by Casey Sluys, President, National Horseshoe Pitchers Foundation

The Hall of Fame Facility has a project happening real soon: the straightening of some patio bricks that have heaved or sunk due to expansion and contraction of the soil in the winter time. The drainage from the grassy area will also be improved, so as not to let the water seep under the bricks. The Missouri charter’s allotted brick area is full and they will expand into the red brick areas on either side. Some of the single bricks will be taken up and replaced by newly purchased large bricks. The contractor doing the work located a facility in Illinois that manufactures the bricks we used on the patio initially so it should be a perfect match. Extra large bricks will be purchased and kept on hand at the facility.

Bricks are still available for purchase. A few years ago, I mentioned that we would NOT put a great emphasis on the state-by-state ranking of contributions, but I would mention it occasionally. The list will be updated in late February as the totals are tallied. We keep this list to give us an idea of where to concentrate our efforts to expand NHPA members’ knowledge about the NHPF.

NHPA Historian Bob Dunn has been cataloging all the bricks in the patio and will soon have an alphabetical list available online.

Bob has also been very active and ambitious, producing three books with historic data and memorabilia he’s collected. The three books are available through Bob directly. Once printing costs are recovered, the remainder of the proceeds will go directly to the NHPA and NHPF. Besides making a great addition to your own horseshoe pitching library, they can be given away as awards, prizes or tournament raffles.

Finally, check out a United States map to see how close your World Tournament travels will take you to your Hall of Fame. If you go through St. Louis or thereabouts, Wentzville and the Hall of Fame are a mere 41 miles west on I-70. It’s a must-see for any NHPA member on the way to, or returning from, Montgomery, Alabama.

Special Thanks to Our Donors

We express our sincere thanks to the following who have donated.

Donating $10-95

Pacific Northwest HPA, Washington

Charles Bunner, West Virginia

Lawrence & Mary Figueira, Oregon (in memory of Ed Fogel)

Sodbusters Horseshoe Pitching Club, Vermont

Donating $100-200

Bayou HPA, Louisiana

Nevada State Horseshoe Pitching

Joe Summers, California

Donating $250-350

Missouri Horseshoe Pitchers Association ($.50 per member annual donation)

Donating $500-600

City of Bronson, Kansas (grant repayment)

Casey & Gail Sluys, California

Donating $700-800

Anaconda Horseshoe Club, Montana (grant repayment)

Bricks Purchased By

Dan Lessman, Illinois

Austin Bailey, Illinois

Mike and Carol Dentsbier, Missouri

Allyson Craven, Missouri

Mary Jane Stanerson, Iowa

Jimmy Hinton, Indiana

Lions Park Horseshoe Club, Missouri

Nevada State Horseshoe Pitching

Perry Horseshoe Pitching Club, Georgia

Other Income

$700 Rent, NHPA GRS

$33 Merchandise Sales (NHPF)