A REUNION AND RECOGNITION

A usual trip to the mailbox one day turned out to be more than bills and junk mail.  Instead I found a letter from Parkland High School dated April 18, 2006 with in part the following announcement.

Date:  May 29, 1975
Location:  Topton, PA
Opponent:  Coatesville High School
Score:  4-3

Winning Team and PA State Champion
Parkland High School Girl’s Softball

. . . and Parkland Softball history has been written from that point forward.

Thirty-one years have passed since this event.  In retrospect, even though it may not have seemed so at the time, this win represented quite an accomplishment.  At a point in time when women’s sports programs were just beginning to bud and blossom at the scholastic and collegiate levels across our country, you chose to excel.  You chose to be better than the rest.  You set the bar exceptionally high for all future softball players in the Parkland community.

Thirty-one years later, the Parkland softball community would like to recognize your efforts and achievements.  This letter is being sent to you as an invitation.  The students, staff and administration of Parkland High School would like to invite you to attend a recognition ceremony for the Parkland High School 1975 PA State Championship Girl’s Softball team.  (the details continued)

It was signed by Mr. Richard T. Sniscak, Principal and Mr. Michael Dobil, Athletic Director.

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A sentimental moment it was.  The thought of finally being honored and recognized as the PIAA’s first state softball championship team was long overdue.  You see, for years we went unnoticed.  Reading in the newspaper of other Lehigh Valley teams garnering the title of State Champs and the 1975 Parkland team never being acknowledged as a team that had also earned this title was heart breaking.  It was 20 years later before Parkland would earn a state champion title in 1995 and again in ‘98 but our ‘75 team was never mentioned of having also earning this title.

It was Mel Stinner, a 1980 graduate of Parkland and softball player, who felt this recognition was long overdue.  She found this to be a great opportunity not only to have the event, but to also give our group a chance to meet, have a reunion and to finally be recognized for our state title.  Determined to make this night special for us she convinced all parties involved that this reunion should take place.  She became the contact person and through connections she made contact with 17 players and managers and Coach Thomas.   There were 20 players, 5 managers and Coach Thomas, so to have reached 18 out of 26 people was a tremendous feat.  After the reunion night, two more players and a manager were found and eventually joined us in a reunion picnic in August.

Her biggest obstacle was finding Coach Thomas who left the district and the area so long ago.  Through her connections she did locate her in Wisconsin.  “I said well, the first thing I need to do is see if I can get air flight that’s reasonably priced at the last minute.  And so I said to myself if I can get air flight that is under $500, I’m coming no matter what…I was not going to miss this…no way was I going to miss this.” said Coach Thomas

Many of us were still living in the Lehigh Valley but others were living in Virginia, Maryland, California and Seattle.  One player, JoAnne Geiger, who only days before the reunion came home from Costa Rica where she had been living for years, to find a single piece of mail that made it to her home, the letter from Parkland High School regarding our reunion and recognition ceremony.

On the day of our recognition ceremony we were told that the PIAA’s offices, which were located in Harrisburg, had been flooded out a couple of times and it appeared that our records from 1975 were lost or destroyed.  So May 10, 2006 the PIAA was going to make things right and we were going to have a reunion and a proper recognition ceremony.  As we gathered together outside the new High School we reacquainted ourselves and marveled how great we all looked thirty-one years later.  Coach Thomas brought with her, all the way from Wisconsin, her scrap book with articles and stats and everyone sorting through them and reminding ourselves of what we had done in 1975.  It was a “do you remember this” or “remember when” kind of conversation going on.  Everyone had their own memories from that year and some of the things you didn’t remember until someone else described the moment and then it came back to you.  And even if you didn’t remember the moment it was great to hear the story.

We entered the gym together as a team and shared a special moment of seeing our 1975 plaque hanging on the Hall of Fame wall and a banner hanging commemorating our state championship.  “It meant so much to us in our hearts and again being there as a team to experience it.  Not just walking into that gym by yourself and seeing the plaque and so forth…it was a team; it was a team again that was there.”  I said that night. 

We proceeded to the field where the actual recognition ceremony would take place on the field before the start of the game.  We continued to share our stories and update where our lives had taken us 31 years later.  One by one our names were called as we took our place out on the field, high fives from the current Parkland softball team and applause from family, friends and fans.  The story was told of the seventh inning in 1975 and the historic moment of being crowned the first PIAA state champions.  It was one memory that we all remembered.

Mr. Sniscak and Mr. Dobil then presented our trophy to Coach Thomas and she was joined by a representative from the 1995 and 1998 Parkland state champs with their trophies. 

“There are certain days in your life which are mountain tops and this is one of them. Without a doubt”, Coach Thomas said.  “To see a team go from nothing to a state championship in three years…is a remarkable feat.”

“It seemed so long ago but it’s real.  We stuck together and we did it”, said Joanne Knerr.

Jane Mann added, “It’s difficult to come out for each and every game and keep losing but she kept us on target and when we did win she made a big deal about it and every year just built on the next and it finally happened in ’75 and it felt real good”

For myself  “when I hit that ball…that whole way to first base it was jumping for joy.  It was an awesome experience…one that I'll never forget and it’s a lifetime memory.”

The stories and memories continued as we sat in the stands watching the legacy that we started.  Proudly we displayed our medals and jackets.

“I don’t think there is a coach anywhere tonight that’s more proud of my team.  It’s a great feeling…it’s just an awesome feeling.”  Coach Thomas proudly said.

We were invited as guests to the Paddock restaurant where we were welcomed and congratulated by the Parkland Alumni.  We didn’t want the evening to end and although eventually the night did end what has since continued is ongoing reunions and friendships, each one just as special as the night we were all reunited after thirty-one years.

Thirty-one years later it is a different era but it doesn’t change or take away what we accomplished in 1975.  The bottom line is we were the first state champs and I believe we were pioneers that laid the path that girl’s softball would take in the Lehigh Valley.

Although Mel was not a part of our ’75 team she wanted so badly to have our team finally recognized for our title even after 31 years.  She made us all proud that night and we are ever so grateful to Mel for her perseverance in bringing us all together for a special night and reunions that have gone on since May 10, 2006.

I think Vykie (Smoyer) Whipple summed up what our reunion meant to all of us, “We experienced things as a team that forged such a bond that after 30 years we're still friends..... and we're still a team.  What I learned as a member of this team helped define my character and became an integral part of how I conduct my personal and professional life.  We learned more than just softball, and our coach deserves great credit for her vision and determination in training and motivating us to be the best.  She accomplished this all on her own at a time when women's sports had very low priority and little support.  My teammates are some of the finest people I've ever met, and it continues to be a privilege to have them as friends.  After 30 years they're still so much fun to be with.... the laughing never stops!
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Once a team... always a team!!

Read on to the articles in The Morning Call that tells the story of this great team….