It was early in the month of December, 1957.  I was in Japan, nearing the finish of my five and a half year tour of duty in the  U.S.Navy.  Wanting to buy a few gifts for friends and family back in the states, I was shopping in the ships store in Yokosuka.  Several items filled my shopping cart but then something caught my eye that would have a dramatic affect on me for the rest of my life, a tennis racquet.  I hadn’t played much tennis but I knew it was a good game that I would like to learn. The racquet looked good and was autographed by R.K. Mizuno, a Davis cup player for Japan. I bought that racquet and then I decided to buy another one just in case my wife might want to play-she didn’t but she became an excellent trainer and in her brilliance subtly suggested if we got busy and started raising a family I might have someone who could join me in playing tennis.  Our first two children were boys but tennis didn’t seem to interest them initially.  The third time was a charm, Ann took to the game as a toddler, chasing balls as I scattered them around the tennis court while working on my serve.  It wasn’t long until Stacy wanted to play but we told her she was too little, which only inspired her more and she soon joined in the fun.

Those two girls became good players.  They were quite successful and won many tournaments playing in the Missouri Valley and each of them were class A state singles champions in high school for two years each from 1978 to 1981.  They both went on to play four years at University of Nebraska and Oklahoma State University.  They each have two children who have excelled in tennis with scholarships to Northwest Missouri State University and the University of Utah.  Stacy’s daughter, Kylee, was also a state doubles champion for the the Steamboat Springs Sailors in her senior year in high school.

Our younger son took up tennis later in life and became good enough for a scholarship to the University of Nebraska at Kearney and played varsity for four years.  He now has a pre-teen   son who shows a lot of promise playing with a Colorado club team.

To enhance our family tennis, Stacy married Jim who has operated the Steamboat Springs Racquet Club since 1992 and is a certified USPTA instructor who worked under Rod Laver in Australia and Bryon married Claudia who was a player of the year for the University of Minnesota in the Big 10.

There are eleven family members today, actively involved in tennis, playing, teaching and just enjoying the game.  When I bought that racquet  in 1957, I could never have imagined how much enjoyment that racquet would bring to our family with the game of tennis for so many years.

That racquet is still in our family with the original strings and brings back many beautiful memories each time I see it.  It is still a treasure and “A Purchase to Remember.”