Numerous townspeople and area Rotarians congregated in the valley next to the Antwerp Village Town Hall on Saturday morning, April 22nd to support the Antwerp Rotary’s dedication of the new and improved tennis court to the village of Antwerp. Antwerp’s Rotary board members, Floyd Ramsier and Don Oberlin discussed the history of the land where the tennis court sits. Did you know, the area was originally built in the 1950s as an ice rink?
Many volunteer hours went into making this new court. Yensers, Clems, Mark Greenwood, and others were instrumental with their help of getting the area ready and finished. Longartners did a spectacular job with the concrete work. The VFW Post 5087 and the Village supported the Rotary’s efforts to make this project a reality. With all the volunteer labor in this project, the Rotary saved around $10,000. Rotary president, Don Oberlin, commented, “This town really sticks together when things need to get done.”
Antwerp Mayor, Ray DeLong, accepted the dedication of the tennis court with a speech of appreciation for all the hard work. After pictures of excitement from many in attendance, the court was cleared for a traditional first serve of the new court by Floyd Ramsier.
Stopping at the court, it is hard not to notice that there is another set of boundary lines along with the official tennis regulation lines. This is for a new game in this area that will was made for the whole family to enjoy. Bob and Lori Mueller, representatives of the Regional Pickle Ball Association demonstrated Pickle Ball to the onlookers on Saturday. Pickle Ball is played with wooden or plastic paddles that look similar to racket ball paddles and is played with a hollow plastic ball that has many holes in it. This is a low impact leisurely sport that is enjoyable without all the running of tennis. There are conflicting stories about the origin of the name Pickle Ball — either after the slowest boat in a race, the pickle boat, or for the family dog who would chase the balls as the family played the game. Whatever the true story is, it is definitely true that this game is a fun addition to the Village of Antwerp.
