05/25/2006

Fans give park thumbs up

BY MARK URBAN

murban@record-eagle.com

Record-Eagle/Douglas Tesner
John Wuerfel, left, watches as Will Marrow checks the tickets of triplets, left to right, Jenny Hickman, Mary Hickman, Jacob Hickman, all 10, and their parents, Mary and Goose Hickman. For more photos from the game, see our Traverse City Beach Bums opening day photo gallery.

TRAVERSE CITY — The fourth-grade music concert would have to wait; the "Goose" and his flock had to take a gander at the first Traverse City Beach Bums game.

The Hickmans from Harbor Springs brought their 10-year-old triplets to Wuerfel Park for the debut of the Traverse City's Frontier League team, even if it meant missing a half day of school.

Mary and Gary "Goose" Hickman — along with children Jenny, Jacob and Mary — were the first in line when the main gate opened at around 5 p.m.

"We got here at 3 o'clock," Mary Hickman said. "There was another family claiming to be first in line, but they were at the other gate."

The tickets were a birthday present for Gary Hickman. So when the concert coincided with the Bums' debut, the concert was put on hold after the Hickmans explained the situation to music teacher Brad Moffitt.

"He knows, he's OK," Mary Hickman said. "He's sad they're not going to be there but he understands the need for family time."

"We really wanted to see the first game," Jacob Hickman said.

Jacob's sisters gave Wuerfel Park a great review.

"It's pretty cool," Mary Hickman said.

"It's awesome," Jenny added. "I just don't want this day to end."

The Hickman children weren't the only ones attending the first Beach Bums' game. Two were there and didn't even see a pitch thrown or a ball put in play.

Holly Spencer, 30, of Williamsburg shared a seat with her twin sons, set to be born in a couple of weeks.

"They're big fans," Spencer said of her unborn twins. "At least I think so."

Lily VanBrocklin, 5, was at her first baseball game of any type. She enjoyed a hot dog and the atmosphere of the park.

"It's fun," she said. "It's fun to watch and fun to play."

Bart Wilhelm, 32, of Traverse City had fun catching balls that cleared the left field fence with his Detroit Tigers' Al Kaline jersey during batting practice. The first two tries Wilhelm missed, but son Jonathan, 9, was there to get them.

"My son got the two that I missed, and I got two later," Wilhelm said. "I'm keeping one and then I'm going to give one away before the game. It's just fun being out here trying to catch them."

Krissa Havens, 10, of Interlochen was trying to catch the Bums between batting practice and the start of the game. She was looking for autographs for a baseball and a glove.

"I'm working on it," Havens said. "I want to try and get maybe 10. I want to try and get them all, but I don't think I can."

The first Traverse City Beach Bums game wasn't just for the young but for the young at heart.

Arlene Novak said she isn't really a baseball fan. The 69-year-old Cedar woman was sitting in a table seat on the concourse with her son, who owns Novak Masonry.

"It's secondary," Novak said of the baseball. "My husband is the baseball fan. I'm here just like everybody else, just to have fun. I'll enjoy it. I just won't go all the time."