About Sports

When I once mentioned I used to play handball, people who I talked to had no clue what game I was talking about. They tended to associate the game with throwing a ball against a wall.

Well, the handball I used to play in high school was a team sport/game. We also played volleyball, but I preferred handball.

 

Elementary school level - we played basketball and sometimes rugby. The latter was awful, though. No, that game was not our choice. Our teacher must have liked rugby, so he made us play the game a few times.

What games/sports did you do at school?

In the Hill Country, TX

Celtic Festival in Ingram

Our Scottish genes took us to the Kerr County Celtic Festival, which was held in Ingram, TX. This year's edition of the event was a one-day thing only (contrary to the weekend-long festival two years ago).

We watched the sports tournament - well, we tried to see it, but no benches with leveled seat rows (as they had there before) + people covering the sight made it difficult since three competitions were going on simultaneously.

Nevertheless, we did enjoy it all, not only sports but also traditional Scottish music and dances.

San Antonio Pipes and Drums

 

One of the dance schools from San Antonio had a showcase with Scottish dances presentation.

Only in Texas you can camp and relax within the Stonehenge area.

Camping at Stonehenge, enjoying the showcase

The statues there are a good sight for taking pictures.

Hugo Emil Klaerner

Hugo Emil Klearner, the son of Alfred Klaerner and Emma McDougall, was born on 15 October 1908 in Fredericksburg, TX (1).

Hugo attended Live Oak School (for 6 years), north of Lady Bird Park. When he was 12, Hugo learned to play musical instruments. Soon the young man whose, nickname was "Dutch" or "Hoog", started his career as a pitcher.

In 1923, he pitched for the first time during a sandlot game. In 1929, he tried his luck with San Antonio Indians. Hugo paid with his own money for the training which took part in Laredo. During the training, the man broke his right-hand ring finger. The contusion never healed well and the finger (after several rebreaking injuries) got stiff. Thanks to that, Hoog was able to pitch a ball with a certain unusual spin which was named "the slider".

In 1935, Hugo Emil Klaerner married Miss Esther Louis Peterman, daughter of Edward William Petermann and Anna Mueller. The marriage took place in Longview, TX. At that time Hugo pitched for Longview Cannibals.

A year later, he was one of the players who participated in the first-ever Texas League All-Stars Game.

Mr. Klaerner was engaged with his baseball career for 27 years until the 1940s.

Later, from 1951 to 1981, he was Gillespie County Sherriff.

Hugo Emil Klaerner

He was the third County Sheriff in the family. His father Alfred "Smokey" Klaerner held the same position from 1918 to 1920 and from 1925 to 1943. Hugo's uncle, Mr. John Klearner served as County Sherriff for ten years from 1900 to 1910.

H. E. Klearner loved music - he played accordion, E-flat hornet, and tuba. He was a member of the Pehl's Old Time Brass Band for many years. Besides that, Mr. Klaerner also sang in the Arion's Men Choir and the Zion Lutheran Church Choir.

"Dutch" passed on 3 February 1982. He was survived by his wife Ester, four sons (Travis, Tommy, Carlos, and Patrick), and a daughter Evelyn. His other daughter Gladys Virginia passed away in 1941.

UPDATE

Not long ago, we visited the old cemetery in Fredericksburg - we came across the graves of Mr. Klearner's parents Alfred and Emma.

Resources:

1. "Texas Birth Certificates, 1903-1935," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VX96-31W : 4 April 2020), Hugo Emil Klaerner, 15 Oct 1908; citing Fredericksburg, Gillespie, Texas, United States, certificate 75776, Texas Department of Health, Austin; FHL microfilm 2,380,570.

Paper Clippings including the photograph: 

Dietel, Norman J. The Harper Herald (Harper, Tex.), Vol. 67, No. 6, Ed. 1 Friday, February 12, 1982, newspaper, February 12, 1982; Harper, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1035193/: accessed July 10, 2020), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Harper Library. 

"Our Way of Life. Voices of Gillespie County in the 1970s.", Philip O'Bryan Montgomery III, Shearer Publishing, Fredericksburg, Texas, 2013.
 

My First Live Hockey Match

I have always enjoyed watching winter sports on TV. In Poland they have frequent live transmissions of ski jumping, slalom and other winter sports competitions on main TV channels. Watching it was a kind of a custom and quite nice entertainment too. From time to time, we also observed hockey matches, especially when the Polish team was taking part in a tournament.
That is why, when we got tickets for a hockey game, I was really happy about it. However, I need to mention that I experienced my first live hockey game not in Poland but here, in TX. Considering how little the hot Texas climate has to do with any winter sport, I find it rather funny.
Anyway, I looked forward to seeing hockey live. At least I knew something about its rules and did not have to learn them to understand the game (as it had been at the ball park). To my surprise, the speed of the real game was much, much faster that it seemed while watching the sport on TV. Actually, it was stunningly fast. We had good seats so we could see the entire ice rink and all the players. They were moving so quickly that I could hardly follow them and see where the puck was. Television cameras usually show only a part of what is really going on the ice. It is obvious of course but you most often do not think about it when you experience a TV transmission. Being able too see it all at once, in real, changed the perspective a lot. In a positive way. It made the game much more involving and really exciting!
What is more, with the information given by a TV commentator you know what is happening, even if you cannot see it or miss something.  While watching the live game, I found it really surprising how very often the new players were joining it. Again and again a new one was entering the rink, due to some changes which happened during the game. And I loved the dynamics of the live game. Much better than seen on TV!
Studying the little booklet provided by the event organizers, I discovered that some of the players came from various European countries, including the north of Europe. Like me! Except the hockey match itself, it also made me feel being part of the spectacle which we were watching. I was not an alien, the only one among the spectators who did not know the sport and the rules of the game. Just the opposite, I was enjoying it because I was finding new things in something I was familiar with too.
It would be fun to watch a live hockey match once more!

Stars vs Penguins

My First Baseball Game

When I lived in Europe, I saw many movies including some 'baseball episodes', showing the sport/ players in one way or another. However, since it is not the most popular sport on the old continent, watching it was rather similar to watching remote planets - interesting but you do not really care about them. Besides, I did not have the faintest idea what the rules of the game are. My mum mentioned something about it a few times as she used to play the game when she was young (it was quite popular in Europe in the 40s and 50s, however it was not called baseball). Anyway, it seemed to me as remote as what I could see in the movies.

Some time ago I experienced my first ever live baseball game. Going to the stadium I still did not know what to expect but was really looking forward to the event.

Thanks to my husband, who is also my baseball guide, I could understand what was going on during the game. It was all so surprisingly enjoyable! The atmosphere was very laid back comparing to a soccer match. The latter one, with its two, most often quite tense parts, often involves some more or less violent encounters including both players and spectators. The baseball game and so many breaks connected with the sports rules, with cheerful music, funny elements provided by the event organizers, people chanting and truly having fun, made it a very pleasant and relaxing evening/time.

Being there and enjoying it all, I finally understood why it is such a most popular pass-time here. It is much more than just baseball itself but of course the sport is the main and most important part here.

When the game ended I wished it had lasted longer. It was such fun! And guess what, Texas Rangers won, which also added a lot to a perfect, my first ever, baseball game.