	2019	Makakilo	St Jude Catholic Church
33	IDAHO	2013	Boise	Cathedral of St John the Evangelist
12	ILLINOIS	2006	Chicago	Armitage Baptist Church
2	INDIANA	1995	Anderson	North Anderson Church of God
25	IOWA	2011	Lisbon	First Federated Church
41	KANSAS	2016	Abilene	Abilene Brethren in Christ Church
19	KENTUCKY	2009	Lexington	Hope Springs Community Church
40	LOUISIANA	2016	Destrehan	St. Charles United Methodist
39	MAINE	2015	Phippsburg	Phippsburg Congregational Church
35	MARYLAND	2013	Thurmont	Thurmont Church of the Brethren
50	MASSACHUSETTS	2024	W. Barnstable	West Parish of Barnstable UCC
27	MICHIGAN	2011	Livonia	St. Michael Catholic
3	MINNESOTA*	2000	Beaver Bay	Beaver Bay Assembly of God
14	MISSISSIPPI	2006	Brandon	Crossgates United Methodist
15	MISSOURI	2007	Jefferson City	St Peter Catholic Church
22	MONTANA	2009	Helena	Cathedral of St. Helena
38	NEBRASKA	2015	Omaha	Dundee Presbyterian Church
16	NEVADA	2007	Reno	St Therese Church of the Little Flower
30	NEW HAMPSHIRE	2012	Epping	St Joseph Catholic Church
13	NEW JERSEY	2006	Carney’s Point	Union Presbyterian
28	NEW MEXICO	2012	Tijeras	Holy Child Parish
20	NEW YORK	2009	Cheektowaga	Queen of Martyrs Roman Catholic Church
7	NORTH CAROLINA*	2004	Glen Alpine	Faith Missionary Baptist
37	NORTH DAKOTA	2014	Jamestown	Trinity Lutheran Church
1	OHIO*	1977	West Liberty	Oak Grove Mennonite
32	OKLAHOMA	2013	Hennessey	St Joseph Catholic Church
48	OREGON	2023	Helvetia	Helvetia Community Church
4	PENNSYLVANIA	2002	New Hope	Solebury United Methodist
18	RHODE ISLAND	2008	Narrangansett	St. Peter’s-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church
8	SOUTH CAROLINA	2004	McColl	Main Street Methodist
49	SOUTH DAKOTA	2023	Custer	Custer Community Church UCC
10	TENNESSEE	2005	Limestone	Mount Bethel Christian Church
24	TEXAS	2010	Austin	St Peter the Apostle Catholic Church
34	UTAH	2013	American Fork	Community Presbyterian Church
43	VERMONT	2017	Barre	Barre Congregational Church
11	VIRGINIA	2006	Lynchburg	Thomas Road Baptist Church
23	WASHINGTON	2010	Seattle	Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ
21	WEST VIRGINIA	2009	Princeton	Burke Memorial Baptist Church
29	WISCONSIN	2012	Madison	Madison Mennonite Church
26	WYOMING	2011	Wheatland	Wheatland United Methodist Church

Travel by Ferry (again)

On board the M.V. Spokane traveling east across Puget Sound, from Kingston to Edmonds

One of the goals on my Life List is to travel by ferry again. As a teenager I had ridden a ferry, on a vacation to Put-in-Bay in Lake Erie. I wanted to travel by ferry again as an adult, on a working ferry.

I achieved this goal while in Washington. On Tuesday morning I arrived in Kingston and rode the M.V. Spokane east to Edmonds. Walk-on passengers boarding at Kingston do not have to pay fares. After walking through ferry’s passenger deck, complete with a cafeteria and plenty of seats, I spent the 30-35 minutes walking around the upper deck. I took plenty of pictures of the Puget Sound, of the water and boats, and some of the mountains not hidden in the day’s haze.

After arriving in Edmonds, I walked around town for about an hour. For the trip back, I paid an $8.50 one-way fare. I rode the Washington State Ferries’ other ship on the route, the M.V. Puyallup. It is a little bigger, with more enclosed seating. I did my walking tour and then stayed outside on the top deck on the way back.

I enjoyed the ferry rides: watching the vehicles load and unload the ferry, feeling the Sound’s winds. I’m not sure I will have the chance to travel this way again, so I am glad I took advantage this trip.

From onboard the M.V. Spokane, this is the M.V. Puyallup traveling in the opposite direction.

See the Pacific Ocean

Haleiwa Beach Park, Haleiwa, HI. Where modern-day surfing began to take off.

On my trip to Hawaii, I crossed another goal off my list: I have now seen the Pacific Ocean. I saw the Pacific as I flew over it, and I saw it at the Paradise Cove Luau on the western shore of Oahu. But I didn’t count it as a visit until I set foot in the ocean. Which I did at the Haleiwa Beach Park outside Haleiwa, on Oahu’s North Shore.

I have set foot in the Atlantic Ocean (back in 1996 near Cocoa Beach); the headwaters of the Mississippi River in Lake Itasca, MN in 2001; the Gulf of Mexico at Mashes Sands near St Marks, FL in 2002; and the headwaters of the Missouri River near Three Forks, MT in 2009.

Pineapples and Aloha!

Sunset at Paradise Cove, western shore of Oahu

Last week I traveled to Hawaii, my 50th and final state I have visited. I went to Oahu because some things I try to do in all 50 states are only possible on Oahu. I stayed away from Waikiki, and felt I had a different Hawaii vacation than the stereotype.

Thursday I flew into Honolulu through Dallas/Fort Worth. The two flights took a total of about 10.5 hours. I rode in a Boeing 777, the first time I have flown in a plane that big. With the time change, it was Thursday afternoon when I arrived. Fighting sleep deprivation, I managed to grab dinner at the nearest L&L Hawaiian Barbecue. The first time I have eaten Korean-style barbecue.

Friday I went to Pearl Harbor. I arrived early enough to take the 8:15AM tour of the USS Arizona Memorial. The Memorial itself is closed, due to structural problems with the boat dock, so I took the boat tour past it and through the Harbor. I also climbed around the USS Missouri (the same-class battleship as the Arizona, and the host of the Japanese surrender ceremony in World War II). I also visited the new Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum, located on Ford Island at a place once bombed by the Japanese. Pearl Harbor is an active military base, and everyone stopped for the raising of colors at 8AM.

Saturday I stopped for a haircut at Lei’s Barber Shop in Pearl City. There are two barber shops in the same shopping center, and I picked the one with the owner’s name. The primary language of the barbers is Japanese. Lei was very careful and meticulous when he cut my hair.

Saturday afternoon I watched a Hawaii Pacific baseball game, as Hawaii Pacific hosted Hawaii Hilo at Hans L’Orange Park, in a neighborhood in Waipahu. Hans L’Orange Park was originally built by the Waipahu Sugar Company. There are two wooden grandstands and no dugouts (the teams sit under a tent). The entire affair is a bare-bones operation – the concessions are brought in, and there are minimal bathroom facilities. The game was free and the weather was beautiful. Hawaii Hilo won, 7-4. They decided to give away the remaining concessions after a few innings, so I enjoyed a free hot dog and chips. Hawaii Pacific and Hawaii Hilo are NCAA Division II programs.

Sunday afternoon I visited the campus of the University of Hawaii at Manoa. I walked around campus for an hour or so before attending a baseball game at on-campus Les Murakami Stadium. The stadium has an upper deck and can hold a large crowd, although Sunday’s crowd was a little smaller. Hawaii defeated visiting UC Davis 13-6, with their hitters scoring enough runs to enable their pitchers to hold their lead. Since I have a ticket stub from this game, I will count this as the official baseball game.

Monday I visited downtown Honolulu. First I visited the Hawaii state capitol. The rotunda is an open-air courtyard, with the hallways exposed to the open air and individual offices with exterior doors (which meant most doors were locked). I managed to sneak inside the House Chamber, taking a few quick pictures while staff were setting up for another event. A nice lady in the Governor’s Office gave me a tour of the paintings and artifacts in the reception room. Next door is Iolani Palace. The last royal palace of the Hawaiian monarchs. The house is now a museum that covers the end of the monarchy.

Monday night I attended the Paradise Cove Luau on the west shore of Oahu. I picked it because it was advertised as “The Best Luau on Oahu” and because it was near my hotel. The food was good and the entertainment was as advertised. I don’t know if the crowd was smaller because it was on a Monday, but I found it relatively easy to walk around and see all the sights and activities.

Tuesday I drove up to the North Shore. I stopped at Haleiwa Beach Park. I officially set foot in the Pacific Ocean and watched the waves roll in and others learn to surf. This beach park was not particularly crowded, as were other beaches on the North Shore. I drove around the shoreline from Haleiwa around to the Polynesian Cultural Center in Laie.

Tuesday afternoon I stopped at the Historic Dole Plantation near Wahiawa. I rode their tour train through the plantation, seeing pineapple in all its stages of cultivation and growth. The plantation also raises coffee and makes it own chocolate. I enjoyed a Dole Whip, soft-serve pineapple ice cream.

Wednesday I drove to the East Shore of Oahu. It’s filled with working-class neighborhoods, with boat ramps. I drove along the shore and took pictures of the mountain range the road tunneled through. On the way over I stopped at the campus of Hawaii Pacific University in Kaneohe. I had to check in with security before I was allowed on campus.

Thursday, on my last day in Hawaii, I went back to Haleiwa. I visited some of the tourist shops and had lunch. I stopped by the Dole Plantation again, to enjoy another Dole Whip and to buy souvenirs for the trip home. I flew out of Honolulu Thursday evening. An overnight flight into Dallas-Fort Worth and then arrived home Friday afternoon.

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My State Scorecard (and the number of States in which I have done each):

States Visited (50!): Hawaii

Haircut (47): Lei’s Barber Shop, Pearl City

State Capitol (43)

Church (45): St Jude Catholic Church, Makakilo

Movie (43): “Shazam” at Kapolei Commons Regal 12

Barbecue (46): L&L Hawaiian BBQ, Kapolei

Baseball (41): University of Hawaii, Hawaii Pacific

Community College (48): Leeward Community College, Pearl City

Complete State Sets (36)

Pineapples growing at the Dole Plantation near Wahiawa, Hawaii.

Visit Boston: Along the Freedom Trail

Old South Meetinghouse, where the Boston Tea Party was planned.

I took a long Veteran’s Day weekend trip to Boston. To celebrate turning “36 again.” I have wanted to see the historic sites in Boston since I read about the Revolutionary War as a kid. It has been on my Life List of Things to See and Do.

After arriving at noon Wednesday, I caught public transportation from the airport into downtown Boston. I started by visiting the current State House. Because the House was in the session, the Senate chamber is closed for restoration, and the Executive Offices are not open for tours, I had to content myself with wandering the well-decorated corridors and public areas. There was a public announcement of some sort going on in the Nurses’ Hall, and I think I ended up in the background of some official pictures. The portraits of Massachusetts governors hang in the halls, I found John Winthrop and Thomas Hutchinson amongst them.

The current State House is across the street from the Boston Common. I walked the length of the Common. It was a little chilly and things were closed for the season, but there was a still a decent crowd of folks out and about. Wednesday night I ate dinner at the Union Oyster House, America’s oldest continuously operating restaurant. I sat at the raw bar and watched them shuck oysters, as well as observe some typical Boston customers.

Thursday I returned to walk more of the Freedom Trail. I started by getting a haircut at LoGrasso’s Gaetano and Rocco Barber Shop on Salem Street, a couple blocks south of Old North Church (and touted as “the Oldest Barber Shop in the North End.”) It was the fastest haircut I have ever had. On the Freedom Trail I sat in pews at Old North Church, toured the restored Revere House, visited the headquarters of the Boston National Historic Park in Fanueil Hall, and ate clam chowder in Fanueil Hall Marketplace. I saw the marker for the Boston Massacre and the Old State House Museum next to it. I imagined hearing them plot the Boston Tea Party in the Old South Meetinghouse. And how they worshipped at King’s Chapel. I stopped for Italian food at one of the plethora of restaurants along Hanover Street, but might have picked a different restaurant or better entrée.

Friday I visited the John F Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum on the campus of UMass-Boston. The JFK Museum focuses mostly on his presidency, with a few displays of his early life and political career. The displays rely on documents – letters and speech transcripts – as well as archival footage. The museum recreates an interior hallway in the White House, but only the desk (and behind to the windows) area of the Oval Office. There is little mention of the dilemmas JFK left for his successor and other Americans, nor is there much in the way of thought-provoking displays (like I enjoyed at the Truman Library). Next door is the Edward M Kennedy Institute for the US Senate, which includes a display of the late Senator’s office. The rest of the Institute is full of interactive displays that introduce the visitor to the history of the US Senate at the legislative process, asking visitors to participate in research and democratic exercises, including a replica of the actual Senate chamber in Washington, DC. I would have preferred a few more artifacts myself.

Friday night I attended a Northeastern University ice hockey game. It was the second college hockey game of my career, and the first in nearly 17 years. I enjoy college hockey – maybe it’s the presence of a pep band, or the creativity and passion of the student body. It was Homecoming, and Northeastern hosted rival Boston University. The game was not close, as Northeastern pulled away in the second period to win 6-1. The home arena, Matthews Arena, is the original Boston ice hockey arena, which once hosted the Boston Bruins. My seats were in the balcony on the home side, and I had an obstructed view of the home bench. The sold-out crowd was into it throughout. Most of the cheers involved taunting the opposing players, and the students took it upon themselves to complete a capella the songs began by the pep band during the brief stoppages in play. The atmosphere was great, and reminds me that I should not have waited 17 years to see another college hockey game.

Saturday I visited Cambridge. I got into Harvard and MIT on the same day – they left the doors unlocked and I walked right in. I visited the MIT Sloan School of Management, walked around Harvard Yard, and visited both campus bookstores. Early Sunday morning I flew home.
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My 50 State Project (and number of states in which I have done each):

Haircut (45): LoGrasso’s Gaetano and Rocco Barber Shop, Boston
State Capitol (42)
Barbecue (44): The Smoke Shop BBQ, Cambridge – I enjoyed a pulled pork plate with cornbread, macaroni and cheese, and a root beer.

Note – I still have left the Church, Movie, and Baseball for the complete Massachusetts State Set.

Northeastern University hockey, November 10, 2017

Eat a Maine Lobster

A Hard Shell Lobster Dinner with Clams at the Muscongus Bay Lobster Company near Round Pond, ME

One of my goals was to eat a Maine lobster, in the state of Maine. On my trip earlier this month, I celebrated three ways to eat it: a hard-shell, a lobster roll, and lobster macaroni and cheese. The first two were good, the third didn’t really work for me (as the flavors didn’t mix).

Lobster Roll at the Brunswick Diner in Brunswick, ME.

Lobster mac and cheese at Dysart’s Restaurant in Bangor, ME.

Baseball Goal Achieved – Attend the College World Series

Batting Practice before Game 1 of the 2015 College World Series, TD Ameritrade Park, Omaha, Nebraska

An incurable baseball fan, I achieved one of my baseball goals last week. I attended the 2015 NCAA Division I Men’s College World Series at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Nebraska. For those who wish to attend, there are several ways to get tickets: 1) You can be a season ticket holder (but you would have needed to put your name on the waiting list in 1997 or earlier). 2) You can buy tickets through your team’s allotment, and each school controls how they allocate those tickets. 3) You can buy General Admission tickets and rush the gates when they first open and stake out your seats in a first-come, first-served basis. And 4) you can try to buy one of the limited number of reserved tickets made available to the general public through the NCAA’s website. I chose the fourth option. Ten minutes after the ticket sales opened (in mid-April), I had purchased tickets to the first three games of the College World Series. They were in Section 118, Row 12, behind the home team dugout.

In Game One (on Saturday), Virginia defeated Arkansas 5-3. It was the only close game I saw. In Game Two Saturday night, the University of Florida scored 11 runs in the top of the fourth en route to a 15-3 victory over the University of Miami (FL). Sunday afternoon saw Game Three delayed a half-hour by rain, before TCU defeated LSU by a 10-3 score.

Attending the College World Series was every bit the experience I was hoping for. Although many serious and casual fans have CWS attendance on their bucket list, I encountered mainly fans of the teams or local Omaha residents. Most of the fans I encountered were very knowledgeable about baseball, similar to the level of knowledge held by the fans I encountered at spring training last year. Each school’s fan base was rather vocal. It seemed to me that Arkansas and LSU were the loudest, but that may have been because I was surrounded by them. The pageantry of the event started with the colors and the national anthem, but continued outside the stadium amidst the NCAA fan experience, the plethora of vendors set up in nearby parking lots, the large crowds, and the amazing accessibility of the teams (fans could wait by the team bus afterwards or catch them practicing at a local field).

Attending the College World Series was so much fun that I’m ready to go back. It might be a few years down the road.

The Florida Gators (in white) and Miami Hurricanes salute the colors before Game Two of the 2015 College World Series.

From the Aisle Seat of a Greyhound Bus

Greyhound Bus at Greensboro, NC station

(Title inspired by an Allman Brothers’ lyric in “Ramblin’ Man”)

One of my life goals has been to travel on a Greyhound bus. I’m not sure what inspired this idea – maybe it was Kerouac’s bus travels in On the Road, or Steinbeck’s Wayward Bus; the time my brothers and I stopped at the birthplace of Greyhound in Hibbing, Minnesota; or listening to my family members talk about their college-era travels across country. Or maybe it’s the idea of traveling while someone else is driving.

I took the trip Saturday, 15 years after college (which is when I should have done this). I had done some research to plan the trip – needing a trip of some duration that had an alternative means of return. A patron of Amtrak, I tried to find a place where the two services converged near the same area (preferably the same address). I settled on Durham (where the bus station is a couple blocks from the Amtrak station) and Greensboro (where the bus station and Amtrak share the Galyon Depot).

I approached the trip with some nervousness, having heard stories of strange and smelly companions. I bought my tickets online – a good thing, since the ticket counter did not open until 15 minutes before the second Greyhound of the morning. I boarded the 8:15AM bound for Greensboro. There was no announcement, and I was the only one to catch the particular bus in Durham. I took a seat in the fifth row back, taking the window seat. The bus was only partially filled – maybe it was the time of morning. The bus ride passed mainly in silence. The only sounds I heard were a few cell phone conversations, stray music through someone’s earpiece, and the lady behind me snoring loudly as we approached Greensboro. The highlight of the trip was the friendly, professional bus driver. He took my paper ticket in Durham and did no other form of passenger screening – no ID, no security screening. Maybe my appearance didn’t suggest further screening was warranted. He interacted well with the customers, mingling with us during his layover in Greensboro.

In the end, my nervousness proved to be needless. The trip required me to explore some new places. The Durham Transit Center is rather new and serves mainly as the center hub for all Durham Area Transit Agency (DATA) buses. It seems that all DATA routes converge on the station, and no announcements were made for those routes either. The route the bus traveled covers 58 miles of mostly I85/I40, a route I have driven a hundred times. The other passengers on the bus were all long-haul passengers and had settled in by the time I had arrived. The bus itself was very clean and modern, something that the company has focused on in recent years. I’m not sure I will have the occasion to travel on Greyhound in the future, but I am glad that I finally did so.

The Durham Transit Center, as viewed from the Amtrak station to the north.

Why I Attended a Cleveland Indians Game

Progressive Field, Cleveland, Ohio, September 26, 2014

I achieved another Baseball Goal of mine last weekend: I attended a home game of the Cleveland Indians. I watched them host the Tampa Bay Rays for two night games on September 26 and 27. On Friday they won the first game 1-0, behind starting pitcher Corey Kluber’s 11 strikeouts. Despite their win, the Indians were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention that night. On Saturday, they lost 2-0, with the Indians’ Michael Brantley picking up his 200th hit of the season (the first Indians player to achieve that since 1996).

Why did I attend a Cleveland Indians game?

It’s really my grandfather’s fault. I remember visiting my grandparents in their old farmhouse. My grandfather would turn on the radio and listen to Herb Score and his partner broadcast the Cleveland Indians games as he washed up from his chores and ate dinner. I would beg to stay up late so I could listen to the game. I think I was allowed the rest of the inning at the most.

Grandpa would tell me stories of how he and his buddies would do their Saturday chores with enough time to spare to catch the train to Cleveland. They could take a train right up to old League Park. They were able to watch most of the game and leave in enough time to return home to do the chores at night. For about 15 years the Cleveland Indians split their home games between League Park and their new Municipal Stadium. They couldn’t play night games at League Park, as lights had never been installed there.

I can recall my grandfather speaking of only two Indians players. He was a lifelong fan of Bob Feller, I think in part, because both of them were hardworking farm boys. I remember him talking about Jim Thome when he first came to the big leagues. He had confidence that Thome could hit, but felt he had some defensive deficiencies at third base. The Indians solved this by moving Thome to first. His career turned out alright – he has a ceremony to attend in Cooperstown in the next 5-6 years.

Because Grandpa was a baseball fan, I became one too. I started to follow the Indians as well. The Indians I started following weren’t the successful teams of the mid-1990s. I started with the 1987 Indians and their 101 losses. My first favorite Indian was Cory Snyder. (Who threw out a ceremonial first pitch last Friday? Cory Snyder, now an ambassador with the Indians Alumni.) I followed the Indians box scores as I grew up, but never made it to a game. When they opened Jacobs Field (now known as Progressive Field), the Indians sold out every game for five straight seasons. By the time tickets were available again, I had moved away.

I have followed the Indians from a distance over the years. I watched them play the Twins in the Metrodome and play the Royals in Kauffman Stadium. When I visited Iowa in 2011, I drove over to Van Meter to visit the Bob Feller Museum. I signed my name to the visitor’s register and dedicated my visit to my grandfather. I finally made it to spring training this spring, naturally to Goodyear AZ to see the Indians. At the close of the 2014 season I finally made it to see the Indians in Cleveland. I enjoyed every minute of my two games at Progressive Field. I imagine my grandfather would have enjoyed it too.

My first favorite Cleveland Indians player, Cory Snyder.

I wore this shirt in middle school/junior high.

The side of the Bob Feller Museum, Van Meter, Iowa