by Ron Johnston
Back in the 1950s, when Arnie Barton delivered milk to Ray and Norma Adams’ home at 211 Riga-Mumford Road, Sarah Adams would scoot in the opposite direction.
“He had such a booming voice that I would run and hide,” Sarah remembered. “As a little girl, I was scared of him. But as I grew up, I came to enjoy talking sports with him.”
Baseball was Barton’s game, and his “booming voice” served him well on the Churchville Stars semi-pro diamond in Churchville Park. When the 6-foot-2 pitcher/outfielder spoke, his teammates and people in general tended to listen to what he had to say.
There is 1949 Churchville Stars team photograph of Bob Frew in a white t-shirt and not in uniform, holding a lit cigarette in his right hand.
Don’t worry about it. It’s OK. Frew can do whatever he wants to do.
You see, as a World War II vet, he survived the 65-mile Bataan Death March in the Philippines in the spring of 1942.
“Never talked about it (after the war),” said Tom Frew of his uncle.
So, that being said…if Bob Frew needed a relight, he would’ve gotten one. Instantly.
After work in the early 60s, Gerry Betteridge would often play 2-on-2 basketball at a driveway hoop with son, Chris, Bob Weiland, and yours truly.
Mr. Betteridge, as Bob and I addressed him, was very strong and very good.
Little did we know that he was a three-sport standout at Churchville High back in the mid-40s.
“My dad (Dick Frew) calls Gerry Betteridge the greatest athlete to come out of old Churchville High,” said Tom Frew, a 1970 C-C grad.
Oh, yeah, Betteridge was a pitcher/outfielder for the Churchville Stars for many years…and he was one of their best players.
“Gerry was the center fielder, and he was a power hitter,” recalled Jerry Spotts, a 1951 Churchville High grad.
After the war, baseball was, without question, the National Pastime in the United States of America. In Churchville, it was especially popular on the Sabbath. That’s when the Stars played, usually during the early afternoon at Churchville Park, not far from the golf course.
“My dad said on Sunday afternoons they drew good crowds,” Frew said.
In 1958, the Churchville Stars’ opponents were Perry, Sonyea, Nunda, Avon, Scottsville, Mt. Morris, LeRoy, Rush, and Caledonia.
Said Margie (Barton) Hunt, “We watched my dad (Arnie Barton) play after church every Sunday for years. Great times!”
Hunt was usually accompanied by mother, Marnie Barton; sister, Barb (Barton) Neale; and little brother, Neil Barton. Chris Betteridge and mother, Bernie Betteridge, were also spectators.
Some of the score card/program sponsors were: Byron’s Petherbridge Motors, Inc., The Johnson House (Churchville’s official “wet spot”), H.F. Snyder & Son, O.K. Farms, Dave and George’s Whirl Top Stand, Dilcher Service, Dr. V.P. Laglia, Pershing’s City Service, Cash and Carry Meadowbrook Farms, Your Delco Dealer F.R. Ehrmentraut, Dimock and Peck Oldsmobile, Williams Television & Radio Service, Fairway Restaurant, H.R. Way Auctioneer and Appraiser, George Skelton Plumbing Heating, The Oasis Restaurant, Don Howard Farm Machinery, Spencerport Super Market, Ray Brown Hardware Plumbing Heating, Nunes’ Nook, Rogers Poultry Farm, Western Auto Associate Store, The Churchville Greenhouses, Alexander Bros. IGA Super Market, Elmcrest Sanitarium, The Little Restaurant, Leo P. Kruze General Insurance, and Tobin Packing Company (Rochester).
“The Stars were formed by the Churchville Enterprisers, which was the forerunner of the Churchville Chamber of Commerce,” remembered Spotts.
“The Johnsons – Hunk, Gordon and Stan – were also very much involved.”
The 1958 Stars team was managed by John MacMillan. The roster included Roy Hershey, Paul Doherty, John McKenzie, Al Belcher, Marvin Darch, Chuck MacMillan, Hal Martin, Hank Boyst, McKinley Jackson, Skip Howarth, Dale Pederson, Dave Pederson, Tim Ackerman, Al Lowden (pitcher), Rich Houck, Bill McMillan, Charlie Maiers, Gerry Betteridge (P/OF), and Arnie Barton (P/OF).
Barton and Betteridge were neighbors, with the Donahue house in between them, on Churchville-Riga Road (about two miles south of Churchville). Across the road from their homes was the Riga Center Cemetery.
After Stars games, Arnie Barton would accumulate the broken bats and give them to the Riga Center kids – Neil Barton, John Donahue, Chris Betteridge, Bob Weiland, Roger Pimm, Freddie Church, Geoff Grinnell, Jay Grinnell, and myself.
We would just tape the bats and re-use them in sandlot games in the Riga neighborhood.
Arnie Barton was also a vet, who served in the navy. After the war, he was pictured with the ‘47 and ‘49 Churchville Stars teams. Also on the 47 squad were Gerry Betteridge, Homer Barton, Gordon Hill, Bob Frew, Bob “Red” Bruton (third base), Stub Miller, Norm MacDonald, Stan Brew, Sam Hessney, Izzo Marino, Charlie Lazaration, and Rich Houck.
“Sam Hessney was a CHS (Churchville High School) coach and maybe the best I ever had at any time,” said Spotts, who occasionally filled in as a Stars infielder in the 50s.
Added Tom Frew, “Sam was the Assistant Athletic Director for the Rochester City School District, and grew up in Churchville.”
The ‘49 Stars roster featured Bob Frew, Houck, Marino, Ronnie Brew, Dick Weidort, Ron Johnson, Bruton, Dick Betteridge, Claude Harris (OF), Stan Griffin, Norm MacDonald, Ken Forbes, Stan Brew, and Barton.
After his playing days, Barton umpired in the 60s, and showed me how to correctly throw a curveball for a strike.
EPILOGUE:
While the Churchville Stars disbanded many years ago, they have not been forgotten.
•Bob Frew worked in sales for Agway and resided in Attica. He passed away a hero in 1981. Thank you always for your service.
•Dick Betteridge, Gerry’s brother, was a standout golfer.
•Gerry Betteridge was a Hall of Fame bowler. He passed away at age 79 in 2007 in South Carolina. His son, Chris, also passed away at age 60 in 2011. Bernie is doing well in South Carolina.
•Gordon Hill was Roger Hill’s father. Roger, who passed away at age 68 in 2015 in North Carolina, was a standout athlete at CCSHS in the mid-1960s. Roger was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame last December.
•Norm MacDonald was a longtime Town Supervisor for Riga and my Sunday School teacher in Churchville.
•Arnie Barton and wife, Marnie, have also passed away. Their son, Neil, would become the Athletic Director at CCSHS and daughters, Margie and Barb, both reside in Texas.
•Sarah (Adams) Moffitt was one of the greatest female athletes in Saints history. Unfortunately, C-C didn’t field any varsity girls sports during her time at the school.
•Tom Frew and Jerry Spotts are both doing well and living in LeRoy.
•Ronnie Brew was Stan Brew’s brother, and resided on North Main in Churchville.
•Stan Brew farmed on Bangs Road.
•Marvin Beatty was a Stars skipper for a few years, and son, Gary, a batboy.
•Joe Fosmire was a catcher; Chick Schmidt or Corky MacMullen played first; Vern Button, third; and John Freeman, from Caledonia, pitched.
•Dr. Eli Vail was a contributor and never missed a Churchville Stars game until passing in late 1954.
Note: Ron Johnston, a 1966 Churchville-Chili Senior High graduate, is the author of One-Game Wonder: A Hoops Memory and Compilation.
