Of building families, sharing memories and making changes

Each of us are shaped and molded by the people, places, things and ideas that we experience in our lives. We, in turn, leave a legacy, whether intentional or not to those we come into contact with and in the actions we take.

The Star News has reached out to community members to take a few minutes and write a letter to those people, places, things and ideas that influenced them in some way.

Whether it is a loved one who has long since passed on or to the weeds that they battle in their lawn each summer, the letters reflect the people and places of our communities.

This week Jackie Lemke of Medford shares a letter to a place that has been close to her heart.

—Brian Wilson, News Editor

Dearest Medford Curling Club,

You’ve been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Some of my earliest memories are of playing on your red plaid carpet and riding the rocks down the ice while my dad practiced. More vividly in my mind, I remember the season I was too big to ride the rocks and the disappointment that went along with it. It was around that time, though, that I realized I may want to actually try curling and use those rocks the way they were meant to be used. I had no idea then the impact that you and the sport of curling would have on my life.

I remember my first day of junior curling in third grade. I was so excited that two of my school friends– Kristin and Anne–were going to be there too. We arrived at the club, and that was when I formally met Bev Schroeder, a woman who didn’t even need to turn on the lights at the club because she knew you inside and out, a woman who would have an immeasurable impact on my life. Thirty years later, thinking about her now and the countless things she taught me about curling and life have me holding back tears. And I know I’m not alone. Bev used your ice as a way to change the lives of countless Medford youth. She guided us with tough love, but none of us ever doubted that she did love us.

Curling is a unique sport, one where we start and end with a handshake, congratulate our opponents’ successes, and share a beer after the ice is cleaned. It’s been said before, and I’ll say it now: if all the world was like a curling sheet, the world would be a pretty perfect place. Within your walls, countless relationships have formed, and established relationships have grown deeper roots. At the curling club, coaches and opponents have become friends.

The Medford Curling Club is a family, one I’m blessed to be part of. The members of the club have always supported my ambitions, oftentimes at the expense of their time and money. My junior women’s team played down competitively my freshman year of high school, and we qualified for Junior Nationals my sophomore year. The members of the curling club supported our fundraisers, made sure we had practice ice, and always told us how proud we made them. Twenty years later, members were still sponsoring my team and preparing ice for our practices. It is a gift I’ve never taken for granted.

My life is in a transition period. For over twenty years, my life and the life of my family have revolved around my competitive curling schedule. It’s been practices and bonspiel weekends, playdowns and national championships, Olympic Trials and a world championship. That season of our lives has come to an end, or maybe it’s just paused for now. Either way, I never could have guessed the feeling of loss that came along with my first winter without competitive curling. It helps that every time I walk through your doors, though, I’m reminded of what I still have–a club full of our curling family.

My husband and I do what we can to give back to the club, but there is no way we’ll ever balance out with what you’ve given us, a place where everyone is welcome, a second home. You gave us each other. Within your walls, I fell in love with a tuck slider when I was only a teenager. Over twenty years later, the two of us and our two children curled in our first bonspiel together this season, and the most beautiful part is that it was within your walls, where it all began. And if this curler’s heart can hope, perhaps a new generation of curlers will fall in love with the charm, camaraderie, and community that you can only ever find at a place like the Medford Curling Club.

Sincerely, Jackie If you would like to be part of “Letters to . . .” contact Brian Wilson at brianwilson@centralwinews.com or call 715-748-2626.