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GUIDE TO YELLOW SPR INGS | 2021– 2022 35 Those emotional dynam - ics, Chesire said, have always been at the heart of his approach to both T-ball and his writing about it. He’s long been lauded by parents for remembering hundreds of T-ball player’s names over the years — “People like seeing their name in the paper,” he said — but he said paying attention to each child’s personality was the crux of his work. “I always tried to notice the kids as individuals — some- times adults don’t remember that they had strong feelings when they were kids,” Chesire said. “But at T-ball,” he added, “[adults] had that same idea, that they really love their kids. They like their kids. They respect them. I was delighted by that.” On July 30, 2021, Chesire announced that he would be stepping down as coordina- tor of the program after 35 years. After the season ended, he told the News he wasn’t worried about folks stepping up to the proverbial plate to keep Perry League going. There have always been a wealth of volunteers, he remarked, and they've taken over for him once already — in early July of 2013, a fall at Ellis Pond resulted in a head injury that kept him hos- pitalized and then recovering for the rest of the summer. Vol- unteers stepped up to run the program and to keep writing for the News in his absence. As he passed the torch, Chesire said it’s only natural that the program change and grow under new leadership, just as it did under his own. “I always took suggestions, but the way [Perry League] is now is part and parcel of the way I am,” he said. “My style and goals influenced the programming.” He smiled. “I sure learned a lot at T-ball.” ♦ Don Perry, for whom Perry League was named, was the founder of Little League in the village. In August of 1965, Perry coached a Little League team that made it to the Greene County Championships that year. Pictured is the championship team: in front, left to right: Terry Partee, Pat Funderburg, Danny Hardman, Dave Brannum and Chuck Monroe; standing, left to right: Bill Holster, Doug Sanderson, Perry, Steve Baldwin, Donnie Grimes and Kevin Jackson. | YS NEWS ARCHIVE PHOTO FOSSIL SHOP ROCKAROUND THE CLARK LLC Fossils! so MUCH MoRE! sHARK TEETH! TRiloBiTEs! UniqUE giFTs! DinosAUR TEETH! AMMoniTEs! MEgAloDon TEETH! 108Dayton st. —Upstairs oPEn: Wed–Fri, 12–6; Sat, 11–7; Sun, 12–4 www.RockAroundTheClark.com ConTACT: info@RockAroundTheClark.com