8 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY NOVEMBER 9-15, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com 831 On a recent Friday afternoon, the sun splashes across the green at Del Mesa Carmel, an adult community where the minimum age of residents is 55. Nearly two dozen people, all wearing white, gather in the shade outside the community’s indoor pool. Making announcements to the group is Steve Henrikson, president of the Del Mesa Carmel Lawn Bowling Club, a role he has held for the last three years. On this day, club members will be playing “triples” matches— three on three—and Henrikson breaks them up into teams. Lawn bowling has been a thing at Del Mesa since the community was born in the late ’60s, Henrikson explains. The club currently has 55 members, and he says about 20 to 25 of them come out twice a week when the club gathers for 1pm matches on Tuesdays and Fridays. “It’s a ladies’ and gentlemen’s game. Win or lose, you shake everyone’s hand and say, ‘thank you, good match,’” he says. A few minutes later, George Daskaloff walks by, and Henrikson’s face immediately lights up. He announces that Daskaloff’s team won the club’s annual Halloween tournament held the previous Saturday, adding that Daskaloff is 95. “He will beat anybody out here on the green,” Henrikson says. “When I grow up, George, I want to be just like you.” Daskaloff laughs. And then, with the bounce of a teenager, he springs up a small flight of stairs to the green. “He walks a lot,” Henrikson says. Henrikson doesn’t always play. He sits at a nearby table as the matches begin, making sure everything goes off without a hitch. But even with a decorous pastime, issues can occur. One club member isn’t feeling well, and Henrikson advises him to sit in the shade. This writer is called into action to take his spot. Del Mesa is set atop a plateau, and the view from the bowling green is breathtaking: the Santa Lucia Range sweeps to the south and, hanging over it, the sun inches west across the sky toward the Pacific. So far as Henrikson knows, Del Mesa’s is the only regulation-sized green—120 feet by 120 feet— in Monterey County, with the next closest being at the Santa Cruz Lawn Bowling Club. Lawn bowling, or some version of it, started in ancient Egypt. The game came to America by way of the English colonies, and the terms in the sport are a reflection of that heritage. For instance, the Del Mesa club elects to wear white clothes only for Friday matches. It’s an English thing. The balls in lawn bowling aren’t perfectly round—imagine a sphere being squished a bit—and are called “bowls.” Bowls are also asymmetrically weighted, which causes the bowls to curve toward the lighter side. This is called the bowl’s “bias,” and the bowls are marked with symbols to let bowlers know which side is which. The aim of the game is to roll the bowls across the green to rest as closely as possible to a small white ball, called a jack. Points are awarded to a team if one or more of their bowls are closer to the jack than any bowls from the other team. Each round is called an “end,” and when all three bowlers from each team have rolled their bowls toward the jack, then the next “end” is played going the other direction. As the games are getting close to wrapping up—they go for 12 ends, and last about two hours—Doug Davenport, as he’s changing ends, makes light of how much distance bowlers cover in a game. “I measured it once, and it’s about a mile walk,” he says. “There’s a lot of standing, but that’s good for people in their 80s and 90s.” After the matches finish and everyone shakes hands, a handful of club members gather at tables in the shade and enjoy a refreshment and a snack. The club functions like a community within a community. Henrikson first started playing nine years ago when he moved to Del Mesa with his late wife, who was suffering from Alzheimer’s. “The club was so supportive of her, and helped her play when she didn’t know what was going on anymore,” he says. “It’s almost like family in the way we support one another.” Slow Roll The Del Mesa Carmel Lawn Bowling Club brings community to the green. In this game, age is just a number. By David Schmalz Members of the Del Mesa Carmel Lawn Bowling Club, wearing white outfits per their custom for Friday matches, enjoy an afternoon of lawn bowling Nov. 3. “It’s a ladies’ and gentlemen’s game.” TALES FROM THE AREA CODE ROBERT DANIELS JR. SHOP. EAT. STAY. LOCAL Fall in love with shopping small at your favorite Monterey County businesses this holiday season! SHOP SMALL Need ideas? Visit our Member Directory at montereychamber.com/list
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