Article 1385

I went to the Masters Challenge at the ISHOF on the last weekend in February (2000) and I was delighted to see Millie Bergeron Larsen. Millie had swum the 200 fly in the lane next to me at my first Masters meet 25 years ago at the North Palm Beach Country Club.

The only other person at the Fort Lauderdale meet who had also been at the meet NPB meet 25 years ago was June Krauser , and June has been at every Masters meet that I have done. June is the most enduring friend I have in swimming. Most of my time in Masters has been as a self-coached swimmer, June has been all the team I need. From the beginning, she offered support in all ways. She provided me with entry blanks for Nationals, (before Swim magazine), she always had a room at the headquarters hotel that she was willing to share, and she spent countless hours enlightening me on the workings of Masters Swimming. We spent time on other subjects that interested us both like clothes, cooking and travel. I have mental snapshots that will always be with me of the different cities, including Mission Viejo, Nashville, Knoxville, Seattle, New Orleans, Los Angeles, and Grand Forks where we shopped, chatted and spent many hours at a swim meet. June graciously invited me to stay with her son and his family at the Santa Clara Nationals. In Barbados, June fussed about climbing 3 flights of stairs to a room, so the hotel management gave us a lovely room on the first floor with a view of the ocean and a balcony. What an improvement! I have taken some layoffs from swim meets, and when I return June is always there to welcome me and bring me up to date on recent happenings. June is legendary in Masters swimming for her organizational skills and swimming ability. I admire and envy both those qualitites but I treasure her friendship that has made my 25 years in Masters swimming so enjoyable. If you would like me to expand or if you want to share or comment contact me at my website.