My Life, 5 Year Snapshots (1990 thru 1994) - Part 3/3

 

MAJOR MOVES

I told my boss and co-workers at Bowers Manufacturing that I had taken a position in Iowa and that I would be moving in a few weeks. They couldn't have been more supportive and grateful for my contributions to the company over the past 5+ years.

I couldn't have been more committed and passionate about this new endeavor for my family but that didn't diminish the heart-tugging nostalgia I felt as we prepared for the big move. I mean, just 18 years prior, when I moved back to Southern California, I thought I'd never leave again. It just shows you how the various seasons of our lives can totally flip our sense of contentment.

In 1978, I had started a small, church softball league of sorts. We had four churches involved and we would play on Saturday afternoons wherever we could find an open softball field. We used throw down bases, we'd umpire ourselves and we would make up the rules as we went.

Each year, we would get a bit more sophisticated. Eventually, we started renting official softball diamonds, hired certified umpires, moved the games to Friday nights... under the lights... and we adopted official softball rules.

We went from 4 teams on Saturday afternoons to 6 teams on Friday nights and 6 teams on Monday nights. We played all year round. We kept and published batting statistics for every player in the league every week. We had a post season All-Star Game, voting and awards for league Most Valuable Players and a trophy presentation for league champions. It was quite a deal and it was my baby.

In 1983, I formed a tournament team from the better players in the league. I named the team the "Saints," and we traveled all around Southern California for 10 years, playing in tournaments... winning them with great frequency.

I had named the league "Christian Fellowship Athletic League" (CFAL) because I wanted to do more than just softball and through the years, we added a CFAL bowling league, basketball league and golf tournaments.

In December of 1990, we held our CFAL banquet and trophy presentations with NFL Hall of Fame Coach George Allen as our keynote speaker. 

What I've just described had to be one of the toughest aspects about leaving it all behind. As we prepared the big move, I had about 100 trophies and plaques that I had accumulated over the years as a player and a coach. What should I do with them? That was a dilemma. Ultimately, I decided to throw them all away, as it didn't make sense hauling them all halfway across the country. With each trophy that hit the garbage can, the more the tears flowed. They weren't just trophies, they were part of the fabric of my life over the past 15 years.

GRINNELL, IA

We bought our very first home. 318 East Street, Grinnell, IA... right down the street from the Donaldson Company, my new place of employment. $80,000 was the asking price but with my keen negotiating skills, I got them all the way down to... $78,000. Hey... $2K is $2K!

We enrolled the girls in school and while doing so, we met a pair of sisters working at the Middle School... Sharon Boggess and Teresa Thompson. Turns out they were the daughters of a kindly older lady, Doris Calvin, who had brought us some fresh baked cookies to welcome us to town. I don't recall how the subject of church was brought up but they shared with us that they attended Calvary Baptist Church in town and so that became our new church home.

I loved my new job and quickly developed a solid core of co-worker friends. There were about four of us... Kevin Kinley, Harold Schoen, Art Faircloth and myself... who would go out to lunch together every day. Great conversations led to deepening relationships. 

I wanted to get the kids involved in sports as soon as possible and found out that a gentleman by the name of Don Miller that was coaching the 6th grade AAU basketball team in Grinnell. I contacted Don and he graciously allowed both Maelynne and Tara to join his team. He even let me assist him in coaching the team... after all... I was a highly decorated basketball coach who had won the Lakewood, CA city basketball championship the year prior. (Joking... of course)

One of our first Sundays in Grinnell, we drove past Ahren's Park. After church, we explored the park more closely. It was relatively new and it was beautiful! The best part were the 8 baseball/softball diamonds. I couldn't imagine a nicer facility in the state. As it would turn out... I would be spending an inordinate amount of time on those diamonds.

I met Rod Boggess, Sharon's husband, at church and we hit it off immediately. We seemed to be ideological twins and we both shared the same philosophy when it came to coaching sports. We decided to coach softball together when spring arrived. Between us, we had 4 daughters that would play on our team. We emphasized the fundamentals, tried to increase their softball IQ and we also taught them not to be ashamed of trying to win every time they occupied the softball diamond. Some opposing teams chuckled at our approach but we never let that bother us. We coached together for several years and never lost a single game during that span. Rod is still one of my closest friends all of these 32 years later and we still reminisce about our days of coaching together.

Grinnell, Iowa seemed to be just what the doctor ordered for the Munson family. We fell in love with the town, the lifestyle and the relationships we built with the people we met. We immersed ourselves in the small town culture... which was drastically different than the hubbub we lived in Los Angeles County. 

For years after our move, I halfway expected a twinge of regret to creep into my psyche but that never happened... not even close. 

One of the best things to come out of our move to Grinnell was that it gave the girls a "hometown." Despite the fact that they all were born in California, when asked where they are from, their answer is always, "Grinnell, Iowa." 

Myself with Kevin Kinley and Senator Lightfoot on the shop floor at Donaldson Co.