Saturday past, my wife and I traveled to Mason City, Illinois to join the friends and family of Nash Shawgo to celebrate his 80th birthday. Nash and Darlene Shawgo have been dear friends of the Roustios since 1964. Nash was one of many 'crazy' Mason City "Huskies" basketball fans. Nash operated an appliance store and drove a propane gas truck. Once when the winter roads of Mason County were snow-covered and impossible in an auto, Nash drove the young and 'anal' Coach Roustio to Havana (16 Miles away) to scout a game.
The birthday party gathering numbered well over 200 hundred people and there was more than a few 'old-time' basketball fans who were kind enough to stop by and visit with their coach of some fifty-years ago. One local fan ask me what games I recall most from the Mason City days. I told him that one game, which comes to mind was a game my "Huskies" played at Tremont during the 1965-66 season. The game established an IHSA scoring record at the time. When the dust settled, the scoreboard read: Mason City- 114 Tremont-89.
Former Mason City athlete, Ken Bracey, who graduated from that high school in 1956 and went on to play professional baseball told me the following story: (Bracey went to the local barber shop the Saturday morning after the Friday 114-to-89, Mason City victory over the Tremont "Turks." He stopped by my house after his haircut and was laughing. He suggested that I not go get a haircut THAT day because the locals were 'cooking-me' about giving up 89 points. Understand...the Coach who preceded me and was there for several years was successful but his teams would win 50-to-25.
I made a mental note that day: "Coach to your team's strengths and ignore the 'fanatics' sitting in the bleachers. I left Mason City after three years. I was blessed with some great kids and outstanding players during that tenure. Those teams tallied 62 wins against 14 losses; won two conference championships; two county championships and two IHSA Regional tournaments. Mason City was a wonderful moment-in-time for a rookie coach and the Shawgo's were wonderful friends.
Really now; stop and consider...50 points over 25 points and 114 points over 89 points IS the SAME point differential but as the 'late' Ricky Nelson sang: "You can't please everyone...so you might as well please yourself."
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