In a dream last night, I was back at the Tyrone YMCA. I was upstairs in the balcony, and there was the usual Friday or Saturday night dance going on down below on the gym floor. I looked down, and Charlie Baker was there at the concession stand over in the far corner after descending the stairs. I often think about those days but never have dreamed about them before. Today, my mind is working overtime.
I can see that little corner upstairs where we played records for those dances, and most of the time Charlie was there. His real name is Denny Charles Baker, but I always called him Charlie. It seems like Terry Singer also was there with me in the dream.
I can see those wonderful basketball tournaments held there every year — both the Junior and Senior tournaments. They’d sometimes last a couple of weeks involving teams from everywhere.
I remember the Gra-Y programs, where there were teams from each elementary school competing every Saturday against one another for points. The standings were published in the Tyrone Daily Herald.
I remember Buzz Townsend as being the YMCA director and recall that one year, he held a summer baseball clinic at the old Firemen’s Field out in East Tyrone. One day was designated for catcher skills, another for pitching skills, and another for infielder skills. I remember that Tony Singer and I were the only ones who showed up every day for all positions. It was great.
I remember people like Jim Thomas and Ray Irvin working the front desk. What a good job they did in keeping a bunch of unruly kids organized and behaved! I recall sometimes having to sign up for a pool table or a Ping-Pong table and how competitive we all were with one another.
I recall the bowling alleys downstairs and how we had to take turns setting up pins when our teams weren’t competing.
The YMCA had a program that permitted us to work off part of the annual dues for our coveted YMCA card. What a great time! Too bad the kids today have everything just handed to them. It wasn’t much to do, but it taught us a sense of value about working for something.
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