Drizzle doesn't keep golfers away from New Hamburg fund raiser

NEW HAMBURG, Mo. -- Clouds and drizzle didn't hurt attendance at the 19th annual Kow Pasture Klassic at Schindler's Tavern on Saturday.

Sixty five teams signed up this year, an increase from 40 last year, according to Jenny Grojean, who owns the tavern with her husband, Jason. The event began at 8 a.m. and continued until 3:30 p.m. with teams teeing off every 10 minutes.

"Three years we had bad weather, two were borderline conditions and the rest were pleasurable," said Mitch Miller, one of the creators of the Kow Pasture Klassic. "One year it was 39 degrees and one team showed up in sleeveless shirts and Bermuda shorts. They were purple when they were through."

"We see about 1,000 people go through here all day long," he said. "It's kind of like a cross between golf and croquet."

The golf played at this event is meant to be goofy. Nathan Hawkins, a member of a nameless team, brought a hockey stick to hit the ball.

Another team, dubbed Illusion, played with homemade wooden golf clubs made by former participant Charlie Elfrink.

"It has nothing to do with real golf," said team member Debbie Mayberry of Cape Girardeau.

Cy and Dorothy Glueck, owners of Schindler's Tavern from 1964 to 1987, don't play in the Kow Pasture Klassic but still promote it.

Every year Dorothy Glueck crochets an afghan to be raffled off. This year it was an American flag -- an early version with 13 stars for the original 13 colonies.

The event was created 19 years ago as a way to help two local boys, Gabe Glastetter and Josh Klipfel, receive the help they needed from the Kenny Rogers Children's Center in Sikeston, she said.

Now, the Kenny Rogers Children's Center and the Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau benefit from the proceeds of the event.

"Over the course of 19 years the community has benefited by about a quarter of a million dollars," Miller said.

cpagano@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 133