The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1941-08-21


Bill of Fair
Mike Collins, ex-biggie,
Runs Skeet Shoot
Gene Harvey Leaves
Sports Trail Behind
John Cotton socked the closest
miss to a hole in one we ever
heard Of. 1t went something
like this. -. John was on the
tee for the 9Th hole. He got on
a shot that wasn't too good, but
it rolled up on the green and rest
ed on the lip of the cup. John
blew it in. I think the cup
must have pouted about that
time.
We saw the horse races at
the fair on Friday and for the
first time settled down to
watching them closely enough
to observe what they are do
ing. It's really quite fas-
cinating sport and is one Of the
oldest in this country. I guess
sullxy racing began almost as
soon as people got arSHnd to
that sort of thing. :. In New
England it is still among the
popular sports and has a par
ticular pull in the winter when
the BOYS race on the ice. =.
They tell me this ice racing is
really a sport. Horses have to
be trained specially for it and
horses that are demons on dirt
tracks often find no go on the ice
at all, and vice versa. For the
most part sulky racing is not an
exciting sport. There are the NOM
ents when a horse makes his bid
for the lead and there are close
moments, Of course. But by
and large it is not a thunder of
hoofs down the track as you find
in the jockey-ridden races. It's ap-
peal lies in the fact that out there
is a fine bunch of horse flesh, a
keen coordination between horse
and driver without which there Is
lust no race. Out there Fri
day were a couple Of good horses
with seasoned drivers either one Of
which never faltered. Other young
colts with new drivers would start
out in great form, only to break
and wind up in the dust. :. Jerry
Ketchum, incidentally, as starter
and announcer kept up a rafting
good chatter on sidelights of the
game. He's an old timer in the
race game and one time drove in
these Stearns Fair races. :.
There up in the judges stand
were familiar figures in this
sport. Alex Benson, Oscar
Klonne, Bin Parker. 1 can
remember some years back in
the first years of the boys band
when we played at the fair. At
that time horse races were go
ing into the last of a then cur
rently popular phase. And
there were those three then
and years before that. =.
Running one of the skeet shoot
concessions at the fair was GER
tain Mike Collins. Might not
mean much to you off hand.
But this Mike Collins is the same
who promoted the Jack Dempsey
Tommy Gibbons fight out in Mon
tana some years back when Glib
bons was making his biggest bid
in the fight game. q. Collins was
one time worth plenty, but this
Montana deal didn't help him
much. Finally he was on the out
side looking in. -.
A lot of people around here
know Tommy well. He lives at
Osalds much of the time and
has been teaching youths up
here some Of the tricks Of the
trade he picked UP. :. Tom
my's a great fisherman too and
Paul Caughren was telling
about trip they went on one
time. They had gone to Birch
Lake with one other fellow
whose name escapes me. This
third man caught a fish the
first they had after a long trial
period. Tommy reached over,
grabbed the fish, and with
"you don't want to keep that
little thing tossed 1t into the
lake. 1t was the only fish
they got. Subsequently
they moved to Sank Lake
whore they caught a good
string. TOmmy's most apt
pupil in recent years was young
Harry Caughren who can use
his fists as handily in the ring
as he can his feet and his head
on the basketball court. -.
Gene Harvey will leave here.
It was eight years ago that Gene
came to take over the coaching
jobs at the school which at that
time were multiplicity of duties
that got all dangled up in four or
five sports. He came here
quite alone and now heading for
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