POOL IS COOL, WEST OF WRIGHT

02/27/2005

Wright, Minnesota, 2-27-05 By Jennie K. Hanson

What could an 18-year guy and an 86 year old man possibly have in common you may ask?  Well, on Saturday, February 26th, I found out.  That was the day I went over to 86 year old Leonard Aho’s home to get aquainted with a bunch of guys from the Cromwell-Wright area who get together once a week during October through April to play a few rounds of pool.  This happened to be the day they chose for a pool tournament, so there were guys from as far away as Mora, Minneapolis and Big Fork, MN. This particular tournament had 22 guys entered and they always draw for partners before all their pool matches.  Leonard says that this keeps the play fair and everyone has an equal opportunity to win and a chance to meet new guys, also.

Leonard has two pool tables in his basement so play goes pretty fast.  They were playing Round Robin when I got there and had been playing for about 2 - 3 hours so the tournament was just winding down.

The first guy I met when I arrived was Jim Rebrovich from Big Fork.  He has been coming to tournaments for the past 4 years and got to know Leonard from playing Horseshoe in the summer months.

Next, I noticed brothers, Robert and Darren Dahl.  Robert is the 18-year-old guy and he’s been playing since he was just a kid.  But, they weren’t the only brothers there.  Chet and Chuck Thomas from Tamarack Lake were also participating and in fact they had brought the lunch for the day. Usually Leonard’s wife, Toini makes a lunch for the 12 to 14 regular guys who play on Mondays.  Also in on the fun was Jens Bertelsen, Tim Olesiak, Lincoln Hansen, Aaron Aho from Mpls., Sulo Walli, Bob Beck, Kenny Lake, Jason Taylor, Bill Sorenson, John and Shawn Pietz from Mpls., Duane Shaffer, and Bill (Goat) McCarty, from Mora.  Several of these guys only participate in the tournaments.

Leonard starting having a few guys over for pool about 10 years ago and now he has had to add another table because of the great interest.

Once during a match, the 8 ball went in acorner pocket, but no one knew who hit it, so it had to be spotted on the table and play continued.  I thought tempers might flair, but play continued in a gentlemanly fashion.

Not knowing a lot about pool, I just listened and tried to keep out of the way.  But, some of the comments I heard were: “Just kiss the ball, You shouldn’t have tickled it, and that was a double kiss.”

There was a real rivalry for 3rd place and the room got deathly silent while the last game was played.  Jason Taylor missed an easy shot and that let Sulo and Shawn move in for the kill.  Everyone shook hands and seemed to really enjoy the day.

Around 1:30 the play was over.  1st Place winners were Bill Sorenson and Chet Thomas, 2nd Place, Duane Shaffer and Bill McCarty, 3rd Place, Sulo Walli and Shawn Peitz and 4th Place to Kenny Lake and Jason Taylor.

I overheard Tim Olesiak saying, “ All in all, this is the best thing I have ever done.”

So, if you are of a mind to play pool, give Leonard Aho a call and he may have to add an extra day to his pool schedule.  They may have one more tournament in April, but after that the pool queues will be hung up for the summer and the horseshoes will come out.