Ec's north island recreation league

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

MY LIFE IN 1952
EC's Still Havin' Fun in '52, Too!

Howdy do, you all... EC here again... it's almost July and my family spent Sunday afternoon and evening at Pontchartrain Beach, an absolutely great amusement park and beach in Noo Awlins.
"I got my toes in the water, butt in the sand.
Not a worry in the world, a RC Cola in my hand.. (and a beloved Moon Pie, too)
Life is good today, life is good today".
(thanks to the Zac Brown Band for those lyrics, which of course, EC improvised on a little bit... as a DJ, I stole material for 32 years to do my radio show, the DC RC Sippers Association and Radio Program... old habits are hard to break)

Admission and parking was free at Pontchartrain Beach... food and rides would cost you money... but nothing was expensive... it was great place for fun no matter what your age... from 2 to 92, you could have a ball, you all, at the Beach... you could swim, sun bathe, go ride the roller coaster and rides... play pinball games in the Arcade... also win teddy bears and dolls along the midway by playing the various games... and you could eat until your heart's content... hot dogs, hamburgers, cokes, snowballs, ice cream, cotton candy, popcorn, crackerjacks... if you wanted a fancy meal, you could go to the exotic Bali Hai Restaurant... not being rich folks or fancy folks, we just stuck with the hot dogs and cokes.

At night there would be free live entertainment on the stage... singers and circus performers were the most popular... animal acts, too, were big with the kids... I'm tempted to lie and say I saw Elvis at the Beach... he was there, but I didn't know it... it was probably before he became famous... but I did get to see the Beatles when they came to New Orleans... I just got to see them... you couldn't hear them sing... the minute the music started, the crazy little screaming teeny boppers totally drowned them out... it cost $4.95 to see them at City Park Stadium in June, 1964... I took my 14-year old sister and her best friend... I was their chaperone... and yes, without my permission, they jumped the fence and rushed the stage and tried to get to the Beatles... and yes, the Police stopped them.

Pontchartrain Beach was a heck of lot more fun than Disney World... and a heck of lot less expensive to boot.

Oh, yeah... I finally did get to see Elvis... it was his next-to-last concert... in Baton Rouge.

Well, pretty soon I will be heading for Northwest Alabama and spend a month or so with my cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents in Florence and Sheffield... tell you about that later.

See photos of Pontchartrain Beach below.

[Eugene Church]

Photo of the beach area at Pontchartrain Beach... note in the distance you can see the rollercoaster "The Zephyr"... and some of the midway rides like the Tilt-A-Whirl and the Bumper Cars.

[Eugene Church]

Monday, July 7, 1952

3-TEAM TUSSLE FOR 2ND PLACE IN NIRL FIRST
The Joliet Green Giants are just cruising the rest of the season... the Green Giants (14-5) have comfortably won the league title... it's also been decided that the worst teams in the league, Kofa (7-12) and Avalon (7-12), will be relegated to the NIRL Second League next year... all that's left is a three-team tussle for the second spot in the standings... New Yerby (10-9), Dutton (10-9) and Jackson (9-10) are still in the running for the runner-up spot, with the Yanks and Coyotes having the best chance.

Joliet took care of Jackson 4-1 this weekend... Avalon upset New Yerby 7-2... and Dutton dumped Kofa 5-1.

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

Monday, July 7, 1952

WAFFORD, STOCKDALE TIED FOR NIRL 2ND LEAD
It is going down-to-the-wire in the North Island Recreational League Second Division race... it's going to be a three-way photo finish between the co-leaders Wafford (12-7) and Stockdale (12-7), along with third place Union Heights (11-8)... the three clubs are trying to finish in the top two spots in the standings... two of them will be promoted next season to the premier league, the NIRL First Division.

Sunday afternoon the Wafford Eagles moved up into a first-place tie with Stockdale with a 3-1 victory over the Mustangs, while Union Heights was edging out the Theodore Bobcats 3-2... in other action West Chester trimmed Kinston 7-4.

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

Monday, July 7, 1952

3-TEAM FIGHT FOR 2ND PLACE IN SI FIRST
Teams are just playing for pride now in the last stages of the 1952 South Island First League season... Labadieville (15-4) has run away with the pennant... Mystic (7-12) and Bar Harbor (5-14) will be demoted to the SI Second League next year... but there is still some question of second, third and fourth place in the standings... Claiborne, Des Allemands and Opelousas are in a dogfight for those spots heading into the last weekend of the season.

This past Sunday Labadieville defeated the Des Allemands Eagles 5-3... Claiborne clobbered the Mystic Mariners 9-1... and Opelousas nicked the Bar Harbor Acadians 7-6.

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

Monday, July 7, 1952

SAINTS CATCH GATORS IN SI 2ND, TIED FOR 1ST
Thanks to some really big help from the Delacroix Cubs, the St. Dominic Saints (11-8) are now all even with Guedon (11-8) in the South Island Second League... the Cubs defeated the Gators 6-4 Sunday afternoon, while St. Dominic was destroying the Bayou Bleu Blues 13-0 and Meraux was taking care of the Chitamaca Moccasins 8-4.

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]