We met at 6:30 p.m. at the KCCI building on 9th
Street, courtesy of KCCI and Lynne Ramsey (who is not
a SABR member -- yet!).

Business portion: we reviewed the Iowa Cubs Fan Fest
experience. See my previous post; feel free to
comment if you saw something different or additional.
Thanks to Charles Crawley, Dean Flyr, Larry Johnson
and Tim Rask for working the booth, and thanks to
Ralph Christian and Steve Elsberry for stopping by and
pinch-hitting.

We decided to keep R.J. as Acting Umpire-In-Chief and
main contact for the chapter, and to add a couple of
roles:
* Steve Elsberry as Concession Manager (i.e.
treasurer)
* Diana Star Helmer agreed to be nominated to write
some thank-you letters to the Iowa Cubs and to KCCI
for their generosity and hospitality
* Tom Owens volunteered to continue in his role as
seeker of free stuff (and we gave him the title
"Seeker of Free Stuff") for auction/fundraising
purposes.
* Tim Rask will coordinate the efforts for the next
meeting (see his posts on the subject) in Cedar Rapids
in April or May.

Research portion: Dean Flyr presented the research he
and his students at North High School have done
regarding Western League Park, (1913-1946), which in
1930 became the first ballpark with permanent lights
for night games. His students are working on a scale
model, so are studying the park and discovering the
joys of microfilm readers. Charles Crawley presented
a fascinating review of Chicago Cubs literature,
including his Top Ten list of Cub-related books.
Materials will be available through the SABR Lending
Library.

Trivia Contest: Steve Bennett won the trivia contest,
with Tim Rask in second. Steve earns the right to
compose the trivia contest at the next meeting.

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- R. J. Lesch, Des Moines IA