Winston Theatre

Only the people involved with the recent Hall of Fame Invitational Tournament at Wentzville know of the honor that was bestowed on my late husband, Earl Winston. When he passed away last year, I was asked if I had a suggestion of a way the NHPA could honor his memory for all he has done for the NHPA over the years and for his persistance in collecting horseshoe pitching memorabilia for the day when the NHPA would have a facility to house the Hall of Fame. I asked if it would be possible to install a touch screen monitor in the viewing room, so that visitors could operate the equipment themselves and be able to view the collection of CD's currently available. Bids were obtained and by the NHPA and NHPF splitting the cost, the project was deemed doable and the equipment was installed this spring.

I was told a little program was being planned for the evening of May 5th after the first day of play was completed at the HOF Invitational. This is when they have a dinner that is provided by the Quail Ridge Horseshoe Club. Well, it turned out to be a bit more than a little program and I was thankful that both of my sons and their families were able to be there, because they would have felt really bad if they had missed it. Also, my brother, Barry Chapelle, and his wife were able to be present. Barry had entered the tournament especially for this occasion. Both Stu Sipma and Dave Loucks were present to represent the NHPA and NHPF and gave speeches. Others also gave speeches and Amy and Alan Francis and Fred and Helen Brown had written a song for the occasion, which Amy, Helen and Fred performed. To honor Earl the viewing room has now been named the Winston Theatre and the signage was in place by the end of the evening. There is also a sign on a wall that gives a brief history of Earl and what he did to enable the Hall of Fame to have a collection of memorabilia to display when Earl's dream of a permanent site finally became a reality.

My sons and I were overwhelmed by the events of the evening and wish again to thank all of those who took part in the program and for the kind words that were spoken. It was an evening we will never forget. We also wish to thank those who decided the touch screen monitor and equipment was a doable project and for their efforts in getting it accomplished. There is one more step before the equipment is completely user friendly, but you can view the CD's now with a little help in getting started. There are some really enjoyable CD's and I haven't seen very many of them. On your next visit to the Hall of Fame, I hope you save enough time to sit a spell in the Winston Theatre and enjoy some of the filmed history that has been preserved for your viewing pleasure.

Vicki Winston