Allen Winder, history enthusiast and basketball fan, was guest speaker for the Septenber meeting of NARFE at the Club at StoneRidge. Derinda Dussman, president, conducted the meeting with Charles Waknitz introducing the program.
An alumni of the University of Houston, Winder was the first white man to be selected as a player for thr Harlem Globe Trotters.
Winder joined the group in 1989 and with the popular group played exhibition games in 28 countries and dozens of cities world wide, including Great Bend. The Globe Trotters ususally competed with local teams, showing off their choreographed and fancy footwork and skillful ball handling during the games. Winder showed a video of games unusual baskets in which they wore colorful costumes of the pirates of the
Winder said that the team, now named for the community of Harlem, was started in 1918 in Chicago. The team’s original name was the “Bucketeers”.
During the business session, Bob Cranmer of Ness City, a retired postmaster and now the NARFE for west Kansas, described the plight of small towns in Kansas which will lose their post offices and postal employees as the present postal system loses funding.
Waknitz announced the Oct. 13 NARFE meeting will begin at noon at StoneRidge with county engineer Clark Rusco giving the program, “Bridges of Barton County”.