The Beginning
The founding of the Keene Horseshoe club dates back to the decade of the 1950’s. Several small towns, Swanzey, Richmond, Westmoreland, Keene, and some other communities outside of Keene, Brattleboro and Orange Ma. got together on September 3rd, 1957. This was an organizational meeting and was held at the Keene City Hall. It was attended by 29 people. At that meeting Alton Weagle was elected as the first club president, Paul Boomer was elected as the club's first vice-president, Darrell Flag as secretary, and Carrol Fifield as treasurer. This was the beginning of the Keene Horseshoe Club.
In the spring of 1958 the club began an ambitious project of building 16 courts in a field off Marlboro Street in Keene, NH. The property was owned by Tom Hamel. After many hours of work to clear the property, the petition for a right-of-way onto Eastern Avenue was denied. At the time this was a huge setback for the club and led to talk that it would fold before it even really started, due to the lack of a place to pitch. However, this as it turned out this was only a temporary setback.
Alton Weagle was not a man to give up. He kept after the City of Keene for a place to build some courts. Finally 1959 his persistence paid off as the city allocated space in an undeveloped easterly corner of Wheelock Park. At first the club planned to build 16 courts, with the help of the city, in anticipation of being a site for future NH State and New England tournaments.
Already, formal requests for these events had been made by Weagle for the years 1960 and 1961. The members went to work and built six courts in the fall of 1959, then in the spring of 1960 ten more courts were completed.
One of the first tournaments held at the new courts was the Keene City Championships in 1959. The event was held on September 26 and the winning pitchers where Larry Croteau in Class A and Malcom Georgina in Class B.
This is how it all started… (more to come)
Excerpts and information taken from the works of Tom Blake, “Keene Horseshoe Club 1957-1993”
In the spring of 1958 the club began an ambitious project of building 16 courts in a field off Marlboro Street in Keene, NH. The property was owned by Tom Hamel. After many hours of work to clear the property, the petition for a right-of-way onto Eastern Avenue was denied. At the time this was a huge setback for the club and led to talk that it would fold before it even really started, due to the lack of a place to pitch. However, this as it turned out this was only a temporary setback.
Alton Weagle was not a man to give up. He kept after the City of Keene for a place to build some courts. Finally 1959 his persistence paid off as the city allocated space in an undeveloped easterly corner of Wheelock Park. At first the club planned to build 16 courts, with the help of the city, in anticipation of being a site for future NH State and New England tournaments.
Already, formal requests for these events had been made by Weagle for the years 1960 and 1961. The members went to work and built six courts in the fall of 1959, then in the spring of 1960 ten more courts were completed.
One of the first tournaments held at the new courts was the Keene City Championships in 1959. The event was held on September 26 and the winning pitchers where Larry Croteau in Class A and Malcom Georgina in Class B.
This is how it all started… (more to come)
Excerpts and information taken from the works of Tom Blake, “Keene Horseshoe Club 1957-1993”