WASHINGTON SCHOOL STUDENT'S STORY WINS GLOBETROTTER TICKETS

When the Harlem Globetrotters come to the Show Me Center Jan. 11, they will add new memories for a new generation of Globetrotter fans.

In a recent junior reporter contest sponsored by the Southeast Missourian and the Harlem Globetrotters, students were invited to interview an adult with a Globetrotter memory. The winner would receive four tickets to see the Globetrotters at the Show Me Center and to interview a Harlem Globetrotter and have his story published in the Southeast Missourian, plus a possible visit to his school.

The winner is Michael Porter, age 7, a student at Washington School. Michael wrote about three memories:

"My Grandpa who is 72 years old loves the Globetrotters. He saw them play when he was a young man in the Navy, but he doesn't remember exactly what year or where. Meadowlark Lemon was his all-time favorite.

"The Globetrotters had a television show in the 1970s called "The Globetrotter Popcorn Hour." My mom used to watch it every Saturday and spend hours trying to do the famous Globetrotter tricks."

"My mom saw the Globetrotters when she was 8 years old and when she was 12 years old in Phoenix, Arizona. She still has a ticket stub from 1978 signed by Robert "Baby Face" Paige. She knows a lot of old Globetrotter's names."

Michael included the ticket stub, a map showing Phoenix and a photograph of himself holding a Globetrotters basketball. He also included questions he would ask during a Globetrotter interview: How did he became a Globetrotter? Who was his favorite player when he was a kid? What is his favorite Globetrotter trick or amazing shot? Where was his favorite place in the world he has visited?

Three other students will also receive tickets to the Harlem Globetrotters' Cape Girardeau appearance. They are Jared Thomas, Shea Smith and John Atwood.

Jared Thomas of Cape Girardeau shared his Globetrotter memory, "My step-grandmother, Mary Ann, went to see the Globetrotters when they were in Savannah, Ga., in the late 70's and at the Augusta Civic Center in Augusta, Ga., in the early 80's. She took two of her grandchildren to see them and loved it."

Jared would like to see the Globetrotters play because they are very funny and often bring kids on the floor to play. "The Globetrotters go into the audience and grab hats or whatever they can borrow" he says, "and they are very tall and hilarious."

Shea Smith of Advance writes that she saw the Globetrotters at the Show Me Center in 1995. Her grandmother won a contest that allowed Shea and her father to visit with the Globetrotters. "When we were waiting outside the locker room, my father met Meadowlark Lemon, which was one of my dad's favorite players when he was a kid. It was very exciting for him to meet Mr. Lemon."

"My father also got to go in the locker room with me," she wrote. "It was very exciting for him to meet and talk with all of the players and to shake their hands."

"My father still talks about 6-10 'Sweet' Lou Dumbar who sort of adopted me for the night," she wrote. "He held me and kept calling me his little girlfriend."

John Atwood of Cape Girardeau writes: "When it was announced that the Harlem Globetrotters were coming to my mom's hometown of Estherville, Iowa, my mom was very excited. Estherville was a very small town, so it was very unusual for anything as famous as the Harlem Globetrotters to perform there. My mom had seen them on TV before, but had never thought she would see them perform live. That made it more exciting.

"The night when the Globetrotters were to perform came, everyone in mom's house was very excited. They left early, and boy, were they glad they did! Within a few minutes, the small parking lot was jammed. They wouldn't have been able to find a place to park!

When they played, Mom was amazed. She had never seen so many people laughing so hard, so many times."

For more than 70 years the Harlem Globetrotters have been making memories for people around the world. The Globetrotters' two-hour show is full of high-tech special effects, a hip musical score, team mascot Globie, expert showmen, mystifying slam-dunks, amazing ball handling and dribbling and audience participation.

Tickets for the Globetrotter's Cape Girardeau performance at on sale at the Show Me Center or by calling (573) 651-5000.