White Thunder Debut!

We want to tell you about our newest adventure! At a Christmas party at our friend Joe's house, we learned that Joe and his buddy Thumper and some others who frequent Shifty's bar next door, the Beck Tavern, invest in racehorses. Thumper and Joe had previous success with a mare that has won a couple of races and they were looking forward to the first race of a 2 year old chestnut colt they had invested in named White Thunder. We were more than a little intrigued and asked for some more information.

To make a long story short - we are now owners of 5% of White Thunder!

His first race was December 26 at Aqueduct in New York. It was a race for New York bred 2 year old horses who had never won. The excitement mounted as we headed over to the Beck for the 2:48 post time. Thumper and Lynn, Joe and Sherine and others anxiously awaited the closed circuit telecast.

Bill, Lisa, Lynn, Joe & Thumper

Aqueduct had received lots of rain and the track condition was rated "good." White Thunder, a 60-1 long shot, had the number 2 post position and entered the gate calmly. Unfortunately, the number 6 horse wouldn't load and the rest of the horses had a long wait for the bell. After what seemed an eternity, they were off. White Thunder broke flat footed and was trailing from the start. We cheered our steed on mightily but he couldn't make up the lost ground. White Thunder finished 9th out of 12 horses.

We were disappointed but Thumper and Joe reassured us that we should hang on to race another day! Our managing partner, Renee, tells us that White Thunder recovered well and is in for some additional "gate work." We are already looking forward to the next race in a month or so!

The Fall Classic: a Great Tradition

For the past 10 Octobers, Bill and his friend and fellow lawyer Aaron Reber, have hosted a two person handicapped better-ball golf tournament- the Case-Reber Fall Classic at Granville Golf Course. Granville is a Donald Ross designed gem chock full of charm and ambience. The course is characterized by Ross-style crowned greens built into hillsides with plenty of slope and contour. The 18th, a short par 4 is a great signature hole with the players teeing off from a high bluff with fabulous views of Granville and the spires of Denison University. A well-hit drive carries forever down the hill.

This year's tournament brought 16 two- man teams to Granville. The competitors include lawyers with whom Lisa and I have worked, German Village friends, Aaron's Chase Bank cohorts, and folks we play with at The Lakes- our home club.

Sunday, October 4th presented cool and windy conditions for the players. Pars were hard to come by. The winning team of Mike Zuk and Mark Leonard carded a net of 68. Competition was closely fought as 10 teams including that of Lisa and Bill finished within three shots of the lead. Lisa was the mainstay of our team on the back nine carding three net birdies. Pete McCoy shot 79 on his own ball capturing the separate low gross award. Anne Eckhart, the highest handicapper in the field, won closest to the pin on the 7th hole with a 5 iron shot that positively whirred as it checked up five feet from the hole. John Ranft slam-dunked the "long-putt" with a 45 foot snake on 12. As the competitors approached their final tee shot of the day on the elevated and scenic 18th, they were greeted by the sound of bagpipes far below aside the green played by Jeff Lynn, proudly outfitted in full Scottish regalia. Post game drinks and dinner at the historic Buxton Inn brought a fitting end to another fall classic.

Granville's challenging tee shot off number 1

Dan Wilhelm and Bill (note the homage to the Bobby Jones era)

John and Joanne Ranft with Ellen and Dennis Leukart









Aaron Reber, the classic's co-host, hones his stroke.

Anne Eckhart, Tom Houle, Lisa and Bill ready on number 1 tee

Craig Walley, Marshall Swain, Andy Ruzicho, Rich Pettit

Rick Stovall, Tom Allen Dar Buck, and Brett Miller

Bill Heise, Dave Sivinski, Jerry McMenemy and Dan Wilhelm

Cyndi and Nate

Bagpiper Jeff Lynn pipes us down 18.

Whitefish

In August, Lisa and I visited my cousin Jim Case and his wife Janice at their beautiful vacation home in Whitefish, Montana.

Judge Jim, Janice, and Bill with Rocky Mountain sunset and Whitefish Lake in the background

Bill and Lisa

Jim and Janice share our passion for golf, so we had the pleasure of playing several rounds at Ironhorse Golf Club, where Jim and Janice are members. The Ironhorse course is a Tom Fazio design which is justifiably ranked as the best test of golf in Montana. The course winds its way through a pine forest with glorious mountain views everywhere you turn. There are no weak holes at Ironhorse, either from the standpoint of challenge or beauty. The greens were extremely difficult to read, but we were helped by the unerring eye of Ian, our personable caddy.

The view from the 18th tee at Ironhorse

Bill driving

The four of us teamed up to compete in the club's Sunday member-guest event. In our Saturday practice round, I shot a year-best 73 on my own ball, and saw no reason why I could not carry my stellar play over to the tournament. Unfortunately it didn't happen. Our team finished back in the pack, but that result did not detract from the fun.

Ironhorse is a wonderful club where we were warmly welcomed by everyone we met, including Jim and Janice's good friend, golfer David Graham, former U.S. Open and PGA champion. Jim and Janice's home sits above the clouds half-way up a mountainside with breathtaking views of Whitefish Lake. Eyeing this vista with our wonderful hosts on their veranda while sipping fine wine provided us memories we will long savor.

The unmatched view from Jim and Janice's veranda

Whitefish is a great "old west" town well worth a visit. As a railroad station devotee, I enjoyed touring the town's Tudor-design railroad station- a still-active AMTRAK stop. We could hear the night train's mournful whistle blowing far across Whitefish Lake as we drifted off to sleep - a fitting close to our adventure-filled days in Montana.

The old Great Northern train terminal at Whitefish

Thank you Jim and Janice!